Employees in almost all prefectures in Romania are on strike
Employees in almost all prefectures in Romania are on general strike. In some counties all activities have been stopped, while in others only some services have been suspended. The protesters are blaming the lack of pay rises in recent years, the increasing workload and the reduced number of employees. „We are in consensus 35 prefectures in the country. We are asking to be positioned both as a civil servant status and as a salary level that corresponds to the requirements of an institution that represents the government in the territory. Unfortunately, after the single salary law was adopted, salaries in the prefect’s institution have increased only in the first year, after which we have been bypassed every time,” said one protester. „Since 2017, the salaries of the institutions around us have steadily increased. We have ended up in the embarrassing situation as a control body, yet we are paid worse than the institutions we control,” another civil servant pointed out.
Romanian government seeks solutions to reduce state budget spending
Romania’s ruling coalition leaders are looking for ways to swiftly cut spending from the state budget. The Romanian Finance Ministry is expected to present an analysis of measures needed to be taken in order to reduce by 20 billion lei (4.057 billion euro) the spending by ministries and other institutions. The president of the Chamber of Deputies, PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu, recently announced a reform in the management of public funds, and Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said that funds should be spent more wisely in the budget sector. However, there will be no cuts in salaries or other revenues, nor will public investment be affected, Prime Minister Ciucă stressed. In his opinion, the system of bonuses should be abolished and those already earned should be included in the salary. Marcel Ciolacu also said that the coalition leaders are determined to complete the process of digitisation of National Agensy of Fiscal Administration (ANAF), which has been talked about for too long without visible results. The coalition could also discuss the issue of merging the 2024 elections in the near future, after the Liberals announced that they were considering this option at party level. Four rounds of elections are scheduled for next year, and that means big spending from the budget. The PNL proposal will be presented to the governing partners.
Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians enter Holy Week, the last week before Easter
Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians in Romania enter Holy Week on Monday, the last week before Easter, when they remember the Lord’s sufferings. In the churches, the faithful attend special services every evening called Denii, which recall the last moments of Jesus Christ’s life before his crucifixion. The most important are the Deny of the 12 Gospels on Maundy Thursday and the Deny of the Lord’s Supper on Good Friday. Yesterday, Orthodox and Greek Catholic Christians celebrated Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of the last week of Lent, known as Passion Week. Meanwhile, pilgrims and organised groups from Romania have already arrived at the Holy Places in Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem, where they will attend Easter Week masses and Resurrection Night Mass. On the Easter table of Romanians there will be, among other goodies, cozonacii, a traditional dessert for this religious holiday. This year’s supply of Easter cakes is about 6 million, less than at Christmas, when there are more feast days. About 600,000, or 10% of the total, will go for export, said Aurel Popescu, president of the Romanian Bakery, Confectionery and Bakery Industry Association ROMPAN. A 700-gram cozonac can be bought at around 15-20 lei (3-4 euro) each during this period, but prices can reach 70-80 lei (14-16 euro) per kilogram, he said./mbaciu
Magda Baciu – RADOR
