Teachers claim bigger salaries

Unhappy with the Government's decision on raising salaries, the teachers took to the street again. They say 74% of the workers in the craft have actually remained out of the scope of the decision, Info-Prim Neo reports. The teachers have protested despite the fact that representatives of the Trade Unions from Moldova announced a day ago the actions were suspended. As many as some 3,500 people attended the meeting in the Opera Theater's square in Chisinau, according to organizers. The protesters have adopted a resolution demanding the authorities to raise their salaries and to improve their work conditions. “Although I have been working for 30 years in the craft, I've got a salary of only 1,070 lei. The authorities would better raise our salaries to 60-80% of the salary of a parliamentarian or a minister,” says Maria Savin, a teacher with Elena Alistar high school from Chisinau. “We are confused and indignant with the erroneous, discriminatory concept which establishes 4 categories of salaries for the first category,” Ion Bulat, the leader of the Education Trade Union, has stated at the meeting. According to him, in economy this represents 900 lei, in healthcare – 615 lei, in agriculture – 550-700 lei, and in education -- 440 lei. He complained of the rising prices of power, natural gas, food, heat, consumer goods and utilities, as the people's salaries are not indexed. The situation in education makes the teachers flee the sector. Some 12,000 teachers have left their jobs for the last 5 years, and only 40% of graduates accept to work in schools. The Education Trade Unions had asked that the salaries of teachers should be raised with 600 lei from September 1, 2008, with 900 lei from January 1, 2009. By July 1, 20099, the teachers' salaries would reach the values of the existence minimum. The deputy president of the Trade Unions Confederation, Petru Chiriac, has told Info-Prim Neo, before Wednesday's session of the Government, they had given up the protests because of reaching an agreement with the authorities. The Cabinet decided to raise the budget earners' salaries by 17% on Sept. 24, as the decision is to cover the employees with the lowest salaries. 118,000 employees are to get bigger salaries as from October 1.