Cartel Alfa: No talking about decent work in Romania, after Labour Code change in 2011

In Romania we cannot speak of decent work, as of 2011, following the change of the Labour Code and the impossibility of negotiating collective labour contracts, Marian Apostol, the president of the 'Cartel Alfa' National Trade Union Confederation, the Caras-Severin branch, told a press conference on Thursday in Resita.

"It is appropriate to draw the attention of the Romanian decision makers that we are celebrating the World Day for Decent Work in a country where one cannot talk about decent work any longer. Decent work, from the point of view of the International Labour Organization, should have an effect on the dignity of workers, equal treatment and equity in the workplace, employment opportunities, right to rest, health and security measures in the workplace, protection when ending work relationship, a salary to cover the basic needs, collective negotiations for all workers. Or, I couldn't say that any of these components place us in an area that corresponds, even slightly, to the phrase decent work," the president of Cartel Alfa, Caras-Severin branch affirmed.

According to Apostol, the lack of negotiations have led to imbalances on the labour market. He maintains that the current Code of Social Dialogue is one hostile to the area it legislates. In the opinion of the president of Cartel Alfa Caras-Severin, it all started in 2011, when the Labour Code was replaced with a Code of Social Dialogue, which canceled the collective work contract at national level, as well as the wage grids established in the Collective Labour Contract.

The World Day for Decent Work, celebrated on October 7, will be marked earlier, by a protest of Cartel Alfa-affiliated trade union members by wearing white armbands. They want to draw attention to the need to return to real dialogue and negotiations, not just formal ones.

According to the representatives of the trade union organization, Romania is currently facing a workforce crisis, four million Romanians working abroad, and of the overall number of employees, 60 percent are paid with the minimum wage. AGERPRES (RO - author: Paula Neamtu editor: Marius Fratila EN - author: Catalin Cristian Trandafir, editor: Simona Iacob)