Romanian Unionists Rally Outside Parliament HQ

Members of the "Cartel Alfa" Confederation, the National Union Bloc, the Free Unions' Confederation and the Meridian Union Confederation are protesting in front of the five entrances to the Parliament building.

The rally started at 1 p.m. and is set to last for five hours. Union leaders said they expect about 3,000 people to join the demonstration.

The protesters seek to block access to the building, as Prime Minister Emil Boc is expected to arrive there later Monday and present lawmakers with the draft laws the Cabinet plans to pass into legislation bypassing parliamentary procedure.

According to union representatives, rallies outside the Parliament are set to continue on Tuesday and Wednesday, with some 1,500-2,000 protesters in attendance each day. Protests will be held countrywide Thursday through Saturday, as unionists intend to picket local lawmakers' offices and party headquarters.

The unionists will hold a rally of 20,000 outside Parliament on June 15, the day lawmakers hold a vote on the opposition's no-confidence motion against the Government. On that day, the protesters plan to form a human chain around the building and stage a full-blown strike in all fields of the public sector.

The Romanian Government has devised an austerity plan made up of two laws, which stipulate a 25% cut of public sector wages and a 15% pension cut.

Romania's opposition social democrats will submit a no-confidence motion against the current Cabinet, for which they have also enlisted the liberals' support.

At present, the number of social democrats and liberals in Parliament warrant 212 votes in favor of the no-confidence motion. In order to pass, the motion requires 24 more votes "for", which could be elicited from the Parliament representatives of the ruling coalition or from independent lawmakers.

The Romanian Constitution states that if the Government withstands the vote on the no-confidence motion, the draft laws it has submitted are automatically approved and the Cabinet must assume full responsibility for enforcing them.

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