BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — More than 30,000 employees of town halls around the country have gone on strike to demand higher wages. The workers, who staged a one-day strike Thursday, are demanding a 10-percent salary increase and meal tickets, which are used to purchase food, according to union leader Valer Suciu. He says talks with the government have failed and that it hasn't honored promises it made during the 2012 election campaign. About 25 percent of the workers earn the minimum wage of about 1,000 lei ($255) a month. He says if demands aren't met, the workers will stage a protest in Bucharest on May 27, followed by an all-out strike in October. Local administration revenues have increased after town halls became more efficient in demanding taxes and hiked penalties for late payment.
