Labor unions anticipate layoffs and salary cuts to comply with new budget revision, plan protests

The National Union of Public Clerks (SNFP) also plan to protest at a national level after the government announced it will prolong by year-end the decision to freeze salaries in the budgetary system.

“Education inspectorates will have to employ less. Moreover, we have information that local authorities throughout the country are already talking about cutting salaries by slashing bonuses established by law,” declared for NewsIn Theodor Fartolea, executive head of the National Education Federation (FEN), who added that teachers will most probably block the upcoming national exams in protest. 

Head of Spiru Haret union Marius Nistor also thinks there are big chances that the teachers will boycott the exams. 

“It appears that the last months of the year are short on funds, which can only mean personnel cuts or salary decreases by slashing bonuses,” said Nistor.  

According to a note sent by the Education Ministry yesterday to education inspectorates, the institutions have until April 30 to announce measures taken to fit personnel expenses into the spendings framework approved for 2009. 

The salary fund was slashed by 800 million lei after the budget revision. According to the note, some 2.7 million lei were spent with salaries in the first three months of 2009, leaving only 7 million lei available for the rest of the year. 

The government approved on April 11 an emergency ordinance on bonuses in the budgetary system, which caps most bonus categories. However, the base salaries will remained unmodified at least until 2010, according to representatives of the executive. 

Education Minister Ecaterina Andronescu has repeatedly declared that reducing the salary budget will not result in any layoffs and will not affect salaries. Moreover, she stressed that the personnel need will be covered accordingly. 

Prime minister Emil Boc declared yesterday the base salaries of people working for the state will not be altered in any way by the budget revision, as a reaction to the note sent by the Education Ministry urging for spending cuts.

The same assurance was given by Finance Minister Gheorghe Pogea for Realitatea TV, who stated he did not know anything about the note, which was an internal decision of the Education Ministry. 

The draft emergency ordinance on budget revision was adopted yesterday by the reunited Parliament with 181 votes in favor, 88 against and no abstention, after all amendments supported by the opposition parties were rejected. 

The budget deficit was raised from 2 percent to 4.6 percent of the GDP following the budget revision as incomes to the public budget represent 32.9 percent of the GDP and expenses 37.5 percent. 

The GDP for 2009 was changed downwards from 579 billion lei to 531.25 billion lei. The government is currently taking into consideration a 4 percent decrease of the economy versus a 2.5 percent increase in the budget voted by the Parliament. 

Romania clinched a deal with the IMF, the EC, the World Bank and other financial institutions over a 20 billion external loan to help restart engines behind the economy.

However, both the IMF and the EC condition granting the money by adopting certain fiscal and salary policies, after the budget deficit widened above 5 percent of the gross domestic product last year.