Romanian PM, Education Min Say Country Can’t Afford Wage Hikes For Teachers

Boc said a 50% raise can't be given to teachers or any other category of public sector employees, adding the effects of economic recovery will only be felt at the end of this year and throughout 2012.

Also Saturday, Education Minister Daniel Funeriu said teachers are underpaid but the country cannot afford raises, because it would cost the state budget an extra 2 billion lei (EUR1=RON4.1146) annually.

Boc said recently the salary rights won by teachers in court will be paid in installments starting 2012. The value and payment schedule will be determined once all court rulings are tallied.

Romania's High Court of Justice recently upheld an appeal filed by the prosecutor general concerning Law 221/2008 on increasing wages in the education sector, so teachers will be paid the difference between salary rights set by the law and the real wages they received until December 31, 2009.

The Government drew up a bill, for which it plans to seek a confidence vote in Parliament, freezing teachers' salaries this year and capping them at the level in January. According to the bill, granting new salary rights through collective or individual work contracts is forbidden and breaching this norm will represent a criminal offence.

Finance Ministry state secretary Gheorghe Gherghina said last week increasing teachers' salaries according to court decisions might entail sacking about 100,000 public sector employees in order to keep the public sector salary fund unchanged without hiking taxes.

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