Teachers go on protesting

Education trade union activists from a number of districts picketed the Government for the second day in a row on Tuesday. Posters in hands and chanting slogans, the protesters tried to make themselves heard by authorities, claiming decent remuneration, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the president of the Education and Science Trade Union, Ion Bulat, the authorities lie when saying they don't have money to raise the wages. “The Government officials told us they don't have money at talks, invoking the last summer floods, but it's not true,” Ion Bulat says. “The aftereffects of the floods have been liquidated on the money of Moldovan companies and on the foreign humanitarian aid, not on public money,” he added. 113 million lei are needed to raise the teachers' salaries till the year-end, while the budget gets by 50 million lei daily, says the union leader. The Trade Unions demand that the teachers' salaries should be increased 600 lei as from 1 September, and with other 900 lei as from January 2009. By July 2009, they want their salaries to reach the minimum existence level. The union activists started to protest on September 1, planning to picket the Government will the end of the week. If they get no result, the will stage mass protests on September 17. The Moldovan schools and kindergartens lack 2,000 professionals.