STRIKES – 10,000 teachers
\nhave resumed classes, although over half of teachers in the system continue the
\nstrike action, Education Minister Ligia Deca has said. Trade unions say the
\nauthorities are mistaken, arguing some 87% of teachers and auxiliary staff are
\ncurrently on strike. In the meantime, representatives of pupils, parents and
\ntrade unions on Tuesday met with Education Ministry officials, in an attempt to
\nfind solutions. Minister Ligia Deca says there are no plans yet for
\nrescheduling exams or extending the school year. On the other hand, employees
\nin the public healthcare system have launched a work-in strike today, calling
\nfor higher wages and the application of the salary law for all categories of
\nworkers and the payment of base salaries stipulated in the wage grid. Health
\nworkers also demand the authorities change the way bonuses are provided,
\non-call work is remunerated and meal allowances are paid. The Labor Ministry
\nhas published a draft emergency decree which raises the salaries of certain
\ncategories of health workers to the maximum allowed by the law, including
\nnurses, orderlies and patient care assistants. The same provision will also
\napply to social workers and employees in the defense, law enforcement and
\nnational security sectors. According to the Labor Ministry, the measure will
\nnot entail huge budget costs so as to impair the fiscal targets for 2023, and
\nwill do away with salary inequities in the healthcare system, helping reward
\nworkers in line with their training and seniority. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
B9 – Russia remains the biggest
\nthreat to European and Euro-Atlantic security, the president of Romania, Klaus
\nIohannis, said on the sidelines of the Bucharest 9 Summit hosted by Bratislava.
\nThe president called for the consolidation of national defense, underlining the
\nneed to create a consistent, united, reliable and robust Forward Defense
\nstructure on NATO’s eastern flank. Klaus Iohannis also argued that Romania will
\ncontinue to provide support for Ukraine as long as it is necessary, reasserting
\nBucharest’s support for Kyiv’s Euro-Atlantic accession aspirations. Klaus
\nIohannis and other B9 leaders firmly condemned Russia’s brutal, unjustified and
\nillegal war against Ukraine, calling on Moscow to unconditionally withdraw its
\ntroops from Ukraine’s territory. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
EXERCISE – The city of
\nConstan\u0163a in eastern Romania is as of today hosting the VALHALA 23 exercise
\norganized by the Romanian Border Police Inspectorate. The exercise is designed
\nto test the capacity of the Border Police to manage high flows of refugees and
\nwill comprise three phases. The first phase will be held onboard the 0201
\n\u015etefan cel Mare ship and will consist in a simulation: Border Police crews
\nwill detect watercraft carrying migrants and escort them to the port of
\nConstan\u0163a. In the next phase, the migrants will disembark in the port and undergo
\nspecific procedures. The last phase is scheduled to take place at the Coast
\nGuard headquarters and will consist of an epidemiological triage, body-searches,
\nidentifying vulnerable people, border inspections, finger-printing and
\nregistering. Each migrant will then undergo specific criminal procedures, a
\nsecond triage, will be given an opportunity to lodge asylum requests, will give
\ninterviews and finally be given access to Romania’s territory or taken into
\npublic custody, if necessary. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
DAM – The European Union
\nwill provide the necessary assistance to Ukraine after the partial destruction
\nof the Kakhovka dam, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said after a
\ntelephone conversation with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs,
\nJosep Borrell. Both Kyiv and Moscow have denied responsibility for the attack.
\nThe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that the Zaporizhzhia
\nNuclear Power Plant, located upstream, has sufficient alternative cooling
\nsystems to keep the plant safe and operational. In the meantime, mass
\nevacuations continued on Wednesday in southern Ukraine after the water
\ndischarge flooded numerous settlements along the Dnieper. (VP)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[37664,37665,37666,30734],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-106703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-b9-summit","tag-border-police-exercise","tag-kakhovka-dam","tag-strikes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n