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The Committee takes note of the observations made by the Democratic Trade Union Confederation of Romania (CSDR) and the Free Trade Union Federation in Education (FSLI) concerning the application of the Convention, and the Government’s reply.

According to the CSDR and the FSLI, since the adoption of Law No. 128/1997 regarding the status of teachers, the salaries of teachers have never been paid on time and in whole. The two organizations also allege that the benefits and allowances to which teachers are entitled, under section 48(1) of the Law of 1997, have been systematically miscalculated leading to illegal retentions from salaries and consequently unfair loss of income, even though the Law provides that the remuneration of the teachers should be ensured in accordance with the principle that education is a national priority. Reference is made, in this respect, to recent court decisions that have upheld teachers’ claims for recalculation of benefits and indemnities and retroactive payment of salary differences.

In its reply, the Government refers to an agreement which was reached on 28 November 2005 between the Government and representatives of trade union federations in education, including the FSLI, concerning the administrative settlement of the wage debt for the period from October 2001 to September 2004. According to the terms of this agreement, the amounts owed to teachers would be reimbursed in instalments starting from February 2006 over a maximum period of 35 months. The Government also refers to Emergency Ordinance No. 17/2006, which was drafted in consultation with trade union representatives fixing the amounts which will be needed for the repayment of the wage arrears. The Government adds that the necessary budgetary arrangements have been made for 2006. The Committee welcomes these positive developments and asks the Government to keep it informed of all further developments concerning the implementation of the 2005 agreement, and the final settlement of the accumulated wage debt to teaching staff.

In addition, the CSDR and the FSLI state that the Government continues to fail to allocate 4 per cent of the GDP to public education, thus violating section 170(1) of Law No. 84/1995 on education, which provides that the public education system is financed through public funds at an amount equivalent to 4 per cent of the GDP, to be increased to 6 per cent by 2007. In its reply, the Government explains that, in an agreement concluded with the trade unions in education, it has committed itself to allocating supplementary budgetary resources at the level of 1.1 per cent of the GDP, so that public expenditure for education in 2006 would be raised to 5 per cent of the GDP. The Government adds that by August 2006, an additional 3076.37 millions Lei, or 0.95 per cent of the GDP, had been allocated to the education budget. The Committee understands that the financing of education has been the source of deep controversy over the past few years and hopes that the Government will continue to seek solutions in this most sensitive area through social dialogue.