Trade unionists decided to postpone teachers’ protest

The protest rally of the teachers from all over the country scheduled for September 17 was postponed for September 25. Budget-paid employees from other sectors of the economy are also expected to take part in the rally. Nicolae Suruceanu, secretary of the National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova, has told Info-Prim Neo that the protest was postponed because at least ten days are needed to negotiate the rise in the salaries of the other people working in the budgetary sphere. “It will be a nationwide protest by 6,000-10,000 employees that will demand that their salaries are increased,” Nicolae Suruceanu said. The protest will be held in front of the National Opera House or even in the Great National Assembly Square if the municipal authorities give permission. Talks with First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Dodon over salary rises will take place on September 15, Suruceanu said. The education and science trade unions demand that teachers’ salaries are raised by 600 lei from September 1 and by another 900 lei from January 2009. By July 2009, the salaries of teaching staff should be equal to the minimum subsistence level. The trade unionists protested in front of the Government building for a week, as from September 1.