Romania's government will challenge the double-digit public sector wage increases approved by parliament on Monday because they are against the law, Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said. Lawmakers approved hikes for state workers in education and healthcare, the latest in a series of spending measures ahead of a Dec. 11 parliament election that would put the 2017 budget deficit significantly over the European Union's 3 percent of GDP ceiling. The government of technocrats, which has fragile support in parliament, estimated that Monday's hikes and other approved bonuses would raise the public sector wage bill by 4.85 billion lei ($1.19 billion).
