Romanian PM Says Teachers To Get Raises Of Just 17%

Boc also said salary rights teachers have won in court will be scheduled for payment.

"I want teachers to understand we need to be realistic and look at the economy: this is all Romania can afford to pay. The Government can't afford to take a step back from economic stability," Boc told the country's prefects in a videoconference Saturday.

He said social unrest is due to the fact that courts continue to give rulings in favor of teachers claiming raises of 50% although the Government accepted a hike of just 17% in 2008 and has repealed laws that entitled teachers to bigger raises.

In October 2008, the Romanian Parliament enacted law 221/2008, promulgated by President Traian Basescu, which provided for a 50% increase in teachers' salaries. During the parliamentary elections that followed, firm promises were made that the law would be observed but, due to the economic crisis, these promises were compromised.

After one year of non-application, the government drafted a national education law, which it adopted without any parliamentary debate in September 2009.

Nevertheless, the Constitutional Court declared the law as unconstitutional on the grounds that education as a whole may only be regulated by an organic law, "which requires the participation of all social segments concerned, including civil society".

The country's revised education law is expected to enter Parliament debates next week.

Unions in the country's education system said Thursday after talks with Government officials that they will continue protests and will go as far as triggering a full-blown strike because the Government keeps treating the education system with "arrogance and spite" instead of working to find solutions.

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