May 7, 2018

A two-hour token strike was staged in hospitals across Romania in the morning, some of the staff being discontent about the introduction of a 30% cap on bonuses/ Vladimir Putin has today been sworn in as Russias president for the fourth time

Newsroom, 07.05.2018, 14:10

STRIKE — A two-hour token strike was staged in hospitals across Romania in the morning. Nurses, the supporting staff and the personnel working in labs ceased to work, taking care only of emergencies. The protesters are discontent about the 30% cap on bonuses and say some healthcare employees saw some 215 Euros slashed off their salaries after the new pay scheme was enforced. They also point to the fact that some categories of personnel are discriminated against: for instance doctors and nurses benefited from pay rises, which is not the case for nurses, stretcher bearers, biologists, pharmacists, radiologists and midwives. The SANITAS Federation has announced it has collected over 50,000 signatures, thus meeting the conditions to call an all out strike on May 11. Over the past few days, representatives of trade unions have held talks with labour, health and finance ministers, without however reaching an agreement. The current state of the healthcare system is making the object of a simple motion, which is being debated today by the Chamber of Deputies and which has been tabled by the right-of –centre National Liberal Party, in opposition, against the health minister, Social Democrat, Sorina Pintea. The motion will be voted upon in a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday.

RUSSIA — Vladimir Putin has today been sworn in as Russia’s president, for the fourth time, after winning with over 75% of the votes the presidential elections held in March. His presidency was interrupted, after the first two mandates, by a four-year term in office as prime minister, when the country’s president was the incumbent prime minister, Dmitri Medvedev. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Moscow, in the following days Putin will make public the membership of the new government and of the Presidential Administration, which is a more influential structure than the government. The Russian media estimate the foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and the defence minister Sergei Shoigu will keep their portfolios, which would be a sign that Russia’s current foreign policy will be continued. Also, overcoming the country’s isolation by the West would be necessary to Vladimir Putin in order to reach his daring internal objectives, which are the priorities of his new mandate. At a political level, the main task of the Kremlin leader will be to ensure an uninterrupted transition of power in 2024, when, under the Constitution, Putin will no longer be allowed to run for a new presidential mandate. The swearing in ceremony was preceded on Saturday by protests and the taking into custody of some 1,600 people, among whom the opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.

PRESIDENCY OF THE EU COUNCIL — Romania’s mandate at the helm of the EU Council will not be an easy one, being marked by two key moments, namely Great Britain’s officially leaving the community bloc and establishing the EU budget for the 2020 — 2024 financial exercise. The statement has been made in Bucharest earlier today by the president of the Romanian Banks’ Association, Sergiu Oprescu, who attended the second edition of the Financial Market Forum. He has also added that holding the EU Council presidency is first of all an exercise of responsibility, a challenge and equally an opportunity to show a balanced discourse and a clear vision. Romania will hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. We recall that the Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, held talks last week in Ruse with his Bulgarian and Austrian counterparts on assuring the continuity of the Bulgarian, Austrian and Romanian presidencies of the EU Council and on regional cooperation opportunities.

ARREST — A man of Serbian nationality, who was on an international APB was taken into custody by the border police officers at the Galati-Port Border Crossing in south-eastern Romania. An Interpol warrant had been issued on the man’s name, as he was being investigated for genocide, during September-December 1991.

THEATRE — The Alba Carolina Citadel in Alba Iulia, a fortress built in the early 18th century in south-western Transylvania will host the feast of Romanian theatre in the evening: the Award Winning Gala of the Union of Theatres in Romania, UNITER, which has reached its 26th edition. The gala is held this year under the motto “The UNITER Gala Unites Theatre!”. Some 300 actors and actresses as well as people close to theatre and UNITER are expected to attend the ceremony, in a transparent pavilion, mounted on the esplanade near the Orthodox Cathedral and the Roman-Catholic Church. 11 prizes will be awarded for best productions and best people on the theatrical scene in Romania in 2017.

VOLLEYBALL — The Romanian volleyball team CSM Volei Alba Blaj in the centre on Sunday was defeated in Bucharest by the Turkish team VakifBank Istanbul, 3-0, in the final round of the Final Four women’s volleyball tournament. Although it lost to the Turkish team, CSM Volei Alba Blaj managed to put up a special performance, being the first Romanian team to qualify for the final act of the competition. In the bronze final, the Italians of Imoco Conegliano outperformed Galatasaray Istanbul, 3-0.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no.1 WTA is today pairing up with another Romanian, Irina Begu, against the pair Nicole Melichar (the US)/Kveta Peschke (the Czech Republic) in the first round of the Madrid tennis tournament with some 6.7 million Euros in prize money up for grabs. Mihaela Buzărnescu is pairing up with France’s Alize Cornet and are playing against Andreja Klepac (Slovenia)/María Jose Martinez Sanchez (Spain), whereas Sorana Cîrstea alongside Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo will be facing Julia Goerges (Germany)/ Karolina Pliskova (the Czech Republic). In the singles, at the weekend, Simona Halep, Sorana Cîrstea and Irina Begu qualified for the second round.