Romania - 2011

Population:
Capital: Bucharest
The country’s legal framework remains inadequate in its guarantee of trade union rights, particularly of unions’ internal administration, collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
and the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike . Protests at the government’s austerity measures have been frequent, and there are fears about further reforms of the labour code.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)

reported violations - 2011

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Background

The country’s continuing economic problems remained the key issue in Romanian politics in 2010. Financial cuts, agreed by the Romanian government and the International Monetary Fund, took effect from 1 June 2010. These measures cut public sector wages by 25%, unemployment benefits and subsistence allowances by 15%, and included widespread job losses. The trade unions set up a crisis committee, and numerous protests took place.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Bucharest

reported violations- 2011

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Trade union rights in law

Trade union rights remain inadequate, although revisions of relevant labour laws have been initiated with ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights assistance. The 2003 Trade Union Law recognises the right of workers to establish and join a trade union, but the procedure for registering a union is long and cumbersome. Unions’ internal freedom is limited, as the law requires prior approval of amendments to unions’ internal rules, and state administrative bodies have wide powers to control unions’ economic and financial activities.

Trade union officials have by law a right to a shorter work schedule for trade union activities without loss of pay, but in a recent ruling, No. 1276/2010, the Constitutional Court declared this provision unconstitutional. The law also provides for sanctions for obstructing union activities; however, those sanctions cannot be applied in practice due to loopholes in the Penal Code. The right to collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
is only secured in workplaces where there are at least 21 employees, and the scope of bargaining in the public sector is limited. Furthermore, collective disputes can be referred to compulsory arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.

See conciliation, mediation by virtue of the Labour Disputes Settlement Act.

A lawful strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike can only be called in defence of workers’ economic interests, and the law provides for compulsory arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.

See conciliation, mediation where a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike lasts more than 20 days. Should a court declare a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike illegal, the trade union has to pay damages and its leaders may be dismissed. A minimum service minimum service The operations needed in a public or private establishment during a strike, normally to avoid compromising the life or basic needs of the population or causing irreversible damages.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework of one third of the normal activity must be provided in the event of a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike in a number of sectors, including public transportation.

Additional information regarding the legislation
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Bucharest

reported violations - 2011

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

In practice

Concerns over law on retrocession of trade union assets: At the beginning of the year, Romania remained the last new EU member state from Central and Eastern Europe not to have settled the issue of trade union assets. In December 2009 the Romanian senate had rejected a bill on trade union assets proposed by a commission composed of members of the government and representatives of trade union confederations. In January 2010 the international trade union movement called on the Romanian government and President to promulgate the law on retrocession as adopted by the commission in order to solve the issue of distribution of trade union assets, and thereby enabling trade unions in Romania to pursue their activities freely and securely.
Concerns over functioning of National Agency of Integrity: The Romanian trade union confederations, including CNSLR FRATIA and Cartel-ALFA, have protested against the provisions in the Law 144/2007 on the creation, organisation and functioning of the National Agency of Integrity. These provisions require senior officials of trade union federations and confederations to publicly disclose their personal assets. There are concerns that this law would enable the Agency to be used as an instrument to put political pressure on trade unions, and the confederations urged that the provisions be withdrawn.
Reform of the country’s labour code continues to be discussed with the IMF: Measures to reduce workers’ protections are being implemented on top of the massive cuts to wages, pensions and public services that form part of the current adjustment programme implemented by the Romanian government to comply with public spending limits specified in the loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Concerns have been voiced that efforts under way with IMF backing to achieve legislative changes would bring about increased precariousness in the labour market. These reforms have not been discussed or agreed nationally on a tripartite basis.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Bucharest

reported violations - 2011

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Violations

Media company in breach of legal obligations: A dispute in the media industry arose when the Romanian Journalists Federation (FRJ) MediaSind asked the Adevarul Press Trust management to observe national and international labour legislation in force in the country as well as the existing collective labour agreement. After MediaSind complained to the country’s Labour Inspection labour inspection An authority responsible for ensuring compliance with labour laws and legal provisions relating to protection of workers through the inspection of workplaces. Authority, the Authority discovered that the company ignored provisions of the collective labour agreement. At the same time the Parity Commission in the News Media (composed of MediaSind, the Romanian Press Employers’ Association ROMEDIA and the National Union of Romanian Employers) revealed that Adevarul was in breach of the country’s labour laws. The Commission called on the company to abide by the law. In response, Adevarul unilaterally terminated copyright agreements covering six journalists who were members of the union and then fired them.
Refusal to enter into collective bargaining: The Agency for Social Benefits of Bucharest refused to enforce the law in relation to collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
. On 17 February the trade union “Postman” had registered a demand with the Agency to the effect that the National Romanian Post Company S.A. should invite them to the mandatory annual round of collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
, but the Agency refused to agree to their demand.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Bucharest

reported violations - 2011

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
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