Protests in Victory Square by foresters, railroad workers and reservists

There are protests Thursday noon in Victory Square. Several hundred foresters and railway workers took to the streets, RRA reporter Diana Surdu transmits. The reservists also came again in front of the Government, with the same demands related to the inequalities in the military pension system.

-: I took to the streets again. I am the president of the League for the Defense of Military Pensioners' Rights. We had another agreement with the Government, with Prime Minister Ciolacu, who guaranteed to solve the inequalities of the military reservists, but he lied to us, tricked us and used us. He didn't keep his promise to give us the government ordinance to adjust our rank pay and pay for our function.

-: For 16 years, we reservists have been the guinea pigs. And if there was a pension law, it was gutted down to an emergency ordinance before it went into effect, and since then, year after year, they've been cutting something every year.
Reporter: Rail transportation unionists have a longer list of demands and warn that they could go into general strike even during the summer season.

-: First of all, we ask for the approval of the CFR Calatori's income and expenditure budget. Without an income and expenditure budget, there can be no investments, no repairs. The collective labor contract can be negotiated, so from July 1, we will be without a collective labor contract, and then it is possible to start a labor conflict and a general strike.

The foresters who came to Victory Square are also unhappy with the reorganization project of RomSilva proposed by the Minister of the Environment and are asking the government not to go ahead with this plan.

Translated by: Radu Matei