Despite the strike, senior high-school students are taking their scheduled national exam as teachers have agreed not to boycott the test.
Most hospitals countrywide have rescheduled surgeries and only take emergencies. About 10,000 ambulance workers are also on strike, but Bucharest ambulance services have upped their on-call staff and said they are ready to ensure regular activity.
Romania’s Government Sunday evening adopted two draft laws that make up its austerity plan and plans to seek a confidence vote in Parliament to pass them into laws.
Romania, which has been hit by the deepest recession in at least 20 years, has pledged to bring the budget deficit to 6.8% of gross domestic product under the terms of a EUR20 billion IMF-led rescue loan agreed last year.