Romanian Union Leaders Invited For Talks With Govt Dialogue Group

Romanian Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu decided to form a dialogue group including the labor, economy, education, health and interior ministers, to carry out talks with union representatives regarding salaries.

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Interior minister Cristian David was appointed coordinator of the dialogue group, the Government informed.

The leaders of the representative union confederacies were invited to talks with the ministers appointed in the dialogue group, Friday, October 31, at 12:00 local time, at the headquarters of the Labor Ministry. Topics covered will include the current issues of contradiction between unions and authorities.

The president of Romanian union confederation Cartel Alfa, Bogdan Hossu, said Thursday the members of the confederation will not turn to protests for the time being, as the solution lies in constructive dialogue and not street action, but he feels the law hiking teacher salaries must be applied.

Hossu added, at the end of the confederation committee reunion, attended by the leaders of Cartel Alfa affiliated unions nation wide, that the law hiking teacher salaries needs to be applied and, in addition, it needs to constitute the basis for the immediate development of a single salary law for the public sector.

"Constructive dialogue, not street action, is the only solution. If the law isn’t applied, there will be protests. If the law is applied and a unitary law is developed, there won’t be any protests," Hossu said.

Cartel Alfa unionists request a legislative frame by January 1, which would mention the salary increases for other public sector employees as well. In addition, they want this hike to be differentiated, namely more for those with low wages and less for those public sector employees with wages higher than RON3,500-4,000.

Hossu said for health and public servants, for example, salaries should be increased by an average 25% and only several percentage points should be added to those employees with higher wages.

"We will write a letter to Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu with the conclusions of the confederation reunion conclusions, and we will also request that the emergency ordinance proposed by the Government be cancelled," Hossu said.

The Cartel Alfa leader added the Government set a deadline too distant for the application of the law, as the next Government could decide to postpone the application of the law in such a manner, and not over such a long period of time, and apply the law starting February 1.

The leaders of the federations affiliated to Cartel Alfa met Thursday within a committee, to decide on the correlation of actions initiated by all federations and to find a solution that would please all members, as the 50% increase in teacher salaries is seen as unrealistic.

The leaders of the four Romanian education federations started talks Thursday with education minister Anton Anton. The unionists said the law hiking teacher salaries by 50% will not be negotiated.

The executive office of the National Union Bloc (BNS) decided the organization will only join the other unionists only if they reach common ground regarding the salary hike requests and they feel a 50% increase in the salaries of all public sector employees, regardless of their current income, will create large discrepancies.

BNS president Dumitru Costin announced Thursday the organization will only join protests if the other unionists reach common ground, otherwise they will only represent the employees affiliated to this confederation.

Dumitru Costin said he does not support a 50% increase in salaries for all public sector employees. In his opinion, it is "immoral" to ask for a 50% increase in the public sector, for all people, with salaries high and low alike.

CNSLR Fratia set, Wednesday, an agenda of successive actions, "for gradual pressure on the Government," as all employees affiliated to this confederation will ultimately go on strike together on November 20, demanding a 50% increase in salaries.

The Federation of Free Unions in Education (FSLI) decided, Thursday, to call a warning stroke on November 10, while a general strike would be started indefinitely on November 18.

At the same time, unionists within the "Spiru Haret" federation will go on a warning strike on November 3, without setting a date for the general strike.

Sed Lex unionists announced that starting with November 13 they will go on general strike, while on November 20, in parallel with the Sanitas protests, all CNSLR Fratia affiliated employees will go on general strike.

The Government decided, Tuesday, through an Emergency Ordinance, that the deadline for the application of the law hiking teacher salaries by 50% will be pushed back until April 1, 2009.

The "Spiru Haret" federation asked the Parliament to reunite in an emergency session and reject the Emergency Ordinance approved by the Government.

Prime Minister Tariceanu said Tuesday that the Government would identify other solutions to block the 50% salary hike if the Parliament rejects the Emergency Ordinance.

The law increasing the salaries received by education staff in 2008 was published Tuesday in the Official Gazette, a short while after the Government announced the enactment of the Emergency Ordinance pushing the law application date back to April 1.

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