Thousands of teachers and educators protest in Bucharest over new salary laws

(17 Jun 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Bucharest, Romania - 17 June 2026 1. Various top shots of teachers protesting in front of government headquarters in central Bucharest 2. Mid of teachers during protest 3. Mid of protester blowing horn, government headquarters in the background 4. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) Ion Zoican, teacher and protester: “I came out today to raise an alarm about the project of The Law on the Salary in the Budgetary System. Education is placed at the bottom ranking in this project, although there are documents issued by the government of Romania, which says that the salary of a new employee in education should start from the gross average in the economy, that is from 8,600 lei ($1900) in this new grid. We have it at least 1,000 lei ($220) lower.” 5. Close of teacher blowing horn 6. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) Ion Zoican, teacher and protester: “If we start this way, for the next five years, education will basically remain with cut salaries. Doctorate scholarships are being eliminated, the indemnity for food, the leadership class indemnity, that teachers have had for decades, are being eliminated. And this last one is an activity important enough in the relationship with students and parents. But they saw it was fit to eliminate it. The merit grading is being eliminated and there was a separate budget for this award. All of these are reduced and they say they'll come up with compensation, but the compensation disappears and the salaries remain reduced.“ 7. Wide of protest 8. Various of teachers blowing horns 9. Various of gendarmes monitoring protesters STORYLINE: Thousands of teachers in Romania's capital, Bucharest, protested on Wednesday over low pay and a new proposed wage bill they say would reduce their incomes. “If we start this way, for the next five years, education will basically remain with cut salaries," said teacher Ion Zoican who had joined the protest on Wednesday. "Doctorate scholarships are being eliminated, the indemnity for food, the leadership class indemnity, that teachers have had for decades, are being eliminated." Trade unions say low pay in the education is discouraging fresh graduates from from becoming teachers. Romania faces a shortage of teachers are education professionals at all levels, according to teachers union leaders with the average age of the teachers being around 50 years old. AP video ad production by Nicolae Dumitrache =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected]. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...