Romania’s prime minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Friday that he will remain in office until a solution for the ongoing teachers’ strike is found, putting on hold his resignation ahead of an agreed rotation between two parties of the government coalition, according to See News.
Ciuca, who is head of the National Liberal Party (PNL), will continue talks with education unions, hoping to reach a solution through dialogue, he said during a news conference live-streamed on his Facebook page.
Earlier this week, the prime minister announced that he would present his resignation on Friday to open the way for the agreed rotation between the governing parties.
“We have agreed that until these issues are resolved, I will not resign and I will assume the responsibility of the position of prime minister. I hope that in the shortest period of time, we can implement the rotation within the coalition,” he added.
Members of labour unions in the education sector have been on strike over low wages and inadequate funding since May 22.
The rotation of power is a conditions that the parties of the current government coalition – Liberals, Social Democrats (PSD), and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) – have agreed upon.
PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu, who according to local media reports is expected to take Ciuca’s seat as part of the rotation, said that postponing the incumbent’s resignation is the correct decision, preventing political issues before a solution to the teachers’ strike is found.
Ciuca was sworn in as prime minister in December 2021, after serving as defence minister since November 2019.