A worker recruited from Nepal earns less than a Romanian colleague and "has lower expectations." That is not an anonymous forum post, it is a public statement by Călin Cozma, executive president of FPIOR (Federația Patronatelor din Industria Ospitalității din România, the Federation of Employers in Romania's Hospitality Industry). Behind those words lies a structural shift in the HoReCa labour market: for 2026 Romania has set a quota of 90,000 newly admitted foreign workers, and recruitment from Nepal, Sri Lanka and India has become a declared strategy, not an exception.

The question that matters, for the Romanian hotel worker in a Poiana Brașov resort and for the HR manager signing off the 2026 salary budget alike, is straightforward: what happens to the wage market when a significant share of the workforce accepts conditions that others would refuse?

The numbers that frame the debate

Offers for unskilled foreign workers and operators in Romania start, according to industry data, at roughly 2,700–3,500 RON net per month. In construction and manufacturing, earnings can reach around 4,500–5,000 RON net. Professional drivers are a category apart: salaries exceed 5,000 RON and in some cases reach 10,000 RON net per month, depending on experience and daily allowances.

One employer who joined the public debate estimated the total cost of a Nepali employee at the equivalent of approximately 3,800–4,000 RON net. For context, Nepal's statutory minimum wage sits at around €110–120 per month, while the average wage ranges between €220 and €290. The gap in pay envelopes alone explains why the flow of South Asian workers into Romanian HoReCa has become a steady stream rather than an occasional trickle.

A concrete example illustrates the scale of investment involved: bringing 600 Filipino drivers to Romania cost employers up to €2.1 million in total. This is not opportunistic hiring, it is a medium-term logistical operation with careful planning.

What the employers' federation is actually saying

FPIOR's position is candid to the point of discomfort. "We need labour from abroad because we do not have enough of it in Romania, people are leaving for other countries. But at the same time, foreign labour is also sought because it is cheaper. We have to be very honest when we say that a worker who comes from Nepal earns less and has lower expectations than a worker from Romania," Cozma said.

In the same conversation, Cozma added a concrete proposal: "But personally, and many of my colleagues in the industry, we would like to have qualified Romanian employees whom we pay well. That is why we have also put forward a proposal to subsidise payroll costs on lower salaries, so that we can retain our Romanian employees, work with them, and make use of the local workforce."

In plain terms: the employers' federation acknowledges that the current dynamic is a consequence of cost differentials, and is asking the state for a partial payroll subsidy to keep Romanian workers. It is a rare admission on Romania's labour market, where the conversation usually circles around "labour shortages" without anyone saying plainly that what is often meant is a shortage of labour at the price employers wish to pay.

The grey zone: what does "lower expectations" actually mean?

Public reactions to Cozma's statement quickly polarised the debate. One anonymous commenter put it bluntly: "Has lower expectations. Accepts more rights violations." Another, identifying themselves as an employer, replied: "Working conditions are the same as for Romanians."

The truth most likely lies somewhere in between and varies enormously from one employer to another. A foreign worker brought in on a seasonal contract, whose visa and accommodation depend on the employer, occupies a fundamentally different negotiating position from a Romanian with options on the open market. That does not automatically mean exploitation, but it does mean that "lower expectations" can cover anything from accepting longer hours without extra pay to declining to report abuses out of fear of losing legal status.

A third commenter went further, questioning the entire economic model: "We could certainly achieve much healthier economic growth if we supported high-value-added sectors instead of filling the country with HoReCa and assembly-line industry." And another, more bluntly: "Not everyone has to be a business owner. Let's quietly revoke the visas for workers, remove the subsidies for HoReCa, and see which businesses survive. Either we are capitalists or we are not."

These are voices from online discussion threads, not public-policy positions. But they reflect a genuine tension: who ultimately pays the cost of a thin-margin industry that depends on cheap labour?

For employees and job-seekers in HoReCa

If you work in hospitality or are considering applying for a role in hotels, restaurants or catering, what does the entry-level range of 2,700–3,500 RON net mean for you in practice?

, Benchmarking matters more than ever. When part of the market accepts the minimum pay envelope, the pressure on your own salary is real. Check where you stand against colleagues with the same experience and role using a salary comparison tool for roles and industries, such as Salariometrul.

, Differentiate yourself through qualifications. The employers' federation itself acknowledges that it would prefer "qualified Romanian employees whom we pay well." If you are currently in an unskilled segment, moving into a certified role, chef, sommelier, front-office agent with foreign languages, revenue management, is the most effective short-term lever for a higher salary.

, Check the employer before you sign. In a sector where hotels compete on cost, organisational culture is the difference between a job that keeps you and one you leave within three months. Read reviews from real employees on undelucram.ro and, if you have already worked somewhere, leave a review that helps someone else.

, Calculate exactly what lands in your pocket. An offer of "3,200 RON net" on a split-shift contract with no meal vouchers and no bonuses is a different proposition from the same figure with meal tickets and transport covered. Use a net salary calculator to make the comparison correctly.

For HR professionals and decision-makers in the industry

The 90,000-foreign-worker quota for 2026 is not merely an administrative figure, it is a structural change in the architecture of the labour market. For HR in a HoReCa company, the question is no longer "do we recruit from abroad or not?" but "how do we build a sustainable mix?"

, The true cost of international recruitment goes well beyond the salary. The example of the 600 Filipino drivers (€2.1 million in total costs borne by employers) shows that the model demands 18–24 months of planning and a constant stream of legal procedures, accommodation, and integration management. If turnover is high, the return on investment collapses.

, Segmenting the domestic workforce is a reputational vulnerability. In a market where employer reviews are publicly visible and indexed, any salary or treatment gap between foreign and Romanian workers performing equivalent work translates quickly into erosion of employer brand. And the consequence is not theoretical: qualified Romanian candidates simply choose not to apply.

, The payroll subsidy proposal remains a promise. FPIOR is asking the state to partially cover lower salaries in order to enable retention of Romanian employees. Until a public-policy decision is reached, the responsibility for building competitive packages rests at company level. Non-salary benefits, meals, transport, training, predictable scheduling, become measurable differentiators.

, Retention data is worth investing in. If you do not know precisely why employees leave within the first six months, you cannot design an optimal mix of domestic versus international recruitment. Systematic exit interviews, benchmarking on total compensation packages, and ongoing monitoring of employer reputation are three levers that together produce a strategy defensible in front of the board.

What comes next

The 90,000-foreign-worker quota for 2026 signals that the flow from Nepal, Sri Lanka and India into Romanian HoReCa is not closing. In the short term, the employers' federation is pressing for a payroll subsidy to retain Romanian workers, a tool that, if adopted, could partially rebalance the market. In the medium term, the fundamental question, whether Romanian hospitality's business model is sustainable only on the back of low-cost labour, or whether it can add value through other means, remains open.

In the meantime, both employees and HR professionals are working with the same reality: a segmented market, growing pay transparency, and decisions that are made month by month, not at the next policy cycle.