Update adds information about minister Gheorghe Ialomitianu in the last paragraph)

Hundreds of employees of the Finance Ministry and the Bucharest Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) staged a spontaneous protest Wednesday on the halls of the Ministry itself, saying they have not received their bonuses, which make a significant part of their wages, for the last two months.

Romanian "Sed Lex" union leader Vasile Marica Wednesday evening told the Finance Ministry protesting employees that talks with Minister Ialomitianu have hit a deadlock and that the union has sent for food and water for those that will go on striking beyond normal working hours.

Marica said the minister refused to allow the bonuses, claiming his hands are tied. The union leader asked the protesters to stay and informed them that they would be provided water and sandwiches.

A meeting between the employees and ministry officials yielded no solution, so the protesters carried on, even beyond regular working hours. From Bucharest, the protest spread all over the country, as the employees of several county fiscal administration agencies went on strike.

The Government slashed the wages in the entire public sector by 25 percent this summer, as part of an anti-crisis program to reduce the budget deficit. Former Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu had promised his ministry's employees they would continue to receive bonuses until a new unitary wage law entered force, as these incentives' elimination would, in effect, mean their salaries would be cut by 60 percent.

Vladescu was replaced with Gheorghe Ialomitianu in September, with Prime Minister Emil Boc citing the former's plan to continue paying bonuses as one of the reasons to the reshuffle.

UPDATE: Minister Gheorghe Ialomitianu was prevented by protesters from leaving the ministry headquarters on Wednesday evening and had to withdraw in his office while protesters were asking for his resignation. Prime Minister Emil Boc has told Ialomitianu the strike is an issue he will need to resolve by himself, according to Romanian newswires.

UPDATE 2: The Finance Ministry Gheorghe Ialomitianu has finally managed to leave the Ministry's headquarters, surrounded by police officers.

Mediafax