Romanians Continue Protests, Call On President And Govt To Resign Over Austerity Plan

About 300 other unionists are picketing the Government headquarters.

Protesters have brought banners with messages like "Resignation", "You lied, you need to go", and one displaying a photo of Prime Minister Emil Boc that reads "Incompetence has a human face".

Romanian authorities announced drastic spending cuts and plan to fire 70,000 public workers this year. Romania is also set to slash public sector wages by 25% and pensions and social benefits by 15%. Meanwhile, although the flat tax and VAT remain unchanged, the Government is working on legislation to tax food vouchers, capital gains and increase property taxes.

Unionists announced they will resort to Greek-style protests over the cuts.

Over 1,000 Romanian pensioners picketed the Presidential Palace in Bucharest Wednesday and called on the president to resign over highly unpopular austerity measures he announced last week. Retirees also staged protests in other major Romanian cities.

Education sector unionists started protests on Monday and will picket the Parliament's headquarters until May 20. Teachers have announced they will go on full-blown strike indefinitely as of May 31. Healthcare workers have said they might join teachers in their full-blown strike.

An ample rally is scheduled to take place in Bucharest next Wednesday, where 40,000 people are expected to attend.

Recession-hit Romania, which is relying on a EUR20 billion IMF-led loan, has pledged drastic public spending cuts to rein in its deficit this year at 6.8% and restart its economy, which continued to contract in the first quarter, according to a flash estimate released by its statistics institute recently.

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