Nearly a year ago, the newly installed Bolojan administration announced a series of cuts, starting with student scholarships, and the extension of working hours for teachers and other education employees. Taking advantage of the fact that the school year was coming to an end, Education Minister Daniel David launched these attacks without hesitation, knowing he had a whole summer ahead of him before teachers could react.
Early last fall, the leadership of the largest education unions, the Federation of Free Trade Unions in Education (FSLI) and the “Spiru Haret” Federation of Education Unions, promised workplace action against the attacks. The union protests in September also succeeded in winning over some students to the union side.
Instead of organizing a strike, however, the current union leadership decided to call for a “boycott,” meaning teachers would be physically present in the classroom, but (optionally) refrain from teaching classes. This strategy failed on all fronts, allowing the leadership to avoid organizing a strike.
As the government continued its assault on the education system, the need for a strike like the one in 2023 became increasingly evident. In the first month of 2026, the FSLI conducted a poll in which 77.9% of union members said they would have participated in the strike. On 14 May, the same leadership announced that “only 19% (…) voted in favor of the strike” (without specifying whether the rest voted against or abstained by not voting) and thus announced that the strike is “postponed.”
The reason they cited for losing OVER 50% OF THE VOTES in such a short time is demoralization amid the government’s collapse. The main figures in this ruling clique, Simion Hăncescu (FSLI) and Marius Nistor (Spiru Haret), declared that they would continue the weekly street protests, which they have been holding for nearly a year now, urging teachers to keep calm while we wait for a new government, promising, as usual, strikes at some unspecified future date.
A failure on the part of union leadership!
The memory of the 2023 strike brought hope, even though its potential was squandered back then by its premature end. This was one of the largest strikes since the fall of Ceaușescu in 1989, demonstrating both the massive potential of the working class and the fact that the labor movement is beginning to revive, becoming a force in its own. The possibility of postponing the baccalaureate exams frightened politicians from all parties, especially given that a victory for the strikers would have shown an entire generation that industrial protests in the workplace can force even a country’s leaders to back down.
Nevertheless, the strike was “suspended” following a mere 5% wage increase, far below the demands made at the start of the strike. This decision, made by the same leadership that decided to “postpone” the current strike, led to a mass exodus of members from the union, as they were disappointed by the outcome and lost hope in the union itself.
Over time, the “suspension” of the strike simply turned into its permanent cessation, even though it was initially promised that strike action would resume if the demands were not met by January 1, 2024—which they were not. Now the union leaders are talking about “postponing” the strike planned for May 25, without providing details, citing the absence of a government.
The fact that the austerity government fell, but the laws cutting scholarships, wages, and pensions remained in place was not a reason to refrain from a strike, but one more reason for a education-sector general strike! The main demand of the strike could have been that whatever government is formed must repeal the “Bolojan laws,” which cut scholarships, wages, and pensions.
Without a strike, not only will these cuts remain in place, but when the next government is formed, if it has to make cuts somewhere, it will once again target education, sensing weakness. This weakness, however, does not lie with the majority of education workers, but with the union “leaders,” who failed to gather the necessary number of signatures.
We are aware that in a number of schools, the people sent to collect signatures instead tried to demoralize their peers by portraying the signature drive as irrelevant—a mere bureaucratic formality for a strike that “has no chance of succeeding anyway.” Such a campaign, which may have “missed” several schools as well, resulted in a loss of over 50% in favor of the strike.
Defeatist Outlook
There is a mood across the trade union bureaucracy that it is best to avoid a strike unless victory is ‘guaranteed’. We consider this to be a completely mistaken approach. A strike is a weapon that workers use to force management to the negotiating table by hitting where it hurts most: their wallet. Sometimes, the threat of strike action alone is enough to pressure management to offer more “favorable terms” But it is frequently the case that bigger gains can be made by going ahead with strike action. It is true that a victorious strike raises the confidence of workers in their own strength better than anything else. It deepens workers’ unity – forged in the experience of common struggle – and strengthens workers’ willingness to challenge both the bosses and their own misleaders. However, whilst strikes can be prepared for – and a well prepared strike always has a better possibility of victory – no strike can ever begin with victory guaranteed. Ultimately, the success of a strike is decided during the strike, not before it.
Crucial factors increasing the possibility of a victorious strike is the morale of the majority of members, which can be strengthened by the union leadership through its ability to demonstrate its determination to lead a fight, to do ‘whatever it takes’ to win and showing that they have a plan, a clear idea of the next step, and a path forward.
If the leadership has lived up to its name, any retreat or compromise that becomes necessary in the course of the strike, can be honestly explained to the workers – who must still have the final decision on beginning, ending or pausing any struggle – and used to learn lessons and raise understanding of what will be required for victory next time, in the longer-run strengthening the unions.
This demonstrates, at best, the current leadership’s incompetence in mobilizing the union majority. You cannot blame “low morale” if you have worked to demoralize the members, especially since the responsibility for maintaining morale falls on the union leaders.
A union is only as strong as the extent to which the majority of its members are involved in day-to-day decision making, and especially in labor disputes. For a labor movement prepared to win victories, experience of united struggle is needed—experience that can only be gained through such workplace disputes.
If union leaders decide from the outset that a strike will fail, before it even begins, in an attempt to discourage the strike, this in turn discourages the majority of members from getting involved in the first place. Just as in 2023, when they called off the strike after the first “peace treaty” offer, instead of continuing until a real victory was achieved, they have now decided on behalf of the majority that the strike “has no chance” of success. However, they fail to realize that the lack of a response from the unions now could lead to intensified government attacks against the education sector.
The entire current situation is due to the union leadership’s strategy, which treats unions as mediators between employers and workers. This strategy, called “social partnership,” has so far failed to yield results for the labor movement, not even for the unions to which they lead.
Especially in the next period, every time union leaders try to “sit down with the bosses” to reach a consensus, they will find that they have no bargaining power. The bosses will learn that the threat of strike action is just that, a threat, and if they ‘tough it out’ the union will retreat. The rhetoric that “we’re all in the same boat” is a lie cynically used by the bourgeoisie, and today, with capitalism in an ever-deepening crisis, they aren’t even willing to play the role of the “nice boss.” It is in their interest to cut wages, freeze hiring, subject the welfare state to market logic, and privatize what remains.
That is why the only negotiations that work are the ones the boss is forced into, when they are willing to accept defeat to the strikers. The need for a militant strategy is also reflected in the political situation. Although pressure could have been put on politicians to repeal the austerity laws, the leadership decided to give in to them.
Any retreat by the unions from a political struggle weakens the union, which, without a political arm, fights with one arm tied behind its back, and leaves politicians with more control over what the union can or cannot do. If the political crisis has indeed demoralized union members, it is all the more clear that the political sphere is closely linked to the industrial one, highlighting the need for a workers’ voice in current politics.
Fight for Militant Trade Unions
The problems in the education system remain, and indeed the entire working class—from the Romanian Water Authority to the healthcare system—is growing angrier by the day. This year we’ve seen strikes at CEO Oltenia and Azomureș plants, and it’s very likely that if the liberals try to target CFR and Metrorex with similar cuts and layoffs, workers will go on strike—perhaps even against the wishes of their union leaders.
To win the upcoming labor disputes and prevent them from ending before they even begin, we believe a change of direction within the unions is necessary. A network of militant union activists, organized at the national level, could have supported the signature campaign, saving it from the misguided direction of the current leadership.
Now more than ever, we need a militant, socialist, and worker-oriented leadership in the unions—one that, recognizing that the problems are systemic, fights to increase workers’ power in society and prioritizes exclusively the interests of the working majority, NOT the profits of an elite. The CWI is fighting on every continent for such a change of direction in the international workers’ movement! Join us and let’s build it together!