Strike Wave Threatens Romania Ahead of Polls

Romanian government is to face protests over better salaries | Photo: ziarulcluj.ro

Some 12,000 Romanian health professionals plan to stage a warning strike next week, demanding higher pay, better conditions and more investment in the cash-starved healthcare system.

The protest, scheduled to last two hours on Wednesday, is to be followed by an all-out strike on October 31 if the government fails to address their requests.

Doctors and nurses, but also people from the administrative and technical staff, want a unitary pay system in the healthcare system and bonuses calculated on the basis of their current wages, among other things. They also want working hours improved by reducing staff shortages.

“Romania’s sanitary system still allows discrepancies in pay, mainly among the lowest-paid workers. We are asking the government to correct all these aspects,” trade union leader Ion Cotojman said.

Labour Minister Dragos Pislaru this week admitted that the situation in the healthcare system was difficult and said the government wished to find solutions to staff demands. “The budgetary balance is fragile, and any attempt to solve financial issues is possible only according to the resources,” Pislaru warned.

Romania’s technocratic government is also facing pressure from other public-sector workers. City hall and county council employees also plan a strike on October 31, for an indefinite period, according to trade unions.

The National Federation of Unions in the Public Administration, FNSA, wants compensatory measures to reduce wage disparities between employees who work in local administration and other state employees.

Protests have also been announced by staff in the prison system, with trade unions seeking better salaries and work conditions.

The growing union pressure on the government comes at a tricky moment, as Romania prepares for parliamentary elections.

“The union claims will get no solution. The government has no more money for extra spending and, besides, there is not enough time to solve their requests,” journalist Iulian Anghel said.

“Only some political parties will benefit from the scheduled protests, as they will emphasise the public discontent to increase their chances in the elections,” Anghel added.

Romania’s technocratic government, led by Dacian Ciolos, a mixture of experts, diplomats and civil society activists, was formed in November 2015 after Victor Ponta’s Social Democrat-led government collapsed. He stepped down following mass protests after a nightclub fire killed 63 young people.

Ciolos’s administration is set to run the country until elections on December 11.

Opinion polls say the Social Democrats are most likely to do best in the elections but will need to form alliances with smaller parties in order to form a government.