The two trade union federations in pre-university education submitted, on Wednesday, a complaint to the Ministry of Education, denouncing the circular sent by the ministry at the end of last week which demanded a 10% reduction in personnel expenses in certain institutions.
Everything started from a circular sent on April 17, 2026 by the Ministry of Education in the territory requesting “the transmission of data regarding the reduction of personnel expenses in 2026 compared to 2025 for school inspectorates and extracurricular education units”. The Federation of Free Trade Unions in Education (FSLI) and the Federation of Trade Unions in Education “Spiru Haret” now ask the ministry to revoke circular no. 26564/1704.2026, citing that by issuing it several legal norms were violated.
Which institutions are affected by the new spending cuts
The confusing circular was sent, the Ministry of Education reasoned, as a result of an address from the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration requesting the transmission of data regarding the reduction of personnel expenses in 2026 and the completion of “monitoring and evaluation matrix”, “pursuant to Article XLIX of GEO No. 7/2026”. The inspectorates were given a deadline to communicate the completed model “no later than April 20, 2026, 4 p.m.’
Targeted by the 10% reduction in personnel expenses, according to the respective address, are the county school inspectorates and extracurricular education units, i.e. centers of excellence, school sports clubs, palaces and student clubs.
Unions intervened and sent a law firm’s point of view to the directors required to identify ways to reduce expenses by 10%. According to this opinion, the extracurricular education units, considered by the ministry as not being educational units, were included in the list in violation of the law, only the school inspectorates, the county centers for assistance and educational resources and the teaching staff’s homes could not be assimilated to school units, according to the lawyers consulted by the unions.
Why is this classification important? Because the initial form of art. XLIX, contained in the draft law put into decisional transparency by the MDLPA in January 2026, provided for the exemption from the reduction of personnel expenses of ESTABLISHMENTS and institutions from state pre-university education.
The unions mention in the complaint that by issuing the circular sent to the counties, they violated:
– the collective labor contract, the trade union federations not being consulted before issuing the document;
– even article XLIX of GEO no. 7/2026 invoked in the circular as a legal basis, which established that the units and institutions of state pre-university education are exempt from the measure of reducing personnel expenses;
– The Labor Code – because in the annex that had to be completed, there were headings such as the waiver of certain earned rights (increments).
“Under these conditions, considering the obvious illegal nature of Circular no. 26564/17.04.2026, we request you to proceed with its revocation, by issuing another circular in this regard”, demand the two federations.
The union leaders in the territory say that the content of the addresses sent in response to the circular is not known at this time, it is certain that in many counties the directors would have complied and would have identified measures to reduce these expenses.
The two federations of pre-university education also announced the organization of a picketing action at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education and Research, on April 29, 2026, between 12:00 and 14:00. About 300 people would participate in the action, protesting the “illegality of the Ministry of Education’s provision and the research regarding the 10% reduction of personnel expenses in extracurricular education units throughout the country.”
In pre-university education, expenditure reductions have been made since the summer of last year, when several normative acts were issued during the holidays that allowed the merger of school units, the increase of the teaching norm by two hours, the increase of the chair obligation in the case of directors and inspectors, etc. In the fall of 2025, Prime Minister Ilie Bologan stated that education will not be affected by further budget cuts.
