Romanian teachers to rally in Bucharest on Wednesday, unions say new pay law 'condemns educators to poverty'
Three major education federations will bring an estimated 20,000 staff to central Bucharest on 17 June, protesting a draft unitary pay law they say breaks past commitments and deepens austerity.
What is happening
Romanian education unions will stage a large protest in Bucharest on Wednesday, 17 June 2026. Three federations, the Free Education Unions Federation (FSLI), the 'Spiru Haret' Education Unions Federation, and the 'Alma Mater' National Union Federation, are organising the event. Organisers expect around 20,000 participants, with union members travelling from counties including Cluj, Hunedoara, Dolj, Sibiu, Caraș-Severin, Galați and Tulcea since the night of Tuesday to Wednesday.
Destul! Educația cere respect! Dragi colegi, mâine ieșim din nou în stradă. Ne strângem în Piața Victoriei pentru a ne cere drepturile!
Schedule and route
The gathering will begin in Victory Square (Piața Victoriei), in front of the Government building. According to a Bucharest Gendarmerie communiqué, the public assembly has been approved by the city's permit commission and will run between 10:00 and 14:30. Participants will assemble in the central alveola of the square from 10:00 to 11:00, hold the main rally from 11:00 to 12:00, then march along Calea Victoriei toward Parliament between 12:00 and 13:00. A second protest phase in front of Parliament is scheduled from 13:00 onward.
- Participants assemble in Victory Square central alveola
- Main rally begins in front of the Government
- March along Calea Victoriei toward Parliament
- Second protest phase in front of Parliament
- Approved assembly concludes per Gendarmerie communiqué
The grievances
The unions are contesting the draft of the new unitary salary law, published by the Ministry of Labour in May under the transparency process tied to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). They argue the bill 'condemns teachers to poverty' and represents a 'flagrant violation of legislation in force.' Specific demands include a fair salary law that does not erode purchasing power, cancellation of recent austerity measures, reduction of classroom overcrowding, reversal of the halving of hourly teaching rates, and an end to what they call the artificial increase of the teaching norm.
Măsurile de austeritate impuse recent și nepăsarea guvernanților față de angajamentele asumate în anii trecuți ne obligă să ieșim din nou în stradă. Fără o reacție fermă și unitară, drepturile noastre vor fi din nou afectate.
The salary law context
The draft law sets a reference value of 4,100 lei for 2027, with public-sector salaries calculated by multiplying a job-specific coefficient by that annual reference. For university teaching staff, coefficients start at 1.84 for a debutant assistant professor and reach 4.00 for a full professor with over 25 years of seniority. The unions say the coefficients and the overall structure fail to honour commitments made after the 2023 general education strike, when tens of thousands marched on Calea Victoriei for fair pay.
Political dimension
Union statements name the Government, the president of Romania and political parties as responsible for 'burying education instead of treating it as the foundation on which a nation's future is built.' The protest comes as the draft salary law moves through the transparency phase, with the unions arguing that promises made after years of mobilisation, including threats to boycott national exams, have been replaced by new austerity measures. The federations are calling on Bucharest-based teachers to join colleagues arriving from across the country, framing the turnout as a test of the sector's unity.
