Education sector unionists from Romania are picketing the Parliament Palace on Thursday, where they have submitted 160 thousand signatures for the citizen legislative initiative regarding the modification of education laws. Among other things, the teaching staff requests the reduction of the number of students in classes, the return to the old method of hourly pay rate, and the reduction of the teaching standard. They argue that the current regulations affect the quality of the educational act, IPN reports.
The document submitted to the legislature also includes measures to reduce the shortage of teaching staff in rural, isolated or disadvantaged areas, as well as to attract young teachers to the education system. The unions propose granting, starting with the next school year, a non-taxable installation bonus equivalent to three basic salaries for tenured teachers in these localities, with the obligation to remain in position for five years. Also, it is proposed to grant special scholarships for students from the teaching profile and for international Olympians.
The protest is organized by the three largest trade union organizations in education. The citizens’ legislative initiative is a constitutional mechanism through which at least 100 thousand Romanian citizens with the right to vote can propose a bill for debate in Parliament.
