Reacting to warnings of a September 15 teachers' strike, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said on Sunday that the situation requires reasonable action. "The school year cannot begin with a teachers' strike. After all, we need to be reasonable," he said, speaking to journalists.

"A budget was worked out last year, and the trade unions took part in the consultations. Back then, a union leader said the current finance minister will be remembered for the highest wage rates in the teaching sector. That very leader is now most vociferous in threatening a teachers' strike," Stanishev said.

The Prime Minister went on to say that the national budget lacks the recourses necessary to meet the unions' demands.

"We cannot catch up with EU wage levels overnight, this is unrealistic to expect," he said. If wages are increased under pressure, workers in other sectors will follow suit, he said.

The matter needs to be considered in its entirety, the Prime Minister said. He believes that teaching standards apparently leave something to be desired, considering that parents in
Bulgaria pay a total of 800 million leva annually for complementary out-of-school studies for their children.