site.btaTeachers in Romania Suspend Protest Over Pay

After four weeks of protests, teachers in Romania suspended their strike over pay on Monday. Classes will resume on Tuesday. The decision was taken following consultations with the leaders of the Spiru Haret Federation of Trade Unions in Education and the Federation of Free Trade Unions in Education, the organizations said in a press release on Monday.

Later on Monday, the Romanian government approved emergency ordnances regarding wage increases in education and bonuses for teachers, Romanian Education Minister Ligia Deca said after a cabinet meeting. "The first ordinance is regarding wage increases. The adopted mechanism provides higher increases for beginning teachers. The second ordinance is regarding guarantees to be laid down in law that the starting salary in education will be equal to the average gross salary in the economy sector," Deca explained.

Romania will allocate some RON 2.1 billion (approximately BGN 830 million) in state funds for education.

Romanian teachers held protests across their country since May 22. Some 150,000 education workers joined the demonstrations. On its very first day, the strike in Romania caused chaos in educational institutions and risked postponing the national external assessment exams and ruining the end of the school year. Thousands of education workers staged protests in Bucharest and other major cities across the country several times to voice their dissatisfaction with low salaries in the sector.