Romanian Public Servants To Go On General Strike Indefinitely As Of Sept 27

Oprescu said some 34,000 public servants affiliated with SNFP would go on general strike indefinitely, as of September 27, demanding that their salaries go back to the level prior to the 25% public sector wage cut, layoff plans be scrapped and that they get legal protection. Public servants say there can be no rule of law unless the law protects them.

He also said the National Federation of Unions in Administration might also join the public servants' strike.

"If unions' protest actions can be correlated with union federations' actions, then, the general strike might take place earlier, on September 22, when an ample protest rally is organized in capital Bucharest, but public servants will no longer set up protest rallies, because they brought us nothing good", said Oprescu.

According to Oprescu, the general strike will hinder the activity in 350 public institutions in the central and local public administration, such as, the Financial Guard, the Labor Inspection, the Consumer Protection Authority, the National College for the Study of the Securitate Archives, or CNSAS, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Transport and the National Environment Guard.

Oprescu also said public servants' wages range from 600 lei (EUR1=RON4.2630) to RON700.

Over 20,000 unionists affiliated with Romanian union federation CNSLR-Fratia will take part in a rally in capital Bucharest Wednesday, September 22, in protest to public sector wage cuts and harsh austerity measures, union leader Marius Petcu said Monday.

He added the federation decided to hold the rally on the same day as the rally planned by healthcare unionists and has called on the country's other large union confederations to join the protest.

Unionists push for a minimum wage of at least RON750, demand that wage levels return to those in 2009, that layoff plans be scrapped and the Labor Code be kept in its current form.

Romania has slashed public wages by 25% as of July 1, to meet the conditions of a EUR20 billion IMF-led bailout loan it needs to navigate the recession. The Government has also pledged to fire over 70,000 public workers this year alone.

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