In the context of major tensions in the ruling coalition, three trade union federations: the Federation of Free Education Unions, the “Spiru Haret” Federation and the “Alma Mater” Federation, asks the leaders of the PNL parties, PSD and USR the repeal of articles considered harmful to the educational system of Law no. 141/2025, known to the public as “Bolojan Law”.
Education trade unionists are addressed to Inquam/ Octav Ganea photo party leaders
The recipients include the interim president of the PSD, Sorin Grindeanu, to whom the three federations addressed an official letter that warns an unprecedented crisis in education. The document, attached at the end of the article, was obtained, on sources, by Adevărul.
The request of the trade unionists occurs in a moment of maximum political tension, in which the PSD threatens with the exit from the government, and Grindeanu summoned an emergency meeting of the Party Permanent Bureau, on Monday, following disputes with the coalition partners on the funeral of Ion Iliescu.
Trade Union’s Request: Repentance of LIII and LVIII articles of Bolojan Law
The Federation of Free Trade Unions (FSLI), the Federation of Education Unions “Spiru Haret” and the National Federation “Alma Mater” request the political support of the PSD for repealing the provisions considered destructive in Law no. 141/2025 – nicknamed “Bolojan Law”, according to the document obtained by the truth:
“… It addresses you the request to support the repeal of Art.
The representatives of the three trade union federations, who claim to represent the interests of over 250,000 employees in the educational system, accuse the government of lack of dialogue, cynicism and irresponsibility:
“Given cynicism and irresponsibility, the Bolojan government provokes an unprecedented crisis in education in the last 35 years, considering that these measures practically mean the reorganization of a large part of pre-university education, within a time of about a month.
The unions also claim that the education system is superficial treated by the Bolojan government, and its employees are considered “simple inventory objects”:
“The Minister of Education and Research, Mr. Daniel David, should have had the strength, to pay attention to the Prime Minister of the Government of Romania, Mr. Ilie Bolojan, that the education system is a complex one, and his employees are not only mere inventory objects, but are human beings that cannot be discredited.”
The measures challenged by unions, cited entirely
1. Increased teaching norm by 2 hours – This is the measure with the most serious consequences on the teachers. The reality of most schools shows us that they will be holder teachers who will enter into activity restraint and qualified substitute teachers who will most likely no longer find a job. Regarding the title teachers, there is a major risk that they will not receive their full salaries, because it will be impossible to ensure the full 20-hour norm.
To grant them the “chance” to receive 2 hours, for completion, at appreciable distances is cynicism. The expenses for the shuttle may be higher than the value of the 2 hours. Also, the increase of the teaching norm will mean increasing the work tasks, in addition to the other professional duties, which will lead to the increase of the mental pressure. At the same time, it is completely wrong and the fact that the facility has been eliminated to decrease, by 2 hours, teaching the teachers who have the first degree and over 25 years.
While in many countries, the teaching norm for old teachers is diminished even in half, the rest of the hours being dedicated to guide young teachers, there is no difference between a debutant teacher and one that is at the end of the career.
2. The merging of hundreds of educational units – will lead to redundancies of auxiliary and even administrative teaching staff.
3. Increasing the number of students in the class – will lead to the return to the herds of “historical” students/preschoolers and, obviously, to groups/classes, resulting in the quality of the educational act and the reduction of the number of positions/norms.
4. – will lead to the impossibility of assigning the hours left free in payment by the hour, due to the remuneration of the derisory (the decrease of over 50% of the hourly rate). The aberrant situation will be reached that an hour performed by a teacher at the beginning of the career should be paid the same with the hourly tariff of an unskilled worker. They are specializations and disciplines deficient in the human resource. Who will perform these hours, in payment mode with the hour?
5. Increased chair obligation for directors and inspectors – will lead to the practical and objective impossibility of carrying out the activity by the management, guidance and control personnel (both the activity in the chair and the specific one), which will have negative effects on the entire system by neglecting both the managerial and the didactic.
6.by notacting the standard cost per equivalent student, a decision that can lead to collective dismissals or even to the closure of some universities.
7. Underfoliating research institutionsin the current European geopolitical context, by not taking the necessary costs for human resources and utilities, for maintaining and developing the infrastructure, institutions of special importance for the proper functioning of education and research.
8. Underfoliating central university librariesby not taking costs with human resources and utilities, institutions of special importance for the proper functioning of education.
The unions also point out that the entire architecture of the process of mobility of the teaching staff, carried out from the beginning of the year to August, is completely over the head and that the resumption of stages will have serious effects on the quality of education:
“It should not be forgotten that the” efficiency “measures that the Bolojan government applies in the next month in the educational system, bulging the entire movement of the teaching staff that has been held starting with January 2025, as a result of the teaching norm by 2 hours and eliminating the reduction of the teaching norm for the teaching staff and over 25 years. «Resumption of the activity of setting up the positions/chairs, the classification of the teaching staff – the resolution of the requests to complete the teaching norm», but also of the majority of the mobility stages starting on August 8, 2025, in the medium and long term directly affects the quality of education and the professional and social status of the employees in the education, but also the,
it is specified in the document.
Grindeanu: “We will analyze the impact on the coalition”
Just one day after the unions sent these requests, Sorin Grindeanu announced, on Friday morning, to convene an emergency meeting of the PSD leadership, scheduled on Monday. The reason is not the Bolojan law, but the positioning of the coalition partners towards the ceremonies dedicated to the former president of Romania, Ion Iliescu.
“I decided to convene a meeting of the National National Bureau for Monday, in order to analyze the situation created inside the ruling coalition as a result of positioning partners towards the organization of the official ceremonies dedicated to the former president of Romania, Ion Iliescu”, Sorin Grindeanu announced, on his Facebook page.
“The recent actions and statements of some coalition members, contrary to the legal obligations and the norms of institutional conduct, affect not only the relations between the signatory parties of the political agreement, but also the necessary balance in the functioning of the Government”, is the continuation of his statement.
Grindeanu points out that the PSD will evaluate the political impact of these events and will decide whether to continue their participation in the government:
“The meeting of the National National Bureau aims to evaluate the impact of these events on the functioning of the ruling coalition and to establish a clear position of the party in relation to the continuation of the government collaboration, under conditions of mutual respect and political correctness”Grindeanu pointed out.
