Radio România Internațional

Tag: teachers’ strike

  • June 11, 2023 UPDATE

    June 11, 2023 UPDATE

    STRIKE – Education trade union
    representatives on Sunday met with government officials for a new round of
    talks. The government made a new offer designed to end the strike in this
    sector, offering a 25% salary increase starting June 1, and an additional 50%
    increase in line with the salary grid starting January 1, 2024. €300 annual
    bonuses will be awarded to teaching and auxiliary staff and €100 to non-teaching
    staff until 2027. Teachers announced they will end the strike only when they
    receive written guarantees the measures will be implemented. According to Prime
    Minister Nicolae Ciucă, the government has submitted to public debate a draft
    decree in this respect, and teachers must announce their decision on Monday
    morning. Then, the government will convene again to adopt the emergency decree.
    Meanwhile, the government adopted the emergency decree on the changes announced
    by the Education Ministry regarding this year’s final exams. According to line
    minister Ligia Deca, the written exams of the final evaluation exam for 8th
    graders and the Baccalaureate exam will unfold as scheduled, without delay. The
    special skills tests of the Baccalaureate exam have been cancelled and will
    instead be equated to the average grades in the respective subjects for the
    whole high school cycle. Final tests for 6th graders have also been
    cancelled. Ligia Deca says the measures reflect the Education Ministry’s
    efforts to finalize procedures at the end of the school year in the wake of the
    teachers’ strike.


    ROTATION – Leaders of the PNL, PSD and
    UDMR in the ruling coalition are expected to make a decision regarding the
    rotation of Prime Ministers. Parliament could thus cast its vote on the new
    government structure next week. According to political sources, the Liberals
    and Social-Democrats had informal meetings this weekend to discuss the
    rotation. The Cabinet swap was supposed to take place on May 26, but was
    postponed in light of the teachers’ strike. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă is
    expected to tender his resignation, while PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu will
    replace him. On Sunday, the latter said that PSD wants UDMR to remain a part of
    the ruling coalition. We recall the current rotation system was agreed in the
    protocol signed at the end of 2021, stipulating that PNL and PSD each head the
    Cabinet for one and a half year terms in office.


    RACE – A new edition of Race for the Cure Romania, a traditional
    fund-raising event, was held on Sunday in Bucharest. Organized by Renașterea
    (Rebirth) Foundation, the race entails 1 to 5km walks or races. This year’s
    edition allowed inhabitants of other cities in Romania or the Diaspora to
    support the initiative and donate for preventing and combating breast and
    cervical cancer via the European platform www.raceforthecure.eu. 3,100 women
    from Romania will benefit from funds raised in the event. According to Global
    Cancer Observatory, in 2020 over 12,000 new cases of breast cancer and 3,400
    new cases of cervical cancer were reported in Romania. Statistics also show
    that over 22,000 women die to cancer every year in Romania, while 1 in 4 women
    die to breast and cervical cancer, making Romania the country with the highest
    premature mortality rates for these diseases in Europe.


    TIFF – The Transylvania International Film Festival continues in
    Cluj-Napoca until June 18. On the first two days of the event, the public got
    to meet with Timothy Spall, the actor who plays Wormtail in the Harry Potter
    series and who received the lifetime award at TIFF. Timothy Spall also features
    in the 2023-released Northern Comfort,
    also premiered at TIFF. On Saturday, the Swedish artist Jay-Jay Johanson gave a
    concert, and his show was followed by the screening of And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine, a documentary produced
    by Axel Danielson & Maximilien van Aertryck. Also last weekend, the
    festival opened its film sections and activities addressing children and
    teenagers. Next week, Australian actor Geoffrey Rush, American film director
    Oliver Stone, Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco and Serbian actor Darko Perić are
    expected to arrive in Cluj. Romanian film director Cristi Puiu and actress Anamaria
    Marinca also return to TIFF, along with hundreds of other Romanian film
    professionals. A total of 200 films from 45 countries, 380 screenings and over
    1,000 celebrity guests await visitors and spectators in Cluj in this year’s
    edition of TIFF. (VP)

  • June 11, 2023

    June 11, 2023

    STRIKE – Education trade union
    representatives on Sunday met with government officials for a new round of
    talks. The government made a new offer designed to end the strike in this
    sector, offering a 25% salary increase starting June 1, a €300 annual bonus for
    teaching and auxiliary staff and €100 for non-teaching staff until 2027.
    Teachers announced they will end the strike only when they receive written
    guarantees the measures will be implemented. According to Prime Minister
    Nicolae Ciucă, the government has submitted to public debate a draft decree in
    this respect, and teachers must announce their decision on Monday morning.
    Then, the government will convene again to adopt the emergency decree.
    Meanwhile, the government adopted the emergency decree on the changes announced
    by the Education Ministry regarding this year’s final exams. According to line
    minister Ligia Deca, the written exams of the final evaluation exam for 8th
    graders and the Baccalaureate exam will unfold as scheduled, without delay. The
    special skills tests of the Baccalaureate exam have been cancelled and will
    instead be equated to the average grades in the respective subjects for the
    whole high school cycle. Final tests for 6th graders have also been
    cancelled. Ligia Deca says the measures reflect the Education Ministry’s
    efforts to finalize procedures at the end of the school year in the wake of the
    teachers’ strike.


    ROTATION – Leaders of the PNL, PSD and
    UDMR in the ruling coalition are expected to make a decision regarding the
    rotation of Prime Ministers. Parliament could thus cast its vote on the new
    government structure next week. According to political sources, the Liberals
    and Social-Democrats had informal meetings this weekend to discuss the
    rotation. The Cabinet swap was supposed to take place on May 26, but was
    postponed in light of the teachers’ strike. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă is
    expected to tender his resignation, while PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu will
    replace him. We recall the current rotation system was agreed in the protocol
    signed at the end of 2021, stipulating that PNL and PSD each head the Cabinet
    for one and a half year terms in office.


    RACE – A new edition of Race for the Cure Romania, a traditional
    fund-raising event, was held on Sunday in Bucharest. Organized by Renașterea
    (Rebirth) Foundation, the race entails 1 to 5km walks or races. This year’s
    edition allowed inhabitants of other cities in Romania or the Diaspora to
    support the initiative and donate for preventing and combating breast and
    cervical cancer via the European platform www.raceforthecure.eu . According to
    Global Cancer Observatory, in 2020 over 12,000 new cases of breast cancer and
    3,400 new cases of cervical cancer were reported in Romania. Statistics also
    show that over 22,000 women die to cancer every year in Romania, while 1 in 4
    women die to breast and cervical cancer, making Romania the country with the
    highest premature mortality rates for these diseases in Europe.


    TIFF – The Transylvania International Film Festival continues in
    Cluj-Napoca until June 18. On the first two days of the event, the public got
    to meet with Timothy Spall, the actor who plays Wormtail in the Harry Potter
    series and who received the lifetime award at TIFF. Timothy Spall also features
    in the 2023-released Northern Comfort,
    also premiered at TIFF. On Saturday, the Swedish artist Jay-Jay Johanson gave a
    concert, and his show was followed by the screening of And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine, a documentary produced
    by Axel Danielson & Maximilien van Aertryck. Also last weekend, the
    festival opened its film sections and activities addressing children and
    teenagers. Next week, Australian actor Geoffrey Rush, American film director
    Oliver Stone, Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco and Serbian actor Darko Perić are
    expected to arrive in Cluj. Romanian film director Cristi Puiu and actress Anamaria
    Marinca also return to TIFF, along with hundreds of other Romanian film
    professionals. A total of 200 films from 45 countries, 380 screenings and over
    1,000 celebrity guests await visitors and spectators in Cluj in this year’s
    edition of TIFF. (VP)

  • June 6, 2023 UPDATE

    June 6, 2023 UPDATE

    STRIKE – The teachers’ strike has entered its
    third week, while national evaluation exams and the baccalaureate are due to
    begin, involving 325,000 8th and 12th year graduates. The
    government says it has met all of the protesters’ demands, while the latter’s
    trade unions say the government’s latest offer does not meet their
    expectations. Education minister Ligia Deca has called on teachers to return to
    classrooms and explained that following the pay rise offered by the government,
    the average salary in education would reach a gross sum of 1,700 euros. The
    representatives of the education ministry, pupils, parents and trade unions met
    on Tuesday to find solutions with regard to holding exams at the scheduled
    dates. Education Minister Ligia Deca says there are no plans yet for
    rescheduling exams or extending the school year.


    B9 – The leaders of Bucharest 9 countries met
    in Bratislava and issued a joint statement expressing their support for
    Ukraine’s NATO accession, once circumstances allow it. Ukraine is an
    integral part of the Euro-Atlantic community and its security is intertwined
    with that of the Allies. We strongly support Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic
    aspirations and reiterate the Bucharest 2008 decision that Ukraine will become
    a member of NATO, the document signed by the leaders of Bulgaria, the Czech
    Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary
    reads. The shared vision of B9 states is key to ensuring security on NATO’s
    eastern flank, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis said. The Romanian official
    also called for consolidating support for NATO’s vulnerable partners, in
    particular the Republic of Moldova, with a view to consolidating this country’s
    defense capabilities. Klaus Iohannis presided the meeting alongside the
    presidents of Slovakia and Poland, Zuzana Čaputová and Andrzej Duda,
    respectively. Also attending the meeting in Bratislava was NATO Secretary General
    Jens Stoltenberg.


    EXPLOSION – The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam
    is another war crime Russia has committed against innocent civilians,
    president Klaus Iohannis tweeted shortly after the explosion. Russia and
    Russian aggressors must be held accountable. Our thoughts go out to all those
    affected by this terrible attack, the Romanian president added. Earlier, NATO
    Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed outrage at the attack, which, he
    argues, proves once again the brutality of Russia’s war. The Ukrainian army
    accused Russia of blowing up the dam at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant,
    located some 150 km from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Still, the
    Russian crew in charge of the NPP stated the partial destruction of the dam,
    which served in cooling the station, poses no threat to the installation for
    the time being. We recall the dam had been occupied by the Russians at the
    start of their invasion of Ukraine. Built on the Dnieper in 1956, the dam is
    one of the largest of its kind in Ukraine.


    EXERCISE – 5,000 Romanian and 2,700 American military,
    as well as 2,300 servicemen and officers from other allied and partner nations
    are taking part in the biggest NATO exercise in Romania, in the Black Sea
    region, entitled Saber Guardian 23. The exercise is meant to ensure better
    collaboration between the troops in the event of rapid intervention missions.
    Exercises include wet gap crossings of the Danube river, parachute jumps and
    drills specific to infantry and artillery attacks. This exercise is more
    important than ever. The changes the Russian aggression in Ukraine has brought
    to the security framework confirm the fact that the Black Sea is now critical
    to Europe’s security. The strategic importance of the Black Sea has increased
    exponentially, Romania’s Defense Minister Angel Tîlvăr says. The Saber
    Guardian exercise is part of the Defender Europe 23, a U.S. European Command directed
    multinational exercise. (CM & VP)