Romanian policemen are forced by the Interior Ministry to volunteer and cut half of their incomes. Elsewhere in the news, Romania is China’s opening in the EU, according to the Chinese ambassador in Romania. Last but not least, Red Cross Romania will open food banks for underprivileged in chain stores.
Romanian policemen are forced by the Interior Ministry (MAI) to volunteer and cut half of their incomes, Romania Libera reads. The Government planned to vote a normative act according to which all state employees would be forced to take a 10-day unpaid holiday. In its absence, MAI asked policemen to come with proposals that would reduce their incomes by half, between September-November 2009, one ziare.com report shows.
Pro Lex Union for policemen and customs staff show indignation and claim that the solution is backed by the other Police union, namely SNPPC. A Pro Lex report mentions that policemen have not received the free days they were entitled to for working extra hours and now they are faced with planning free unpaid days.
The Chinese Ambassador in Romania Liu Zengwen considers Romania to be China's gate to the EU, according to Adevarul. Liu Zengwen claims Romania can benefit from close relations with his country, especially regarding motorways construction and civil targets. This year, there 60 years of diplomatic relationships between Romania and China are celebrated. Liu Zengwen said that the commercial volume after 2003 started to near the 1979 figure, namely one billion dollars.
In his opinion, despite the good traditional relationships, Liu Zengwen believes that they can be improved. According to him, China was underdeveloped before 1978, when opened up to reform, starting to export the products they once imported from Romania. Additionally, the important businessmen from the two countries were never introduced properly, not only from an economic point of view, but neither from juridical and cultural perspectives. They do not know each other's markets.
The Chinese community in Romania is estimated at 8,000 people, but it has been continuously shrinking within the last few years. Liu Zengwen highlighted that Romania's work force migrated to the EU, leaving a higher demand in Romania. In 2008, there were 4.000 Chinese receiving a work permit from Romanian authorities. But the language and the problems they had with their contracts, secured by third parties, plus the financial crisis having Romanians coming home from abroad made them return to China.
Red Cross opens a food bank in Romania, Evenimentul Zilei informs. The campaign will start on September 27, and its aim is to bring food to Romania's underprivileged. People wishing to donate long-life food products can do so in the "food banks" from Carrefour, Metro and Mega Image. The food will be labelled with a sticker, to make sure it will not return on the stores' shelves.
People can contribute with canned food, sugar, oil, flour, pasta, biscuits, instant soups and chocolate. The will be passed to old people with low incomes, families with only one parent, homeless, impaired persons and to people suffering of chronic diseases. The ones to benefit from the Red Cross campaign will be selected following a social investigation. More details on www.crucearosie.ro.
