Romanian Senate Committees To Debate Teacher Pay Hike Delay Next Week

Cismaru said Emergency Ordinances have emergency procedure status in Parliament, and, after being published in the Official Gazette, the document will be distributed to the special Senate committees, namely the budget-finance and legal committees. The education committee will also analyze the document.

 

The democrat liberal Secretary of Senate said that, according to a likely schedule, senators in the special committees will try to issue a report and stance next week or the one after that, as on Monday, senators are working in the special committees and on Tuesday, the Parliament has a joint meeting to read the no-confidence motion submitted by the democrat liberals. In the remaining days, the lawmakers are in the country.

 

According to Cismaru, the vote on the document could most likely be cast on November 10, when the no-confidence motion is voted as well.

 

The Emergency Ordinance through which the Government decided Tuesday to postpone until April 2009 the application of the law increasing teacher salaries 50%, was published Friday in the Official Gazette.

 

The law boosting Romanian teacher salaries by 50% was published Tuesday afternoon in the Official Gazette, a short while after the Executive announced a Government Emergency Ordinance postponing the enforcement of the law until April 1, 2009.

 

The Romanian Chamber of Deputies unanimously enacted, late September, Government Ordinance no. 15 from January 30, 2008, regarding the salary increases to be granted in 2008 to education staff. The law mentioned a 50% increase in the salaries of teachers, and the Chamber’s vote was decisive in the matter.
 
Romanian president Traian Basescu promulgated the law last Friday. He said the law observes constitutionality criteria and he sees its promulgation as adequate.
 

Romanian Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu asked politicians and union leaders to understand that a 50% hike in teacher salaries will have a catastrophic effect on the economy, and added Romania cannot afford to apply such an irresponsible measure.