Transport Minister rescinds order making union presence at Metrorex Board meetings mandatory

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Catalin Drula rescinded today an order from 2014 that made inviting the representatives of the 'Unitatea' Metro Free Trade Union - USLM to the meetings of the Metrorex Board of Directors mandatory. "The first measure recommended by the Control Body in the Metrorex case has been carried out. I rescinded the 2014 order that made it mandatory to invite the union to the meetings of the Board of Directors. After appointing a professional Board of Directors, yesterday, today we take another step towards getting the management of the company out of the union's pocket," Drula wrote on Facebook. He assured, however, that there will be a constructive social dialogue with the unions. "So that there is no room for interpretation: there are two laws - No. 62/2011 and No. 467/2006 - that require the company management to consult with and inform the unions in well-defined situations. The companies will proceed accordingly and will maintain a constructive social dialogue with the unions. But situations where the management makes decisions under supervision will not happen again. I hope that this moment is the beginning of a normal relationship: unions and management should not be adversaries, but honest partners who work for the good of the company in the long run. The good of the company ensures the good of the employees and vice versa," the Transport Minister wrote. On Thursday evening Catalin Drula said that the Metrorex organizational chart "seems stuffed with positions paid with whopping wages compared to the market", noting that the director's advisors can earn more than the advisors to a minister. With regard to the irregularities found by the Control Body at Metrorex in relation to the management and the trade union having negotiated a wage increase of 18 percent, Drula specified that the negotiation was carried out heedlessly and the current solutions are either the renegotiation of the employment contracts under the current financial circumstances of the company, or laying off personnel. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Tilică, editor: Andreea Marinescu; EN - author: Simona Klodnischi, editor: Simona Iacob)