General strikes in schools in Botoşani and Suceava

Several schools in north-east of the country have suspended their activities. Teachers complain for not receiving their salaries for the month of February and refuse to receive the payment in monthly installments.

In dozens of schools in the north of the country, classes are being suspended for a few days, as teachers decided to continue with the protests in order to show discontent for not receiving their bonuses awarded by final court decision, or for not receiving their salaries on time, or due to the fact that the funds allocated for their salaries have been exhausted.

According to Radio România correspondents in Suceava and Botoşani, local authorities have alerted the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance with regards to this issue, but no solutions have yet been found.

Teachers in Botoşani rejected the idea of receiving their salaries in monthly instalments, as proposed by authorities.

Only 16 school units announced the suspension of their activity before the Country School Inspectorate on Thursday, but spontaneous protests occurred in 22 schools, kindergartens and high schools in the two counties.

Trade unionists say that the number of unsatisfied teachers is continuously growing, complaints have also been registered in rural areas and even more schools are expected to join the protests.

School Inspectorate is working on finding solutions to stabilise the situation.

‘Our hands are tied, we are not entitled to make decisions, the Ministry of Finance should provide a solution’, Deputy Inspector General of Botoşani county School Inspectorate Daniel Botezatu mentioned.

Pupils are collateral victims of these events, especially those who graduate this year, as they will have to do revisions on their own.

‘We indicate that pupils should make up lost class time during school hours, therefore, they will not have to attend classes on Saturdays or Sundays’, Daniel Botezatu stated.

Teachers protest in Fălticeni as well

After Wednesday’s protests, when teachers from 50 schools in Suceava affiliated with the ‘Spiru Haret’ trade union have suspended their activities, teachers in other schools have joined the initiative.

Teachers from the Technical College ‘Mihai Băcescu’ in Fălticeni, have already informed the pupils not to come to school next Thursday, as they are on strike.

‘We have forecasted on Wednesday a general strike for the following day, because we have only received 40 percent of our wages, since there are not sufficient funds for this month’s salaries. As a consequence, we resorted to strike in order to recover the missing 60 percent.

‘We are confident that local authorities will support us, so our claims can reach the ears of the ones entitled to allocate the funds for our salaries’, teacher Viorica Ioniţe confessed.

The total amount needed in order to cover teachers’ salaries in Fălticeni alone is up to 50 billion ROL.

Translated by: Mihaela Grigoraş

MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University