Romanian Public Administration Employees Cease Work For Two Hours Tuesday Morning

Public administration employees countrywide went on a two-hour warning strike Tuesday morning and the protests will continue with an indefinite full-blow strike planned to start on February 12 if the Government turns a blind eye on the public administration unionists' requests to increase small salaries and give up layoff plans.

The National Federation of Unions in Administration (FNSA) president, Romel Neagu, told a news conference Monday that 44,000 unionists agreed to start protests over small wages and layoffs in the public sector.

Neagu said the conflict was propelled by wage reductions, planned layoffs and the repeated breaches of the constitutional principles regarding collective negotiations and local authorities' right to manage their own financial resources.

The union leader said that, in the current context, the FNSA unionists would go on a two-hour warning strike on Tuesday, picket the Labor and Interior Ministries on February 9 and go on an indefinite general strike on February 12, adding public sector unionists were disgruntled with the government's plan to slash jobs in the public sector, freeze wages and eliminate bonuses.

Neagu said another demand of the public sector employees was to recognize local authorities the right to grant bonuses from their own financial resources to attract and motivate employees.

Unionists also demand that Order 32/42 of the labor and finance ministers subordinating local authorities to a structure of the central administration be cancelled.

Romanian authorities plan to cut up to 100,000 jobs in the country's overstaffed public sector.

If you liked this story, please follow MEDIAFAX.RO on FACEBOOK »

The content of mediafax.ro is for your information only. Republishing or using this content is forbidden without express consent of MEDIAFAX. For this consent, please ask for it by mail at vanzari@mediafax.ro.