190,000 Romanian teachers plan strikes over pay

About 190,000 teachers in Romania said Thursday they will strike next month to protest a delay in receiving a 50 percent raise.

Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu issued a decree Tuesday delaying the raise, which had been approved by Parliament, saying it must wait until April 1 given Romania's economic problems.

He warned that other public workers would demand big pay increases, too. Hundreds of thousands of them have threatened a strike Nov. 20 if they do not also get a 50 percent raise.

President Traian Basescu called on workers not to strike before elections Nov. 30. But he added that Romania should redirect resources to education and health, saying teachers and doctors were emigrating due to low salaries and poor conditions.

The teachers plan to walk off the job for two hours Nov. 10, then to begin an indefinite strike Nov. 18.