PillAct project: Placing the Pillar of Social Rights in the Romanian education sector

The conference, which took place in hybrid format in Iași and online and which was held in the context of CESI's EU co-funded PillAct project on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, came at an important moment for European education and employment policy in national and European contexts.

Across the EU, education systems are facing persistent shortages of teachers and other education professionals, changing skills requirements and pressure to make education careers more attractive and sustainable. At the same time, the European debate is increasingly linking quality education to quality employment for teachers: adequate working conditions, access to professional development, social protection, meaningful worker participation and effective collective bargaining.

In Romania in particular, teachers are facing growing tensions over pay, workload and austerity measures, which have triggered repeated protests and threats of strikes for over one year now. Education unions argue that increased teaching hours, reduced compensation for additional work, large class sizes and proposed public-sector salary reforms are worsening working conditions and making the profession less attractive. Recent demonstrations have called on the government to reverse measures viewed as harmful to education and to ensure salaries better reflect teachers’ qualifications and responsibilities. More broadly, the dispute highlights concerns about Romania’s ability to recruit and retain qualified teachers and protect education quality while pursuing fiscal consolidation.

From European principles to working realities

The European Pillar of Social Rights provided the central framework for this discussion. Its principles encompass areas directly relevant to education professionals, including secure and adaptable employment, wages, social dialogue, work-life balance, healthy and safe workplaces, lifelong learning and equal opportunities.

The Iași conference looked beyond the Pillar as a set of European commitments and asked how those principles can be implemented in the everyday working lives of teachers and other education staff. The programme addressed the strengthening of social dialogue, working conditions and the attractiveness of teaching, continuous professional development, equality and inclusion, access to quality education and European cooperation on education policy.

The discussions held at the conference also connect directly with the EU's renewed emphasis on social dialogue and collective bargaining. The Pact for European Social Dialogue, signed in March 2025, was intended to reinforce the role of social partners in shaping labour-market and employment policies and committed the Commission and social partners to strengthening dialogue at both cross-sectoral and sectoral level.

The event also took place against the backdrop of the European Commission's forthcoming Quality Jobs Act, which trade union expect to focus on fair working conditions, training and career development, social protection, social dialogue and collective bargaining.

The timing is significant: A few days before the World Teachers’ Day on October 5 and a the deadline of a European social partner consultation on the forthcoming Quality Jobs Act, the meeting addressed some questions concerning working conditions, occupational safety and health, algorithmic management and AI at work, and fair digital and green transitions. Teacher careers are also expected to move higher up the EU policy agenda in light of the announced Education Package forthcoming in November 2026, including a dedicated EU Teachers’ Agenda intended to address working conditions, career development and the attractiveness of the education and training profession.

Connecting social rights with the European Education Area

The event was hosted by Laviniu Lăcustă, President of USLIP Iași, who outlined trade union priorities within the framework of the European Pillar of Social Rights. Discussions focused primarily on:

- strengthening social dialogue in the education sector
- improving working conditions and the attractiveness of the teaching profession
- the continuous professional development of education staff
- equal opportunities, inclusion, and access to quality education
- prospects for European cooperation regarding education policies

Marcello Pacifico, President of the Italian teacher union ANIEF and of CESI’s Europe Academy, advocated for a European Charter for Teachers, while Luc Viehé, President of CESI's Expert Commission 'Education', highlighted the importance of social dialogue in implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights and discussed its implications for the education sector.

Nuria Diez Guaria, a representative of the European Commission, supported efforts to enhance the value of the teaching profession in the context of implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights and the EU Agenda for Teachers. ;eanwhile, Iris Sibilla, Policy Advisor at CESI, presented the a toolkit for trade unions to help implement the Pillar of Social Rights in their countries and sectors.

The impact of the primacy of European Union law on the protection and promotion of workers' social rights was the subject of a presentation by Professor Septimiu Panaite, PhD, Director of the Private Law Department at the Faculty of Law, 'Alexandru Ioan Cuza' University of Iași. Additionally, Alina Ursu, a legal expert with USLIP Iași, presented a series of cases pursued and won by union members, including a forthcoming European Court of Justice ruling on the Working Time Directive and the right to rest applied to teachers.

Roxana Necula, Deputy Mayor of Iași, outlined the principles governing the relationship between teaching staff and the authorities, while Simion Hăncescu, President of FSLI, discussed the consequences of negotiations held over the past two years between education unions and government officials.

The conference concluded with a plea from former Romanian Minister of Education Liviu Marian Pop for supporting social dialogue and prioritizing education within government agendas.

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