Romanian education trade unions protest austerity measures, threaten school boycott

Representatives of Romania’s main education trade union federations protested on August 4 for the fourth consecutive day in front of the Ministry of Education and Research, opposing austerity measures introduced under Law 141/2025, which came into force on August 1, Digi24 reported. Teachers warned they may boycott the autumn Baccalaureate exams and block the start of the school year if their demands are not met.

The unions are calling for the resignation of education minister Daniel David, accusing the government of imposing reforms without an impact study. The measures include raising teachers’ weekly workload by two hours, merging hundreds of schools, increasing class sizes, cutting hourly pay, and imposing higher administrative duties on school directors and inspectors.

Union leaders argue that these changes will trigger layoffs among auxiliary and administrative staff, deepen underfunding in higher education by keeping per-student allocations unchanged, and leave research institutions and central university libraries unable to cover rising personnel and utility costs.

The three federations announced that more than 30,000 members will participate in a nationwide “Education Rally” on September 8, the first day of the new academic year, unless the government reverses the measures.

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