Education workers, who are on strike for the twelfth day, will protest again on Friday in front of the government and the Kotrochen Palace. The rally, expected by unions to draw 20,000 people, comes a day after the executive passed a “declaration” pledging that the future salary law would be based on the principle that the basic salary of a first-time teacher would be set at equal to the level of average gross wages in the economy. However, the unions demanded that this “guarantee” be conveyed in a regulatory act and not in a document that has no legal force.

The rally is scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. on Victory Square, from where the demonstrators, like a week ago, will march to the Kotrochen Palace.

The protest of teachers who have been on strike since May 22 will end at 4:00 p.m.

The route that the teachers will march to Kotrochen

Education unions said in a permit application submitted to the capital city hall that 20,000 people would take part in the rally, with the aim being to “draw attention to the need to address the pay issues facing pre-university and higher education staff”.

According to the mandate of the mayor’s office, the protest will take place:

• “From 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – gathering of participants at Piaţa Victoriei.
• From 12.30 to 3.00 p.m. – drive along the route Piaţa Victoriei – Nicolae Titulescu Boulevard – Basarab Bridge – Grozavesti Street – Geniului Boulevard – Lion statue.
• From 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – rally in the area of ​​the Lion monument and disembarkation of participants.”

This is already the third large teachers’ rally in recent weeks.

More than 10,000 teachers protested on May 25 in the center of the capital, first in Piața Victoriei, from where they marched to the parliament, on the fourth day of a general strike. On May 30, more than 20,000 education workers took to the streets, many of them came by bus from other countries. After the protest in front of the Government, the teachers marched to the Kotrochen Palace: “We will not give up, misfortune!”.

Friday was supposed to be the last day of high school exams and registration for external examinations and bachelor’s degrees

Also, Friday was supposed to be the last day of summing up average tests for students of classes XII and VIII and registration for external examinations and external examinations.

Also on Monday, when the first competency testing was scheduled, the undergraduate exam would begin.

As teachers continue to strike, Education Minister Ligia Deka announced Thursday that the registration deadline for baccalaureate and national assessments, as well as the compilation of grade point averages for students in grades 8 and 12, has been extended to June 13 (the deadline has already been extended to Friday, June 10).

Asked Thursday what would happen if the teachers’ strike did not end by June 13, Ligia Deka said one option was to equate bachelor’s qualifications with high school averages and that “any changes will be announced later.”

• VIDEO The question about the teachers’ strike, which Lygia Deka systematically refused to answer / Counterjournalists

According to the original schedule, the skills assessment for BAC 2023 was supposed to start on June 12 and end on June 21.

BAC skills 2023. New exam calendar by decision of the Ministry of Education

The following changes have been made to the calendar:

• June 14 – 16, 2023: assessment of oral communication skills in Romanian – test A
• June 15 – 19, 2023: assessment of speaking skills in the mother tongue – test B
• 16 – 20 June 2023: Digital Skills Assessment – Test D
• June 21 – 23, 2023: assessment of language skills in a language of international distribution – test C

As for the written tests, the calendar will not be moved either for the bachelor’s degree or for the national assessment, Education Minister Ligia Deka said on Thursday.

BAC 2023 written tests

• 06/26/2023: Romanian language and literature – test Ea) – written test
• 27.06.2023: mandatory profile testing – Ec test) – written testing
• 28.06.2023: External examination on choosing a profile and specialization – Ed test) – written external examination
• 06/29/2023: Native language and literature – written external examination
• July 3, 2023: display of results of written tests until 12:00 and submission of appeals from 12:00 to 18:00.
• July 4 – 6, 2023: review of applications
• July 7, 2023: Display of final results

Written test papers for the external examination 2023

• 06/19/2023 – Romanian language and literature – written test
• 06/21/2023 – Mathematics – written test
• 06/22/2023 – Native language and literature – control written work
• June 28, 2023 (until 14:00) – Display of results before appeals
• 28.06.2023 (16.00 – 19.00) – 29.06.2023 (08.00 – 12.00) – Submission of applications.
• 29.06 – 04.07.2023 – Resolution of appeals
• 07/04/2023 – Display of final results after resolving appeals

According to another order of the ministry, published on Thursday in the Official Gazette, the average results of students will be able to conclude with two grades in the discipline:

• “in the 2022-2023 academic year, the minimum number of qualifications/grades a student receives from an academic discipline is two.
• in the 2022-2023 academic year, the annual school situation of students by class can be concluded without its approval by the pedagogical council of the educational unit at the final meeting of the courses and without its approval of the annual work report. school situation”.

About 183,000 8th-graders will take the national assessment, and 142,000 12th-graders will take the bachelor’s degree.

“Statement” with which the Government tried to stop the teachers’ strike. “It has no legal significance”

The teaching staff demanded:

• It is legally established that the salary of a beginner teacher must be at least the average gross salary in the economy
• Application of the tariff grid for education in a period shorter than the three years announced by the Government
• The salary increases even higher than in the order issued the other day
• From January 1, 2024, provision of at least 15% of the expenditures of the consolidated budget for education

Under these conditions, the Government adopted a “declaration” on the salaries of education workers on Thursday, the document was published in the Official Gazette.

The document adopted by the Chuke government is entitled “Declaration on the sectoral salary policy for the staff of the national education system and the establishment of general principles for the improvement of the status of teaching, auxiliary teaching and non-teaching staff of the national education system” and the valorization of the teaching career.

• What does the government-approved “Declaration on the sectoral policy of remuneration of employees of the national education system” look like?

The act was signed by Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke, Minister of Education Ligia Deka, Minister of Labor Marius Budai and Minister of Finance Adrian Cachiu.

The “Declaration” stipulates that the future salary law will be based on the principle that the basic salary of the initial university lecturer/assistant is set at the level of the average gross salary in the economy, which is used to form the known budget of the state social insurance, which is 23 % of the maximum wage scale in the state system.

Initially, the Government announced that it would adopt a memorandum on this matter.

The unions demanded that this wage guarantee be included in a regulation, not in a non-binding document.

Two measures described in the six-and-a-half-page document:

• 1. The priority of dialogue between the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity and representatives of trade union federations in education regarding the salary scale for the next professional family, which will be included in the future Law on wages. The new law will be based on the principle that the basic salary of a starting university professor/assistant will be set at the level of the average gross salary in the economy, which is used to form the known budget of the state social insurance and is 23% of the maximum salary scale in the state system. The increase in official salaries according to the new scale will take place in stages, the first installment from January 1, 2024 – 40% of the increase in the official salary provided for by the new law on wages.
• 2. Establishing in the collective agreement of the industry level “pre-university education” the provision that during the vacation period, as well as during the days of paid leave, education workers will have the right to vacation pay in relation to the number of days of vacation multiplied by the average daily basic salary and allowances/surcharges accrued to them in accordance with the legislation, in accordance with each calendar month in which leave is taken.

The former president of the Constitutional Court, Augustin Zegrean, explained to HotNews.ro that such measures cannot be taken through a memorandum, as the government initially wanted, nor through a document like the one adopted on Thursday, as it does not have the force of law and does not have any legal significance. .

• Augustin Zegrean: “Declaration” on teachers’ salaries has no legal meaning, it does not help strikers at all

The leader of the Spiru Haret Federation of Education Trade Unions, Marius Nistor, said that after the government approves a “declaration” on wages, the workers who started the strike will decide whether to continue the strike. Nistor said that, according to the information available to him, he is not giving up either the strike or the rally planned for Friday.