About 100 Teachers Picket Romanian Education Ministry Over Layoff Plans

Union leader Marius Nistor said protests will continue unless the government reconsiders its job cut plans.

„We will organize ample rallies, freeze the school year, won’t show up for exams. In Romania, education and health are not considered priorities and are always underfinanced,” Nistor said.

The education union leader also said teachers want the government to reconsider another decree, which cuts PhD wage bonuses.

The ombudsman, who was asked to challenge the bill cutting jobs at the Constitutional Court, told unionists there are no legal grounds for such an action. Moreover, the ombudsman replied the decree, which states 15,000 jobs in the education sector are to be discarded as of September 2010, needs to be enforced for the country to comply with its IMF-led EUR20 billion loan agreement.

The ombudsman added the Parliament has the power to amend the decree when it debates it.