The trade unions filed the referendum initiative last week in protest against a 5% pay cut planned in the public sector, demanding of the government to negotiate on the amount of the cut.

If the referendum is called, the question will be as follows: Do you want the act on implementation of the 2013 and 2014 budgets, passed by the National Assembly on 6 December 2012, to come in force?

The trade unions will have a week after the collection deadline runs out to submit the signatures to the National Assembly.

Although they are not expected to fall short on the number of signatures, it is unclear whether the referendum would indeed take place, as the coalition intends to ask the Constitutional Court on Friday to rule whether the referendum could have unconstitutional consequences.

During the deliberation time at the Constitutional Court, the signature collecting is to be suspended. If the court gives a green light for the vote, the deadline will be extended by the duration of the suspension.