June 5, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 05.06.2023, 19:15

Strike. The teachers’ strike
continues on Tuesday, trade unions in the education system have announced. They
say they are not convinced the government plans to invest in education after
the strike is over. As an example, they cite the fact that the new salary bill
does not establish the average salary as the basis for calculating the salaries
of beginner teachers. In a statement, they also say they are not satisfied with
the wording of the government’s emergency order, which only mentions the
previous commitment in a substantiation note. They also rejected the pay rises
proposed by the government, saying they are too low. The government, however,
says it met all of the protesters’ demands with a gross increase of 200 euros
for the teaching staff and of 80 euros for the non-teaching staff and by
providing all the guarantees requested with respect to the future salary law.
The authorities are calling on teachers to return to classrooms to end the
school year, insisting its new emergency order solves all their requests.
Education minister Ligia Deca said a few days ago the authorities were
considering extending the school year and rescheduling exams if the teachers’
strike continued.

B9. Romania’s president Klaus
Iohannis will attend a meeting of the Bucharest Nine leaders’ summit in
Bratislava on Tuesday, which he is co-chairing together with the presidents of
Slovakia, Zuzana Caputova, and Poland, Andrzej Duda.
The meeting will also be attended by NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.
According to a statement from the Romanian president’s office, the meeting,
which is held less than a month before the NATO summit in Vilnius, will provide
an opportunity for an exchange of views with regard to the priorities on the
allied agenda and the major objectives, with emphasis on the consolidation of
NATO’s deterrence and defence posture on the eastern flank and boosting
cooperation with Ukraine. Special attention will be given to the vulnerable
partners in the region, such as the ex-Soviet, majority Romanian-speaking
Republic of Moldova, which is facing growing security challenges.

Photovoltaic. A new round of
applications for photovoltaic systems for energy-efficient homes under a
programme worth 240 million lei gets under way tomorrow in the north-western
region of Romania for three days. The previous round, due to the large number
of applications, funds were exhausted within a few minutes of the opening of
the programme.

Environment. President Klaus
Iohannis said on World Environment Day that by implementing the measures
related to circular economy, the amount of plastic that ends up in oceans may
decrease by more than 80% globally by 2040. World Environment Day helps raise
awareness about the many challenges faced by the environment, the president said
in a statement, adding that this day encourages people to act to limit climate
change, protect biodiversity and combat air, water and soil pollution. World
Environment Day 2023 is dedicated to efforts to fight plastic pollution.
Estimates show that around 20 million tonnes of plastic end up every in year in
lakes, rivers and seas around the world.

Pentecost. Orthodox
Christians and Greek Catholics in the majority Orthodox Romania on Monday celebrated
the second day of Pentecost, which marks he foundation of the Christian church
and is celebrated 50 days after Easter. According
to the New Testament, the 12 Apostles, gathered in a house, received the Holy
Spirit, who gave them the power to preach in languages ​​they had never spoken
before. Following the sermon of the Apostle Peter, 3,000 people were baptised
and formed the first Christian community. On the second day of Pentecost in
some areas of the country, decorated clay pots are given away in remembrance of
those loved ones who have passed away. (CM)