2009-04-02 18:41:03 -

RIGA, Latvia (AP) - Thousands of teachers held a peaceful demonstration in Latvia's capital Thursday to protest deep salary cuts as the government struggles to meet budget requirements for an international ¤7.5 billion ($10 billion) bailout package.
It was the largest of a series of protests against budget cuts prompted by Latvia's economic crisis, which led to the previous government's collapse in February.
Police said about 12,000 teachers from across the small Baltic country gave their students the day off and gathered in a small park across from the main government office building, where they blew whistles and sang songs.
«They are sending us back to the Stone Age,» said Tatyana Valeyeva, a Riga elementary school teacher. «All the progress we've made in recent years is being destroyed.
Teachers' salaries were trimmed 15 percent in January and will be slashed a further 20 percent in June as the country's new center-right government cuts back to meet requirements for the bailout package from the International Monetary Fund and other lenders.

The salary reductions affect all of Latvia's public sector workers, and medical workers and police have also held protests. So far no strikes have been held, but teachers, who will also lose medical insurance benefits and see a severe cut in holiday pay this year, said they would not rule out a strike if their situation does not improve.
The previous Cabinet resigned in February after weeks of instability, including a violent protest in downtown Riga against government reforms.
Latvia now has the European Union's most troubled economy, with the Finance Ministry predicting GDP will fall at least 12 percent this year. The crisis follows four years of stellar growth, with the economy expanding an average 10 percent per year.