May 29, 2023
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 29.05.2023, 13:55
BILL Romania’s Labour Minister Marius Budai is expected to
forward to the Chamber of Deputies a bill on the special pensions paid to several
categories of state employees. The document, which is a landmark in the
National Plan of Recovery and Resilience, was endorsed by the Senate in late
March. According to Budai, the retiring age will gradually increase for all the
Romanian citizens up to 65 years. At the same time no pension in Romania is
going to exceed the salary and will be calculated on the entire period of
contribution not only on the last years of activity. Minister Budai has tackled
the new amendments with representatives of the European Commission and they
have been agreed upon by the ruling coalition leaders.
STRIKE Trade union leaders in Romania’s education system are
today participating in a new round of talks with Labour Minister Marius Budai
for the future salary scale. Marius Nistor, head of the Trade Union Federation
in education, said the salary of a beginner teacher should be based on the
average gross salary in the economy. Nistor says that in the absence of a law
in this respect the all-out strike the teachers kicked off on May 22nd
is not going to stop. The government’s first offer includes a 500 euro bonus
that should be granted to teachers in two installments, while the auxiliary
personnel will benefit from 200 Euros also in two installments. However, trade
unions in Romania’s education system have asked for a 25% pay rise for all
employees until the single salary law comes into effect. Teachers are preparing
another meeting in front of the government building on Tuesday, the second
after the one last week attended by more than 10 thousand teachers.
ELECTION Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, has congratulated his Turkish
counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for having won another term in office. In a
Twitter post, Iohannis says he is looking forward to the continuation of the
tight cooperation based on the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for the past 20 years, on Sunday emerged as
winner in the second round of the presidential election in that country with
52.1% of the votes as compared to 47.9% mustered by his lay opponent Kemal
Kilicdarolu supported by an election alliance of six parties ranging from the
nationalist right to the liberal left. The Islam and the appeal to the Ottoman legacy
have been reinvigorated during Erdogan’s rule. The opposition says though that
his regime has become more and more authoritarian particularly after the
attempted coup in 2016. Erdogan has in the past years promoted a tougher rhetoric
against Turkey’s Western partners as well as a series of controversial economic
policies. The announcement of his victory has led to a new devaluation of the
country’s national currency, the lira.
DRILL The Centre for Battle Training in Smardan, south-eastern Romania, is
today hosting a major international drill entitled Saber Guardian 23. The
inauguration ceremony has been attended by the country’s Defence Minister Angel
Tîlvăr and Chief of Staff, General Daniel Petrescu. The exercise, which is to
take place until June 9th , represents the largest and most complex
multinational training activity with the participation of a record number of
forces and technical equipment. The drill has brought together roughly 10
thousand servicemen, half of them from Romania and the rest from 13 NATO and
partner countries. Saber Guardian 23 continues the series of drills started in
2013, which are taking place twice a year with a view to stepping up
interoperability within a wide range of missions.
(bill)
