12 July, 2016
Zika in Romania, Public servant strike
Bogdan Matei, 12.07.2016, 00:00
ZIKA – Romania reported today its first Zika virus infection case. A 27 year-old woman who spent a vacation in Martinique was identified with the illness while in hospital. The Health Ministry specified that the case was isolated, with minimal risk of spreading. The virus was identified in 1947 in Uganda, and is spread mainly by mosquitoes, and is able to produce congenital conditions in babies born of infected mothers. At present, no vaccine is available to counteract the virus, which so far has spread in South and Central America mainly.
STRIKE – Local administration public servants are on a one day strike in Romania, after negotiations on wages failed late last week. For the duration of the protest, only death certificates and documents related to emergencies will be issued. Trade unions protest the fact that the Labor Ministry would not comply with the negotiated 25% salary raise and subsidies for employee vacations, as previously convened upon. Public servants claim that they are the worst paid state employees, with most of them being paid close to the average gross wage, the equivalent of around 277 Euro. They have already gone on a one hour strike last week.
COUNTRY PROJECT – The technocratic government in Bucharest submitted for debate the country project titled ‘Competitive Romania’, a strategy for sustainable economic growth until 2020. The project includes cutting red tape, boosting research and development, energy efficiency and modernizing the infrastructure, aiming to bring Romania to 5% economic growth. The document was designed by the government, the National Bank and the Romanian Academy, and will undergo public debate until September. The budget involved is upwards of 16.9 billion Euro, which accounts for about 10% of the GDP over five years.
TENNIS – Six Romanian tennis players debut today in the BRD Bucharest Open tournament, with prizes totaling 250,000 dollars. The favorite is Simona Halep, right now fifth placed in the world, who will compete against Czech player Barbora Krejcikova, 188th seeded, while Gabriela Ruse (318th seeded), plays against Latvian Anastasia Sevastova, 66th seeded. Monica Niculescu, ranked 47th, plays Andreea Mitu, ranked 159th, while Patricia Tig, ranked 100th, plays 17 year-old Ioana Minca, who is in the competition thanks to a wild card.
HANDBALL – Romania’s womens handball team today takes on Croatia in the quarterfinals of Moscow hosted U-20 World Championships. In the round of last 16 this past Monday Romania outclassed Japan by the narrowest of margins, 32-31. Earlier this month, at the World University Championships held in Spain, in Malaga, Romanias womens national handball team walked away with silver, while the mens team won the trophy.
GRADUATION – Almost 67% of the 130,000 high school students taking the graduation exam this year have passed the state examination, according to the Ministry of Education. Students who did not pass can make another pass at it in late summer. Last year, 67.9% of students who finished high school passed the graduation exam in 2015.
