Several thousand employees in the Romanian education system protested in front of the government and Parliament buildings in Bucharest on Wednesday, June 17, arguing that the new draft law on the unified pay system for public sector employees condemns teachers to poverty.
During the protest, the Free Trade Union Federation in Education (FSLI), the Education Trade Union Federation “Spiru Haret,” and the National Trade Union Federation “Alma Mater” requested that the government immediately withdraw from public debate the draft of the new law on the salaries of personnel paid from public funds. The union leaders argued that the document violates previously assumed commitments toward employees in education and warned of new protests if the project is not modified, according to Digi24.
The unionists claimed that the draft ignores previous decisions, which stipulated that the salary of a debutant teacher must be linked to the gross average salary in the country. Moreover, they said that the agreements concluded in 2024 with the Ministry of Labour and the World Bank, according to which the maximum salary of a first-grade teacher with maximum seniority should have been equivalent to that of a specialist doctor, were not respected.
The trade unions also criticized the salary coefficients provided in the draft, which they said keep education staff at the lower end of the public sector wage hierarchy. They also protested the reduction of certain allowances granted to teachers working in simultaneous teaching or in isolated areas, and the establishment of a fixed amount of approximately RON 400 gross for the homeroom teacher activity.
Marius Nistor, president of the “Spiru Haret” Education Federation, said that the unified pay law project “does not resolve the inequalities regarding salaries in the public sector, but rather comes and amplifies them.” He argued that around 44% of employees in the education system will have their income frozen if the wage law is adopted.
The union leader added that protests will continue if the salary law is not amended in the benefit of employees in education. He also said that they could impact the national exams, such as the ongoing baccalaureate.
Employees in customs are also dissatisfied with the provisions of the new public sector pay law. They went on a warning strike the same day and announced that they could also launch a general strike if the authorities did not meet their demands.
Romania’s draft Wage Law for the budgetary sector, which has more than EUR 770 million in grants attached as a reform milestone, was drafted during the period in which the Labour Ministry was controlled by the Social Democratic Party (PSD). However, PSD leaders have distanced themselves from the current version of the legislation, arguing that interim labour minister Gabriel Pîslaru selected the least acceptable variant among several options left by former minister Florin Manole before his resignation at the end of April.
Presented by the interim government of prime minister Ilie Bolojan as a framework aimed at eliminating opaque bonuses and creating a more coherent salary structure across the public sector, the draft has triggered protests and criticism from trade unions in the police and healthcare sectors, but also from magistrates and representatives of the education sector.
(Photo source: Federatia Sindicatelor din Educație „Spiru Haret” on Facebook)
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