Public-sector workers plan wage-cut strike

Romania (AP)

A union leader says more than 30,000 public sector workers in Romania will go on strike over wage cuts.

Sebastian Oprescu, chairman of the National Union of Public Workers, disclosed yesterday that workers from hundreds of state institutions will start their strike on September 27. The government slashed public-sector wages by 25 per cent in July to meet the conditions of a €20 billion ($25 billion) loan from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the European Union.

Romania's economy is expected to shrink by more than one per cent this year, after it declined by 7.1 per cent in 2009.