Romanian Govt To Cap Education Sector Wage Hikes

After the Government's meeting on Thursday, Boc announced that the bill has been sent for review to the Economic and Social Council.

The prime minister said that, because of inconsistent judicial practices, some teachers are entitled to a 50% raise, others to a lower raise, so uniform regulation of this system is needed.

People close to the matter told MEDIAFAX the Government is considering adopting the bill by seeking a confidence vote in Parliament, because these salary rights may not be changed through an emergency ordinance.

In late 2008, the Tariceanu Government issued an emergency ordinance, which postponed the application of a law increasing salaries in the education sector by 50%, and provided a 17% raise. The ordinance was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court, which argued that postponing the raise affects the teachers' fundamental rights.

Teacher unions have won hundreds of suits against the state for their raises.

Earlier Thursday, during talks with the unions, Education Minister Daniel Funeriu proposed a bill whereby the teachers who have won higher salaries in court would receive the same wages as other teachers.

Union leader Liviu Pop said such a bill would be illegal and unconstitutional, and be contested in court.

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