Universitatea Nicolae Titulescu FACULTATEA DE STIINTE SOCIALE SI ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIZAREA: RELATII INTERNATIONALE SI STUDII EUROPENE

The Trade Union of the Teachers Requires a 30% Raising Salary From the Ministry of Education

Student: Hopirtean Daniela Anul II, Grupa 3

Bucuresti, 2012

The Trade Union of the Teachers Requires a 30% Raising Salary From the Ministry of Education

After a long period of being tired of the working conditions and the low salaries, the Romanian teachers took action and at the beginning of this year, the trade union of the teachers required the Ministry of Education a 30% raising salary. Initially, there was a lack of interest from the Ministry of Education. They claimed that there is no chance that the teachers could get any raising salary, because there are no sufficient funds in their budget. The spokesman had a very short and precise speech, not saying whether there will ever be sufficient funds to increase salaries and not showing any kind of consideration for the teachers that work almost for free. When they saw that the Ministry of Education did not even try to solve their problem and refused them from the beginning, the teachers started to threaten with a national strike. The trade union of teachers issued a press release saying that if the teachers dont receive a 30% raising salary by September 13th, they will go on an indefinite national strike and the school year will not start on schedule. The time passed and on September 13th, given that the teachers have received no response from the Ministry of Education, more that 70% of the educational establishments in Romania were closed because of the national strike. At that moment, not only the teachers were outrageous, but the parents of the children who were supposed to begin school too. After one week of strike, the parents along with the teachers organized a manifestation in front of Romanian Government, requiring the beginning of the negotiations regarding a bigger salary for the teachers all over the country. When the Ministry of Education noticed that the situation is more serious than they thought, agreed to begin the negotiations regarding a raising salary with the trade union of the teachers, but only if the teachers would return to work immediately.

On Monday, the teachers went to work, the parents were glad that their children are back to school, but the teachers were concerned that their strike could have been in vain. And they had all the reasons to be concerned. At the beginning of the negotiations, the Ministry of Education announced that they have no possibility to give the teachers a raising salary more than 10%. The representatives of the trade union of the teachers tried to gain a bigger raise, or at least some explanations for the small raise that the Ministry of Education offered, but they didnt receive any conclusive answers. After that failed negotiation, the teachers started to threaten again with a strike. They claimed that they are tired of working for such a small salary and that a 10% raise will not change almost anything. That affirmation didnt change the position of the Ministry of Education and after 8 days the teachers went again on a national strike and this time they also threatened with the freezing the school year. The chaos has returned, only this time was more serious. A lot of manifestations took place all over the country during two weeks. The teachers were decided to stay at home until they get a bigger raise, 75% of the Romanian children have lost almost a month of the school year and the parents became more and more worried about that situation. When the problem got so serious, the Ministry of Education gave up. They recalled the representatives of the trade union of teachers to negotiate and this time they gave the teachers a 20% raising salary. Of course that the trade union of the teachers didnt accept that offer and after a long negotiating session a final offer has been made: a 25% raising salary. The trade union of the teachers accepted the terms of the Ministry of Education and the strike finally came to an end. The teachers were glad that they succeeded to receive a salary raise, they returned to school and of course, the school year continued with no problem at all.