Romanian Public Sector Unionists To Protest Countrywide Wednesday Over Layoffs, Wage Cuts

Cartel Alfa head Bogdan Hossu on Monday said unionists’ protests target the draft public pension law and the unitary salary law, which are meant to reduce pensions, salaries and cut jobs.

Hossu has recently said unionists will picket prefects’ offices across the country between March 1 and March 15 and plan a rally in capital city Bucharest in the second half of April, followed by a full-blown strike in May.

The Government this year has passed several normative acts cutting jobs in the public sector, freezing wages and eliminating wage bonuses in a move to cut public spending and keep the budget deficit in check.

Romania was deeply affected by the ongoing economic downturn and relies on a EUR20 billion loan package from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the European Union. To continue getting the loan money, the country needs to keep public spending in check and trim its overstaffed public sector.