Mike B)
***************** J wrote:
Here are the news from Romania.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/aug2010/roma-a17.shtml
The first elements of the austerity program introduced by the Romanian government led by Emil Boc (Democratic Liberal Party, PD-L) came into affect on July 1. The measures involved will intensify the social crisis in a country already ranked as one of the poorest in Europe.
Starting July 1, state employees suffered a wage reduction of 25 percent. In many cases, the loss of income is especially significant, applying as it does to salaries that had already been subject to an initial cut at the beginning of the year. Following the Unitary Pay Law beginning January 1 of this year, most employees lost their entitlement to any sort of bonus.
At the same time, overtime payments were replaced by days off, leading to a further loss of income. The reductions in January came following pay cuts in two months, November and December 2009, when public employees were forced to take four days unpaid leave. With the advent of the new cuts professionals in many categories have now received a salary cut of up to 50 percent compared to last summer.
Following these reductions, teachers, doctors, social workers and other professionals, as well as police, will be left with monthly incomes of less than 1,000 lei, or approximately ?240. Those working in agriculture will have a monthly income of less than ?200, while those employed in town halls and public administration will receive about ?150 per month. This level of income is, in many cases, equivalent to the monthly rent for an apartment in Bucharest or other big cities. For example, two persons living in a two-room apartment pay about ?150 in rent; i.e. three-quarters of the total income for many and the total salary for some workers.
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