Thousands of Romanians marched through central Bucharest on Wednesday to protest against a sweeping austerity package that many fear will push ordinary workers deeper into hardship while leaving political elites largely untouched. The demonstration, organised by the National Trade Union Bloc – an umbrella for dozens of professional federations – brought together public sector employees, emergency workers and private-sector staff under a simple, angry theme: rising prices, stagnant wages and an ever-heavier tax burden on labour.
Protesters first gathered in front of the government headquarters, then moved in a noisy column toward the Palace of Parliament, a symbol of state power and, for many, of a distant and insulated political class. Horns blared, drums echoed through the streets and banners spelled out the grievances: “We want decent salaries” and “Don’t hit the ones who save you”, the latter held by ambulance workers who feel squeezed between growing workloads and frozen pay.
Behind the march lies a fast-closing fiscal vise. Romania is under pressure from Brussels to rein in a budget deficit that exceeded 9 percent of GDP in 2024, one of the highest in the European Union. Bucharest has committed to reducing the gap to 8.4 percent this year, still far above EU norms but only achievable, the government argues, through a mix of tax hikes, a freeze on public sector wages and pensions, cuts in public spending and a reduction in state administration jobs.
For unions, this strategy amounts to making workers pay for years of poor governance and unfinished reforms. In a statement, the National Trade Union Bloc accused the authorities of turning “the impoverishment of the population” into state policy and warned that employees are again being “sacrificed for their jobs”. Many of those on the streets echoed this sentiment in personal terms. One protester complained that income tax and social contributions now swallow 43 percent of his salary: “Almost half goes to the state.” Another summed up the mood with a slogan that ran through the march: “Respect our work.”
Beyond the hard numbers, the demonstrations speak to a deeper frustration with the distribution of pain. Protesters point to surging prices in recent years, with inflation eroding purchasing power even as official statistics show some cooling from previous peaks. Families report struggling to cover basic expenses; putting food on the table has become a monthly challenge rather than a routine task. Many believe that the government’s consolidation drive has targeted those who can least afford further losses, while well-connected interests and layers of bureaucracy remain largely insulated.
The governing coalition, which came to power earlier this year promising to reduce the deficit and reform state institutions, now finds itself caught between EU commitments and domestic anger. On paper, the austerity package is part of a broader plan to modernise Romania’s fiscal system and bring the country into line with European rules. In practice, critics argue, the reforms have been piecemeal, slow and uneven. Political analyst Cristian Andrei notes that the government failed to deliver “fast and decisive reform measures” when it still enjoyed a stronger mandate and is now attempting to plug budget holes in a way that appears reactive and poorly communicated.
This fuels a perception that sacrifices are demanded only of “regular people”, while those at the top remain shielded. The sense of unfairness is especially sharp in sectors such as health care and emergency services, where staff often work long hours for relatively modest pay. The banner “Don’t hit the ones who save you” captures the anger of workers who see themselves as essential to society but treated as expendable when fiscal arithmetic turns harsh.
The government’s position is constrained by external and internal realities. Failing to curb the deficit risks clashing with EU rules and spooking markets, which could raise borrowing costs and deepen the problem. At the same time, pushing too hard on wage freezes, pension restraint and tax increases risks triggering broader social unrest and eroding political legitimacy. Unions are only one voice in what Andrei describes as a “choir” of discontent, but they are a particularly visible one – capable of bringing thousands onto the streets of the capital and giving form to diffuse frustration.
Under mounting pressure, the ruling parties have invited union representatives to talks, a signal that they recognise the need to at least appear responsive. Protest leaders are demanding not only higher wages and targeted tax cuts for workers, but also a halt to public sector job cuts and a more serious crackdown on tax evasion. They argue that plugging loopholes and tackling systemic avoidance by large economic players would be both fairer and more effective than squeezing employees whose incomes are already fully transparent and heavily taxed.
Whether these demands will translate into concrete changes remains uncertain. Governments under fiscal strain often choose the most immediate and administratively simple measures – like freezing wages or increasing VAT or income taxes – rather than politically risky structural reforms. Yet the protests in Bucharest highlight the limits of that approach. When citizens feel that they are paying more for less, that inflation “has gone crazy” while their pay packets stagnate, willingness to accept further belt-tightening diminishes sharply.
The march in Bucharest may not force an immediate reversal of policy, but it sends a clear message: austerity imposed from above without a convincing narrative of shared sacrifice and long-term benefit is unlikely to be quietly absorbed. As Romania tries to close its budget gap and catch up economically with wealthier EU members, it must also navigate the social fault lines opened by years of uneven growth and incomplete reform. The thousands on the streets are a reminder that fiscal targets and deficit ratios are not just abstract numbers – they are experienced in everyday life, in the size of a pay slip, the contents of a shopping basket and the sense of whether work is truly respected or simply exploited.
