The Washington Post/Thousands of Romanian workers protest low wages

.....Romania is mired in a deep recession and is dependent on a $17.1 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to pay some public sector wages. Unions want a minimum monthly salary of 650 lei (euro155, US$228) in 2010 and are demanding that the government scrap a measure forcing workers to take 10 unpaid vacation days this year. Romania's economic downturn was made worse by political instability after the coalition government collapsed last week when the Social Democrats quit the government. Prime Minister Emil Boc leads a minority government but even that is not expected to survive, after opposition parties said they would file a no confidence motion in coming days. President Traian Basescu acknowledged this weekend that there was no clear way for Romania out of the recession. "Neither the government, myself nor the central bank can get Romania out of this crisis, because it's not possible. It's a global crisis and Romania is dependent on what happens globally." (The Washington Post/07.10.2009)