Romanian ArcelorMittal workers end strike

GALATI, Romania, April 16 (Reuters) - Workers at Romania's top steel mill, owned by steel giant ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS), ended a two-day strike on Wednesday after a local court ruled their protest was illegal.

Trade unionists said the strike had halved production at the eastern Romanian facility. The company declined to comment.

Around 4,000 workers or one third of the plant's workforce started the protest this week, asking for a 30 percent increase in wages, now at 950 lei ($416) after-tax.

The strike followed three weeks of protest at a plant owned by French Renault (RENA.PA), which agreed to raise employees' wages by around 23 percent on average in 2008.

"Striking workers returned to work following the court decision to suspend the strike for 30 days. But if our demands are not met, we will use all legal weapons to accomplish them," trade union leader Ilinca Diaconu told Reuters.

Management had offered a 9.5 percent pay increase.

Wage pressures are on the rise IN Romania, which joined the European Union last year, as the economy grows robustly.

Economists warn that double-digit percentage salary increases in the private sector and insufficiently restrictive fiscal policy are fanning consumption and inflation, threatening long-term economic stability. (Reporting by Radu Marinas, editing by Will Waterman)