"I took a decision today that will enable Romania to walk on the path of economic growth", said Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu after the Government's session on Tuesday, in which the Government adopted an emergency ordinance postponing the 50% wage growth for teachers until April 1, 2009.
Tariceanu's statements, in brief:
- The decision is important because the law may have modified Romania's trajectory from economic growth to economic crisis;
- Those who promote such populist measures imagine that they will win votes this way. I took a chance for some votes less, but I can not act irresponsibly;
- I don't want to see Romania heading for economic crisis, inflation, weakening of the national currency;
- I will produce evidence that salaries increased only to keep up with the inflation until 2005. The real growth came only after 2005. I don’t want us to return to before 2005;
- Not the Parliament, when it adopted the 50% raise law, nor the president, when he promulgated it, pointed at financing resources. They only said that there is enough money, but they had no idea;
- Numerous investments should have been dropped to support the law. The Romanian education system needs investments and modernization. We can not take the money from the investments budget and spend it for salaries. Education means also investments, not only salaries, as (former Education Minister, our note) Ecaterina Andronescu seems to believe;
- The impact of this law is proven by the fact that the national currency fell and the Stock Exchange suspended its transactions immediately after the law was promulgated;
- I am not against raises, but they must be made in steps. The 9% wage growth for teachers comes into force on October 1, the next raise will be on January 1;
- There will be r
