Over 400,000 Education, Public Administration Employees Go On Strike Indefinitely On Monday

Cartel Alfa union federation leader Bogdan Hossu said that the 80,000 public sector employees affiliated to the federation will go on full-blown strike indefinitely starting Monday, adding all legal procedures for the action have been carried out. Union leader Marius Petcu also said that employees in the education sector will join protests.

Union officials said the employees of state-owned subway company Metrorex, Bucharest public transport department RATB and railway company CFR, as well as employees in certain private sectors, will soon decide if they will strike on May 31 or June 1.

Union leader Dumitru Costin said the salary cut measure decided by authorities will also be applied in the private sector.

Romanian union federations have decided to go on strike indefinitely as of May 31, as well as hold rallies on June 1-4 and form a human chain around the Palace of Parliament, in protest to the Government's austerity plan. Penitentiary unions also announced Wednesday that employees in the sector will go on strike starting May 31 to protest wage, pension and social benefit cuts.

Union officials said the protest action is a consequence of the "complete failure" of negotiations with the prime minister and ministers of finance and labor. The strike will affect the main public sector activities - education, healthcare, public administration, transports - and will be supported by the employees of other public services through a solidarity strike.

The unions will picket the county halls of ten counties per day between June 1 and 4. They will also continue to lobby Romanian lawmakers to vote in favor of the no-confidence motion put forward by opposition parties.

Romania's Government will seek a confidence vote in Parliament for two draft laws, one concerning budget expenditure cuts, and the other regulating the new contribution-based pension system and reevaluating disability pensions, Prime Minister Emil Boc said Wednesday.

The draft laws will be submitted to Parliament after they are approved by the Economic and Social Economic Council. Boc announced the decision Wednesday, after talks with ruling coalition representatives.

According to Boc, the Government expenditure cuts will not cause salaries and pensions to drop below the minimum rates of 600 lei (EUR1=RON4.1724), and RON350, respectively. The minimum guarantee income will be lowered and granted only to people facing financial duress.

Leaders of Romania's centrist coalition of democrat liberals and the Hungarian minority party met Wednesday morning at the Government's headquarters to discuss the country's letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund, which the Government will adopt later in the day.

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