Romanian Govt To Find Money To Up Teacher’s Wages Further If Education Reform Is Achieved – PM

Boc said the government won’t forget the commitments it made during the election campaign. 

 

"We know what we promised in the election campaign and we won’t forget it. The educations sector has 6% of GDP and as far as reform in the sector, based on the national pact in education, is achieved, we might be able to find resources to give more money to the sector and increase teachers’ wages,” he said.

 

He added wage increase will first target teachers with very low incomes.

 

"The education minister was endorsed to carry out these talks, set performance criteria and we’ll honor our promises: money for reform,” the prime minister said.

 

The Romanian government put off by one month, to April instead of March, the first stage of wage increases in the education sector. The government adopted an emergency decree Thursday setting that one third of the 28% hike for teachers, decide by the former liberal government, would be granted as of April 1, instead of the initial date set for March 1.

 

The date for the year’s second wage hike was left unchanged and should be granted in the period September 1 – December 31, 2009.

 

In October, Romanian President Traian Basescu passed a law that stipulated teachers would get a 50% wage increase as of Oct 1, 2008. Four days later, the former liberal government decided to postpone the enforcement of that law until April 2009, citing the financial crisis and then passed a new decree stipulating teachers’ wages would be increased gradually by up to 28% and the highest increases would go to teachers with low incomes.

 

On the other hand, the country’s current center-left coalition government decided Thursday that wages in the public sector would be increased only by 5% this year, in two stages: 3% in April and 2% in October.