Romania's Government postponed the 50 percent salary hike for teachers until April 1 2009
Date: 29-10-2008The government passed an emergency ordinance to postpone the 50 percent salary hike for teachers until April 1 2009, in expectancy of a law that regulates wages in the public sector. The budget draft discussed last week projected expenses amounting to 40.8 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and revenues of 38.8 percent of GDP. he data are calculated for an estimated GDP of 578.5 billion lei in 2009 and an economic advance of 6 percent. The government planned to allocate 6 percent of GDP (34.6 billion lei) to education, 3.9 percent of GDP (22.9 billion lei) to health care, 3 percent (17.3 billion lei) to agriculture, 4.5 percent (26.4 billion lei) to transportation, 1.3 percent (7.3 billion lei) to public services and housing and 11.4 percent (65.7 billion lei) to social security.
PM :The future Government will handle the 50% wage growth for teachers more responsibly
"I took a decision today that will enable Romania to walk on the path of economic growth", said Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu after the Government's session on Tuesday, in which the Government adopted an emergency ordinance postponing the 50% wage growth for teachers until April 1, 2009.
Tariceanu's statements, in brief:
- The decision is important because the law may have modified Romania's trajectory from economic growth to economic crisis;
- Those who promote such populist measures imagine that they will win votes this way. I took a chance for some votes less, but I can not act irresponsibly;
- I don't want to see Romania heading for economic crisis, inflation, weakening of the national currency;
- I will produce evidence that salaries increased only to keep up with the inflation until 2005. The real growth came only after 2005. I don’t want us to return to before 2005;
- Not the Parliament, when it adopted the 50% raise law, nor the president, when he promulgated it, pointed at financing resources. They only said that there is enough money, but they had no idea;
- Numerous investments should have been dropped to support the law. The Romanian education system needs investments and modernization. We can not take the money from the investments budget and spend it for salaries. Education means also investments, not only salaries, as (former Education Minister, our note) Ecaterina Andronescu seems to believe;
- The impact of this law is proven by the fact that the national currency fell and the Stock Exchange suspended its transactions immediately after the law was promulgated;
- I am not against raises, but they must be made in steps. The 9% wage growth for teachers comes into force on October 1, the next raise will be on January 1;
- There will be raises, but proportional to the performance and the reform of the education system.
- The future Government will handle the matter more responsibly, since it will lack the electoral pressure we feel today.
Romanian PM: Recent Wage Hikes To Be Annihilated By Inflation, Leu Depreciation
Romanian Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu said Tuesday that wage hikes will be “annihilated” by a rise in inflation and a depreciation of the national currency, leading to a major economic crisis.
"I warn that these increases will be immediately annihilated by a return of inflation on upward trend and by the depreciation of the Romanian currency. In other words, what is given today will disappear in a few months and we risk slipping into a major economic crisis,” Tariceanu said.The Prime Minister reiterated that he would continue to stand against the wage hikes, which are not sustainable from the point of view of the economy.“I stress out that as I long as I am head of the government, I will not accept such measures that can destroy everything that has been built over the last ten years," Tariceanu said.Romanian President Traian Basescu on Friday passed a law increasing teachers’ wages by 50%, despite the government’s warning that the move would jeopardize economic stability.
