Teachers’ unions refused to sign an agreement with the Cabinet, envisioning an average teachers’ salary of 650 leva by 2008 and reduction of pedagogical and non-pedagogical staff by 30 to 50 per cent.

Teachers continued their strike, which began on September 24 2007, Focus news agency reported.

According to the unions, some 78 000 people from the whole country had gathered at the national protest at Ploshtad Nezavisimost (Independence Square) in Sofia.

At the square the protesters read a declaration, stating that the representatives of the three teachers’ unions, who negotiated with the Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, would only sign an agreement that would meet the teacher’s demand for gradual 100 per cent increase of the salaries.

The unions said that the PM offered them a 650 gross average salary for the pedagogical personnel and 350 leva gross salary for the non-pedagogical staff. The unions demand 789 leva gross monthly wage for the pedagogical staff and 427 for the non-pedagogical.

Stanishev’s proposal was an improved offer, but was not satisfactory for the unions.