Controversy over teachers’ pay rises

In autumn 2008, the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian parliament passed legislation awarding a 50% pay rise to all teaching staff, with effect from 1 October 2008. With other public sector trade unions demanding similar wage increases, the government unsuccessfully challenged the law in the Constitutional Court. It then issued emergency ordinances providing for lower pay rises from 1 April 2009. Education unions threatened a strike in protest, but suspended their protests until after a new government is sworn in, following general elections on 30 November.

Parliament agrees extra pay rise in education

Government Ordinance no. 15/2008 provided for pay rises for teaching staff in the state education system of 6% from 1 April 2008, and another 6% from 1 October 2008. However, the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputaţilor) – the lower house of parliament – passed a law (Law no. 221/2008) amending this government ordinance and providing for pay increases of 50% for teaching staff below university level and 74% for university teaching staff, with effect from 1 October 2008. Parliamentary elections are to be held on 30 November.

This decision of the Chamber of Deputies was welcomed enthusiastically by trade unions, which saw it as an incentive for the improvement of the educational system. Other public sector groups started calling for pay increases of a similar scale to those awarded to teachers.

In August 2008, the average monthly net wage was EUR 393 in the education sector, EUR 346 in the health sector and EUR 588 in the public administration sector, compared to the national average of EUR 362.

Government’s reaction

The government, which was in the final stage of drafting the state budget act for 2009, criticised the Chamber of Deputies for the enactment of the Law no. 221/2008, which it called ‘discriminatory and unconstitutional’.

Consequently, the government took the matter to the Constitutional Court of Romania (Curtea Constituţională a României, CCR), arguing that the necessary sources of finance must be indicated for any public budgetary allocation - which is not the case with Law no. 221/2008 - and that citizens must enjoy equal rights, without privileges or discrimination.

The government also contended that parliament had failed to ask for the government’s viewpoint on the financial effects of the additional increase in teachers’ pay. Further, the government argued that parliament, in passing the law, indirectly amended the 2008 state budget law without using special budget-rectification legislation.

However, on 15 October, CCR ruled that the law passed in the Chamber of Deputies was constitutional, dismissing the government’s challenge by a majority vote.

Government seeks to defer increases

To take effect, legislation enacted by parliament must first be submitted to the President of Romania for endorsement, and then published in the Official Gazette.

On 16 October, the Prime Minister sent the President an open letter with regard to the endorsement of Law no. 221/2008. The letter pointed to pressure for a similar 50% pay rise for all 1,450,000 public employees, which, if granted, would mean an additional burden of some EUR 6 billion on the 2009 state budget, amounting to 4% of gross domestic product. The Prime Minister also stated that salaries in the public sector are currently 30% higher than those in the private sector.

On 24 October, the President stated, at a press conference that he would endorse the law because it was in line with an ‘Education Pact’ agreed with the trade unions in education sector, which ‘assumed responsibility to reform the educational system of Romania’.

Under the circumstances, on 28 October, the government adopted an emergency ordinance, postponing the effective date of the law increasing teachers’ pay to 1 April 2009. This ordinance was vetoed by the Senate –t he upper house of parliament - and on 10 November, the Prime Minister stated that a new ordinance was in preparation. This provided for differentiated pay increases with a maximum of 28% for the lowest paid teachers, phased in from 1 March and 1 April 2009.

Education workers’ trade unions called a strike on 18 November over the issue, but withdrew the threat on 14 November. They stated that ‘if, immediately after the new cabinet assumes duties [after the November elections], Law no. 221/2008 does not start producing effects retroactively from 1 October 2008, a sector-wide strike will be called’. They argued that a law enacted by parliament is not negotiable.

Commentary

After unsuccessful negotiations with the government at the beginning of October, public servants’ unions threatened a general strike unless their pay was raised by 50%, as ‘the only way of ensuring social equity for all civil servants’. They were followed by healthcare unions, which made the same claims.

Under this pressure, the government resumed negotiations started several years ago (RO0608039I) on the drafting of a single salary act for all public sector employees. So far, the representatives of the social partners have discussed the principles that should underlie such an act, but have not signed an agreement, as the government had hoped.

Constantin Ciutacu, Institute of National Economy, Romanian Academy