Bucharest - Romania's broad-based centre-left coalition faced a major confidence vote in parliament Tuesday over three laws concerning state spending and education.

The government comprising the centre PD-L and socialist PSD parties was expected to survive the vote, which hinges on a fast- track package of laws introduced under pressure from the International Monetary Fund.

This along with the European Union had granted Romania emergency credits of nearly 20 billion euros at the beginning of the year, attaching strict spending cuts provisions.

The parliament session went ahead as thousands of trade unionists gathered outside the building to protest the job cutbacks envisaged.

The package includes reducing pay for some 800,000 state employees including teachers, doctors, police and customs officers, all of whom have threatened to strike on October 5.

Another law in the package would provide for 300,000 state employees to be dismissed by 2015 and pay costs reduced from the present 9.4 per cent of the gross national product to 7 per cent.

Further measures entail schools gaining more independence as learning materials are no longer uniformly determined by the state, while academics will be judged more on ability and less on their years of service in being granted titles. (dpa)