Radio România Internațional

Tag: trade-union protests

Public sector trade unions voice grievances

The Labor Ministry in Bucharest has submitted to public debate a draft law that provides for a 10% increase in the salaries of certain public sector workers this year in two installments, June and September respectively. According to the bill, employees of cultural institutions and the Trade Registry, diplomats, defense workers, as well as those from city halls and institutions on the payroll of the Government and Parliament, are to receive higher salaries. The staff of county agencies for environmental protection and the agency for environmental protection of the municipality of Bucharest are also expected to benefit from increases. The impact on the state budget is estimated at over 200 mln EUR, an amount that should be obtained through restructuring and the reduction of spending on goods and services. For the first time, the head of the PSD-PNL coalition Cabinet, Social-Democrat leader Marcel Ciolacu, said the Government cannot afford to grant a bigger increase, in line with an analysis conducted by the Finance Ministry. A 10% salary increase is also expected to be granted to museum employees or those in the government’s structures. The latter reacted negatively to the government’s proposal, in addition to employees of the environmental agencies.

Environmental workers from Bacău (east) and Mehedinţi (southwest) counties protested for several hours on Wednesday, calling for the alignment of salaries in the territory with those in the center, as well as a 20% pay rise. Protesters accused the government of promoting a discriminatory salary policy that does not take into account their real needs. Unless inequities are eliminated, more radical forms of protest will follow, including suspending the issuance of permits for large projects, such as those involving national or European funds, environmental workers have warned. Employees of the Caraş-Severin County National Archives Service (southwest) also organized a spontaneous protest at the start of the week, criticizing the salary inequities between county and central services. The protest consisted in the termination of the activity and the suspension of public services. Although a process was initiated in January to standardize salaries in several public sectors, the employees of the National Archives were overlooked, one employee says. The Government faces additional pressure from certain categories of public sector employees who consider themselves wronged in comparison to other public sector workers, most of whose salary demands were met by the government, and it also has to deal with a sizable budget deficit. All that amidst an election whirlpool this year in Romania, which starts on June 9 with the local and European Parliament elections, continues in September with the presidential election and ends in December with the parliamentary election. (VP)

23 May 2024
February 7, 2023 UPDATE

EARTHQUAKES
– The powerful earthquakes that shook Syria and Turkey on Monday have killed
more than 6,300, according to the latest toll made public on Tuesday. Rescue
teams are making efforts to save as many lives as possible. There are also
dozens of thousands of people injured. According to estimates in Ankara, 13
million people have been affected in Turkey by the earthquake measuring 7.8 on
the Richter scale, which was followed by lots of aftershocks. President Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan declared 10 affected provinces disaster areas, also calling a
state of emergency in the entire region for three months. The president said 70
countries have so far provided assistance for search and rescue operations. Romania
joined the international support effort for Turkey and sent to Andana 3
military aircraft with 60 Romanian professional rescuers, doctors and nurses,
and specialized rescue equipment.

EUROPEAN
COUNCIL – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, on Tuesday attended a videoconference
with the European Council president, Charles Michel, and a group of European
leaders ahead of the extraordinary European Council meeting scheduled on
Thursday and Friday in Brussels. In today’s preliminary meeting, hosted by the
European Council president, we primarily focused on assistance to Ukraine at
all levels, on consolidating the competitiveness of EU economy and on
implementing clear-cut measures designed to combat illegal migration, the
president wrote on social media. The European Council is set to convene in
Brussels in a special summit to address Russia’s military aggression in
Ukraine, the latest economic developments at EU level and migration-related
topics.

FOREIGN
AFFAIRS – The Romanian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned Hungary’s
ambassador in Romania to inform him that our country firmly condemns the
statements made by the chairman of the Hungarian Parliament Foreign Affairs
Committee with respect to Romania allegedly restricting the display of the flag
of the so-called Szekler Land. The Romanian MFA states that the Romanian
legislation allows members of the 20 national minorities to display their
specific insignia in both private and public. As regards the so-called Szekler
Land, there is no administrative unit bearing this name, which also means no
one is justified to official use any specific insignia. Romania again calls for
restraint in public statements and expects Hungarian officials to observe the
strategic relationship between the two states.

SCHENGEN
– Romania and Bulgaria want to join the Schengen Area this year, the countries’
two Prime Ministers, Nicolae Ciucă
and Galab Donev have said. The two officials say it is important to
maintain good cooperation and agreed that EU-wide solutions are needed to
continue the fight against illegal migration. In a videoconference, the two
Prime Ministers also argued in favor of taking clear steps with a view to
making the Danube a permanent navigable watercourse and with respect to
building a new bridge in the Giurgiu-Ruse area.

PROTESTS
– The Sanitas Federation continued its protests on Tuesday against the Salary
Law and the underfunding of medical care and welfare in Romania. The list of
demands includes higher incomes for all the employees in the healthcare and
welfare system by at least 15%, to cover inflation, negotiations between the
Government and stakeholders on the new bill regarding the remuneration of
personnel paid from public funds, and the provision of a sufficient and correct
funding system for medical and welfare institutions. A delegation of the Sanitas Federation was received
at the Government headquarters on Monday, the first day of the protest. The
Federation announced protests would continue on Wednesday as well.

BILL – In
Bucharest, senators voted unanimously in favor of a legislative proposal to be
added to the Criminal Code, under which drivers found drunk or under the
influence of prohibited substances while driving, as well as those who drive
without a license, will go directly to prison in the situation in which they
cause a road accident resulting in casualties. In Romania, 100 people die
annually in road accidents caused by drivers in such situations, said the
initiator of the legislative proposal, PSD senator Robert Cazanciuc. Every
year, approximately 20,000 people are prosecuted for driving without a license,
under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and after the adoption of the
legislative proposal, judges will no longer be able to suspend the execution of
prison sentences. The document will now go to the Chamber of Deputies, which is
the decision-making body in this matter.

MOLDOVA
– The Republic of Moldova deserves to be part of the European family, European
Parliament president Roberta Metsola told a press conference on Tuesday held
jointly with Moldova’s Prime Minister, Natalia Gavriliță in Brussels, at the end of the
EU-Moldova Association Council meeting. We need to accelerate the integration
of your country on the single European market, president Metsola further said.
The EU official promised the European Parliament will fulfill its obligations
regarding the disbursement of €145 million to Moldova in the form of
macrofinancial assistance. We will find a way to be not just the beneficiaries
of European assistance, but in turn to contribute to the security of the EU’s
borders and help maintain peace and stability on the European continent, the
Moldovan Prime Minister said in turn. Attending the meeting, the Romanian State
Secretary for European Affairs, Daniela Gîtman, reiterated the firm commitment of Romania and the EU in
supporting the Republic of Moldova, a country facing overlapping crises against
the backdrop of the Russian aggression in Ukraine. (MI & VP)

7 February 2023
February 2, 2023

VISIT – Romania’s
president, Klaus Iohannis, is today starting his two-day visit to Baku,
Azerbaijan, responding to an invitation extended by his Azeri counterpart,
Ilham Aliyev. The two presidents will open the ministerial meeting of the
Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council. On this occasion, president Iohannis
will speak about Romania’s contribution to ensuring European energy security,
by expanding cooperation with regional partners and diversifying sources and
transport routes for energy resources. Moreover, Bucharest wants to import gas
at favorable prices from the Caucasus to replace its Russian gas imports. At
the same time, the Romanian president will discuss with president Ilham Aliyev
about extending bilateral cooperation in the fields of transport, trade,
agriculture, education and culture. The two officials will also review the
status of regional interconnection projects, such as the underwater electricity
cable, and will tackle the organization of similar projects in the digital
field as well.

DEFENSE – Romania remains
firmly committed to efforts at maintaining a climate of safety and stability in
the Western Balkans, Romania’s Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, said Wednesday
on the sidelines of his visit to the Camp Butmir military base in Bosnia
Herzegovina. Accompanied by the Chief of General Staff, General Daniel
Petrescu, Minister Tîlvăr met with Romanian servicemen taking part in the EUFOR
ALTHEA operation, with the EU commander of this mission, Major-General Helmut
Habermayer (Austria), and the head of the NATO Sarajevo command, General Pamela
McGaha (USA). We are very proud of the exemplary conduct of Romanian
servicemen in accomplishing their assigned duties, Angel Tîlvăr said. The EUFOR
ALTHEA operation was launched in December 2004. Starting 2012, the mission has
been focusing on training and consolidating the military capabilities of Bosnia
Herzegovina. 1,100 military from 21 states are taking part in the operation. A
Romanian officer is expected to assume command as EUFOR Chief of Staff.

EDUCATION – State Secretary
with the Education Ministry, Social-Democrat Florin Lixandru, announced his
attributions and prerogatives have been revoked under orders from the Liberal
Education Minister, Ligia Deca. Secretary Lixandru claims this is the result of
a political row, after PSD criticized some of the provisions in laws regulating
high-school admission and the Baccalaureate exam. The education laws are on the
agenda of Parliament’s current legislative session.

PROTESTS – Approximately 1,000 employees in the
education sector protested low salaries yesterday in Bucharest. Union
representatives say non-teaching staff are the only category of public sector
employees whose base salary was not increased in line with the provisions of
the framework law for 2022. Trade unions have called on the Government to pass
a draft law allowing non-teaching staff to receive their due salary rights, as
well as bonuses for special work conditions to all employees in the education
sector. The Sanitas Trade Federation also announced it would stage protest
actions starting February 6 until their demands are met. Among other things,
the Federation calls for increasing the salaries of all Healthcare and Social
Welfare employees by at least 15% in line with inflation.

ICR – The Romanian
cultural institute (ICR) will earmark some €200 thousand this year to
translations of Romanian literary works abroad via two separate funding
programmes, addressing publishers outside Romania. The measure seeks to
facilitate access to Romanian culture by supporting translations of Romanian
authors and publications devoted to Romanian culture and civilization. For the
first time, applications can also be submitted online, via email, by March 8,
when they will be examined by a commission of independent experts. (VP)

2 February 2023
April 14, 2021 UPDATE

DISMISSAL – Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis
on Wednesday signed the decree designating Liberal Prime Minister Florin Cîţu
as interim Health Minister, after the latter sacked Health Minister Vlad
Voiculescu, from the Save Romania Union. Florin Cîţu motivated his decision,
saying he wanted to maintain public confidence in state institutions, to be
able to overcome the difficult period generated by the pandemic. Dan Barna, the
co-president of the USR PLUS Alliance, which is part of the ruling coalition
alongside the Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in
Romania, said the prime minister no longer has the Alliance’s political
support. Dacian Cioloş, the other co-president of the USR PLUS Alliance,
described as unacceptable the fact that the prime minister did not consult the
USR-PLUS leadership before sacking the health minister. In turn, deputy prime
minister Kelemen Hunor, the leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic
Hungarians, said his party accepted the prime minister’s decision and that the
coalition must go ahead. From the opposition, Marcel Ciolacu, the leader of the
Social Democratic Party, said Vlad Voiculescu’s dismissal came too late for
many Romanians who lost their lives and ruined their health.
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement, the leader of the Social-Democrat
group in the Romanian Parliament, Alfred Simonis, said his party will withdraw
the simple motion filed against the Health Minister following the latter’s
dismissal.

COVID-19
IN ROMANIA – 4,076
new COVID-19 infections have been reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, the
group for strategic communication announced on Wednesday. Another 164 related
fatalities have also been reported during the interval, and 1,521 patients are
currently in intensive care. On the other hand, new criteria for the
implementation of quarantine have been published in the Official Journal. The
new system will keep track of infection rates based on a reference score grid.
Quarantine may be imposed when large cities reach a score of 60 and small
cities a score of 70. Some 50 towns and villages are currently in quarantine in
Romania.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD –As many countries in Eastern Europe
are faced with the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Bulgarian hotels and
travel agencies are worried that more and more Romanians are cancelling their
Easter bookings in the absence of clear rules for entering the country, while
Israel’s tourism and health ministries are considering opening borders for
groups of foreign tourists at the end of May, on certain conditions. In France,
the government has decided to postpone the local elections because of the
pandemic and in Austria, health minister Rudolf Anschober resigned due to
exhaustion caused by the management of the Covid crisis.

PROTESTS – Trade
unions on Wednesday staged anti-government protests outside the government
headquarters in Bucharest. They demand a rise in the minimum wage to a decent
level, fair pensions, quality public services, unblocking collective
bargaining, fair taxation and a fair application of the law. Trade unions say
they are unhappy with the measures taken by the government and its refusal to
engage in social dialogue and demand its resignation. The gendarmerie recalls
that a maximum of 100 persons are allowed to take part in public demonstrations
under the current coronavirus restrictions and have recommended protesters to
respect the hygiene and physical distancing rules in place and wear facemasks.

GYMNASTICS –Six Romanian gymnasts, three female
and three male, are taking part in the European Artistic Gymnastics
Championships hosted by Basel between 21st and 25th April, the Romanian
Gymnastics Federation has announced. Romania is pursuing two goals at these
championships: to have two more gymnasts qualified for the Olympic Games, one
in the men’s and one in the women’s events, and win medals in the individual
and team competitions. Only two Romanian gymnasts have so far booked their
tickets for the Tokyo Olympics: Marian Drăgulescu, in the men’s vault competition,
and Maria Holbură in the women’s all-around event. (C.M. & V.P.)

14 April 2021
February 24, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The vaccination of education
employees, through school inspectorates, stared on Wednesday in Bucharest and
most counties in Romania. The whole procedure will take until March 10 for the
first dose of vaccine, and authorities estimate that 60,000 people will be
immunized during this period. So far, more than 42,000 teachers have already
been vaccinated through the specially created national online platform.
Meanwhile, about 80,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine have arrived in the
country on Wednesday, which will be stored to ensure boosters for those already
vaccinated with the first dose. Since the start of the vaccination campaign in
Romania on December 27, a total of almost 2 million doses of vaccine have been
received, most of them from Pfizer. The serum from AstraZeneca has also been
administered in Romania for about ten days now. 3,300 new cases of coronavirus
infection were reported on Wednesday, following some 34,000 tests run at
national level. Another 73 related deaths have also been reported, and 1000
people are in intensive care.

COVID-19
IN THE WORLD – Worldwide,
more than 112 million people have been infected with the new coronavirus since
the beginning of the pandemic, more than a year ago. About 88 million have been
cured, and nearly 2.5 million have died. The World Health Organization has
announced that the death toll has fallen for three consecutive weeks, and the
number of confirmed cases of coronavirus has also continued to decline.
Meanwhile, European countries are making plans to ease restrictions and resume activities,
but are acting cautiously against the more contagious strains of the new
coronavirus. The European Commission has called on Belgium, Denmark, Finland,
Germany, Hungary and Sweden to drop restrictive measures imposed unilaterally
at the borders. The six states have ten days to justify the restrictions. In
order to curb the spread of the new variants, Italy is isolating more and more
localities. For its part, France has for the first time taken the measure of
territorial isolation of the population.

EUROPEAN
COUNCIL – Romania’s
President, Klaus Iohannis, on Thursday and Friday is attending the
extraordinary meeting of the European Council, held in videoconference format,
the presidency reports. The agenda for talks includes elements pertaining to
the coordination of the European Union in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
and actions in the healthcare sector. Moreover, EU leaders will tackle topics
in the field of security and defense, especially EU-wide cooperation and
EU-NATO complementarity and aspects related to the Southern Vicinity of the
European Union.

BUDGET –The specialized committees of
Romania’s parliament will start debates on the state and social security
budgets for 2021 on Thursday afternoon, during which the parliamentary groups
can submit amendments to the draft drawn up by the Government. The discussions
in the committees are expected to be completed by Saturday, and the vote in
plenary on the two documents to take place next Tuesday. The draft law for
approving the ceilings, which must be adopted before the state budget, will
also be debated and voted according to a tight calendar. The document was
endorsed by the Senate and on Wednesday was voted by the Chamber of Deputies,
the decision-making body on this matter. The ceilings bill sets the caps on
deficits and staff expenditure. The document stipulates that the ceiling of the
budget deficit will be 7.16% of the GDP this year, and personnel spending will
stand at 9.8%.

PROTESTS – Trade union protests continue
in Romania. On Wednesday, protests organized by the PUBLISIND Federation,
affiliated to the National Trade Union Bloc, were staged in Bucharest and in
the country’s prefectures against the freezing of salaries and bonuses, the
non-indexation of pensions against inflation, and the lack of a minimum wage
increase correlated with rising prices. PUBLISIND has members from the police,
border and penitentiary police, central and local public administration, social
assistance, court registry, sports and youth, finance and financial or environmental
control. Also on Wednesday, the Meridian National Trade Union Confederation and
the Federation of Railway Transport Trade Unions in Romania protested in front
of the transport ministry headquarters. Meanwhile, the miners who blocked
themselves in the underground of the Lupeni coal mine, in the Jiu Valley
(center-west), ended the protest that had started six days earlier, after they
were informed about the provisions of the agreement, concluded by their leaders
and the Ministry of Labour, under which they will receive all outstanding
salaries and other benefits they are entitled to. Prime Minister Florin Cîţu
said the Government has adopted a decision whereby all the payments stipulated in
the collective employment agreement, tantamount to some €2.25 million, will be
paid.

SPECIAL PENSIONS – President Klaus Iohannis has
promulgated the law eliminating the special pensions for senators and deputies.
The law was endorsed by Parliament last week. All parties, except the
Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, which abstained, voted in favour of the
bill initiated by the Social Democratic Party to eliminate special pensions.
The President of the Chamber of Deputies, Ludovic Orban, has stated that this
is just the first step. We will have to fearlessly attack all the
legislation in the field, in order to eventually make sure that all pensions in
Romania are established based on the principle of contribution, Ludovic
Orban said. 800 former MPs benefit from these special pensions, amounting to
some €10 million a year, paid from the state budget.

POSEIDON 21 – Over 700 soldiers, 13 military
ships, 9 aircraft, a pyrotechnic intervention truck and a remote-controlled
underwater robot will be deployed during the ‘Poseidon 21’ exercise organized
by the Romanian Naval Forces between February 26 and March 6. It is the first
multinational exercise in 2021 in the Black Sea. Forces and means from
Bulgaria, France, Greece, Romania, Spain, USA and Turkey will participate. With
a high degree of complexity, ‘Poseidon 21’ is included in the NATO Training
Program proposed by Romania at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, in 2016, to strengthen
security measures on the European south-eastern flank, as well as to ensure a
continuous presence in the Black Sea region. (M.I. & V.P.)

24 February 2021
January 26, 2021

COVID-19 – 2,877 new Covid-19
infections have been reported in Romania in the past 24 hours out of the 28
thousand tests carried out nation-wide, the Strategic Communication Group
announced on Tuesday. 97 fatalities have also been reported and roughly 8
thousand people infected are being treated in hospitals, out of whom 1,002 in
intensive care units. Over 700 thousand people have been infected on the
Romanian soil since the outbreak, and 90% of them have been cured. However, the
number of those infected with the new strain, initially identified in Britain, is
on the rise and some experts believe the new form is to gain momentum in
Romania in March. The national immunization campaign is in full swing in
Romania, which is currently seeing its second stage.

VACCINES – Romania wants vaccine certificates
not to affect freedom of travel in the EU, Romania’s Foreign Affairs Minister,
Bogdan Aurescu, said on Tuesday in a ceremony marking the launch of the six-month
Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Vaccination is
voluntary, and this should be an important factor, the Romanian official said.
Minister Aurescu pointed out that, right now, vaccinated people arriving in
Romania are not subject to quarantine. Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa favors the idea that European citizens
holding vaccine certificates should travel freely. The idea is supported by
tourism-dependent countries, as well as Germany.

RECOMMENDATIONS
– The European Commission highly recommends member states to apply measures
aimed at restricting circulation in order to urgently curb the number of
travel-related infections and thus ease pressure on the healthcare institutions
dealing with the pandemic. According to the Commission, tests can be done
concurrently with implementing compulsory quarantine up to two weeks. Travelers
can also be required to fill in forms on their journeys and contacts. The
measures proposed by the EU executive are aimed at limiting the COVID-19
infections and also the virus mutations.

BUDGET – Leaders of the Social-Democratic Party in opposition
on Tuesday talked to the leaders of the main trade confederations about its
alternate state budget, which the Social-Democrats want to present publicly on
Wednesday. The Social-Democrats claim there are enough financial resources for
investments and the increase in salaries, pensions, even to accommodate the
doubling of state allowances for children. The Social-Democrats accuse the
coalition Government of promoting austerity policies, and have promised they
would also include the proposals of their social partners in their own
alternate budget. In turn, Liberal Prime Minister Florin Cîţu said the upcoming
budget is based on a 7% budget deficit, agreed upon with the European
Commission, and will focus on investments and healthcare. The Prime Minister
also said the Government is working on modifying the laws on pensions and the single
salary.

PROTESTS – Trade unions on Tuesday continued their
protests against the Government’s social policies. Since the start of this
month unionists have been protesting in front of the presidency, the Government
building and various ministries, demanding a decent minimum wage, fair
pensions, quality public services, the unblocking of collective negotiations,
fair taxes and the rightful enactment of laws. Protest actions staged by the
Cartel Alfa trade confederation, one of the biggest in Romania, are scheduled
until February 28, and also include memorandums, notifications, petitions or
talks with MPs. The Government in Bucharest says the demands should be taken
under advisement in the context of the crisis generated by the COVID-19
pandemic, also considering the budget must observe a deficit of 7%.

SURVEY – Six in ten Romanians (59%) believe the Diaspora’s main
contribution to Romanian economy consists of money sent to families back home,
while 21% say it is money spent during their visits to Romania, a recent survey
conducted by a company specializing in online money transfers reveals. According
to the survey, a Romanian sends home an average of €500 every month,
considering the income of someone working Great Britain or Spain is
approximately €2,000. World Bank figures reveal that Romanians sent home some
$7.2 billion in 2019, accounting for 3% of the country’s GDP. Still, only 20%
of Romanians believe people who’ve left the country contribute to the
development of local economy by means of investments upon their return home.
Moreover, 60% of Romanians believe people who left the country should return. (D.
Bilt & V. Palcu)

26 January 2021
January 26, 2021

COVID-19 – 2,877 new Covid-19
infections have been reported in Romania in the past 24 hours out of the 28
thousand tests carried out nation-wide, the Strategic Communication Group
announced on Tuesday. 97 fatalities have also been reported and roughly 8
thousand people infected are being treated in hospitals, out of whom 1,002 in
intensive care units. Over 700 thousand people have been infected on the
Romanian soil since the outbreak, and 90% of them have been cured. However, the
number of those infected with the new strain, initially identified in Britain, is
on the rise and some experts believe the new form is to gain momentum in
Romania in March. The national immunization campaign is in full swing in
Romania, which is currently seeing its second stage.

VACCINES – Romania wants vaccine certificates
not to affect freedom of travel in the EU, Romania’s Foreign Affairs Minister,
Bogdan Aurescu, said on Tuesday in a ceremony marking the launch of the six-month
Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Vaccination is
voluntary, and this should be an important factor, the Romanian official said.
Minister Aurescu pointed out that, right now, vaccinated people arriving in
Romania are not subject to quarantine. Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa favors the idea that European citizens
holding vaccine certificates should travel freely. The idea is supported by
tourism-dependent countries, as well as Germany.

RECOMMENDATIONS
– The European Commission highly recommends member states to apply measures
aimed at restricting circulation in order to urgently curb the number of
travel-related infections and thus ease pressure on the healthcare institutions
dealing with the pandemic. According to the Commission, tests can be done
concurrently with implementing compulsory quarantine up to two weeks. Travelers
can also be required to fill in forms on their journeys and contacts. The
measures proposed by the EU executive are aimed at limiting the COVID-19
infections and also the virus mutations.

BUDGET – Leaders of the Social-Democratic Party in opposition
on Tuesday talked to the leaders of the main trade confederations about its
alternate state budget, which the Social-Democrats want to present publicly on
Wednesday. The Social-Democrats claim there are enough financial resources for
investments and the increase in salaries, pensions, even to accommodate the
doubling of state allowances for children. The Social-Democrats accuse the
coalition Government of promoting austerity policies, and have promised they
would also include the proposals of their social partners in their own
alternate budget. In turn, Liberal Prime Minister Florin Cîţu said the upcoming
budget is based on a 7% budget deficit, agreed upon with the European
Commission, and will focus on investments and healthcare. The Prime Minister
also said the Government is working on modifying the laws on pensions and the single
salary.

PROTESTS – Trade unions on Tuesday continued their
protests against the Government’s social policies. Since the start of this
month unionists have been protesting in front of the presidency, the Government
building and various ministries, demanding a decent minimum wage, fair
pensions, quality public services, the unblocking of collective negotiations,
fair taxes and the rightful enactment of laws. Protest actions staged by the
Cartel Alfa trade confederation, one of the biggest in Romania, are scheduled
until February 28, and also include memorandums, notifications, petitions or
talks with MPs. The Government in Bucharest says the demands should be taken
under advisement in the context of the crisis generated by the COVID-19
pandemic, also considering the budget must observe a deficit of 7%.

SURVEY – Six in ten Romanians (59%) believe the Diaspora’s main
contribution to Romanian economy consists of money sent to families back home,
while 21% say it is money spent during their visits to Romania, a recent survey
conducted by a company specializing in online money transfers reveals. According
to the survey, a Romanian sends home an average of €500 every month,
considering the income of someone working Great Britain or Spain is
approximately €2,000. World Bank figures reveal that Romanians sent home some
$7.2 billion in 2019, accounting for 3% of the country’s GDP. Still, only 20%
of Romanians believe people who’ve left the country contribute to the
development of local economy by means of investments upon their return home.
Moreover, 60% of Romanians believe people who left the country should return. (D.
Bilt & V. Palcu)

26 January 2021
Trade unions stage protests in Bucharest

Fall has traditionally been a hot season in post-communist Romania. Ever since the early 1990s, October and November have been the months with most rallies, staged to demand wage increases. In spite of the fact that in time things have changed for the better in economic and social terms, and that the force of trade union actions has decreased significantly, a number of protest actions are being staged this autumn in Romania as well.

On Thursday the trade union federation Sanitas, representing healthcare workers, protested in central Bucharest against the changes brought to the salary law, to be enforced as of January 1st 2018, which they believe will diminish their salaries. The unionists demand the elimination of the 30% cap on specific bonuses and the full application of these bonuses for all healthcare, social assistance and also technical and administrative staff.

Also, they are opposed to the transfer from employers to employees of the obligation of paying social security contributions, which, in their opinion, would cancel the 25% salary increases granted under the new salary law. “For months on end, deputies and senators are doing nothing but simulate their interest in sectors that they themselves declared ‘of national importance’. Under the pretext of respecting the governing programme they pass measures that in reality prove to be to the detriment of the healthcare employees,” President of the Sanitas federation, Leonard Barascu has said.

After Thursday’s protests, Sanitas trade union federation announced they would decide on whether to call an all-out strike in the healthcare and social assistance field. With trade unions already in the streets, the government coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats is now risking to antagonize employers’ associations as well, after having announced that all employers in Romania will have to pay a 2% social solidarity tax from the salary fund, as of next year.

This new tax will apply at the same time with the transfer of the obligation to pay social and healthcare security contributions from the employer to the employee. The Finance Ministry has said in a communiqué that the level of this contribution has been set so as to ensure the amounts needed for the payment of social security benefits such as unemployment benefits and medical leave and also to cover the cost of labour accidents and professional diseases.

The President of the National Council for SMEs, Florin Jianu, says that the solidarity tax does not have a clear destination, unlike the contributions currently paid by employers. Introducing this new tax will impact the business environment while employers will have to pay more money to purchase the new accounting software, Florin Jianu has also warned.

20 October 2017
September 27, 2017

CORRUPTION – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis has stated that the ministers who are being investigated in the so-called ‘Belina’ case, namely the Social Democrats Rovana Plumb and Sevil Shhaideh, should have resigned or should have been sacked. The head of state has criticized the ruling Social Democratic Party for its decision to support the two ministers, who four years ago allegedly transferred an island and an arm of the Danube from state property into the property of Teleorman County. The transfer was illegal. President Iohannis has also voiced worries over the planned changes in the judiciary laws, announced by the line minister Tudorel Toader. Harshly criticized by civil society and the media, Toader’s draft stipulates, among other things, that appointing the heads of the National Anti-corruption Directorate and of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism will no longer be the president’s prerogatives. Also, under the new law, Judiciary Inspection would be part of the Ministry of Justice, and the seniority threshold for the promotion of magistrates will be set higher. Early this year, Government’s attempt to amend, under an emergency decree, the criminal codes, triggered large-scale protests across the country and in the Diaspora. Hundreds of thousands of Romanians took to the streets, accusing the ruling party of trying to exempt from criminal liability top level politicians and decision-makers.

MINORITY RIGHTS – The Romanian Education Minister Liviu Pop is in Kiev today to discuss with his Ukrainian counterpart Lilia Grinevici the negative effects of the new education law on the Romanian ethnic minority living in Ukraine. Also, according to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Romania will inform the international community about the violation of the right of the Romanians living in Ukraine to study in their mother tongue. These reactions have come following the promulgation on Monday of a law that drastically confines education in minority languages. The approximately 500,000 Romanians in Ukraine form the second largest ethnic community in the country, after the Russian one. More on this after the news.

TRADE UNION PROTEST – The Romanian health federation Solidaritatea Sanitara (Solidarity for Health) has today announced a string of protests planned for Thursday and Friday. The participants will picket the head offices of the Labour and Health Ministries, following the Government’s announced intention to change the legal provisions regarding the basic salary. According to trade unionists, the change would trigger massive drops in the incomes of most employees in the health-care sector, of up to 60%, as of January 1st 2018. In another move, hundreds of people protested across Romania on Tuesday, after authorities announced that the payment of social contributions would become employees’ responsibility. The protests were staged by Cartel Alfa, one of the largest trade union confederations in Romania, which has announced that protests will continue throughout the week. Trade unionists say that transferring the responsibility of paying social contributions from employers to employees will lead to a drop in the net incomes, the dismantling of the unemployment fund and lower contributions to the pension fund. On October 4th, trade unions will gather for a large protest in Bucharest.

ARMY EQUIPMENT – By the end of the year, the Romanian Army will have purchased the first Patriot missile system, according to the Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor. He has stated today that Romanian authorities are also discussing the purchase of another 36 F16 fighters from the US. Also today, the Secretary of State for Defense Policy Mircea Dusa and the Chief of Staff of the Romanian Air Forces, the Lieutenant – General Laurian Anastasof, are attending at the air base in Monte Real, Portugal, the ceremony for the reception of three F16 updated fighters. According to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Defense Ministry, by taking over the three fighters, the Romanian Air Forces have finalized stage I in the process of introducing in the fleet F16 Fighting Falcon multi-role fighters. The first six out of the 12 strong squadron that makes the object of the Romanian – Portuguese agreement became part of the Romanian Air Forces capabilities in September 2016, and the next three in December last year.

COMPETITIVENESS – Romania ranks 68th in a classification of the most competitive countries in the world, 6 places lower than last year. In the same classification, Switzerland has maintained is leading position for the ninth year in a row, according to a report released by the World Economic Forum. Switzerland is followed in the rankings by the US, Singapore, the Netherlands and Germany. Ranking lower than Romania are countries such as Estonia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary. However, Romania is in a better position that Croatia and Greece. According to the report, the biggest issues facing Romania are taxation, bureaucracy, access to funding, a poorly educated labor force, corruption and the improper use of infrastructure.

ROWING – Romania’s women’s eight has qualified straight into the finals of the World Rowing Championship in Sarasota – Bradenton, Florida, the US. In the men’s double sculls, Vlad-Dragos Aicoboae and Cosmin Pascari will compete in the semi-finals on Thursday. Ionela-Livia Lehaci and Gianina-Elena Beleaga have qualified for the doubles sculls semi-finals, the light category, to be held also on Thursday. Romania is taking part in the World championships with six crews.

FOOTBALL – The only Romanian representative in the European football competitions, the vice-champion FCSB (formerly known as Steaua Bucharest) is playing on Thursday, away from home, against the Swiss from Lugano, in the Europa League. In the first Group G game, two weeks ago, FCSB won 3-0, in Bucharest, against Viktoria Plzen of the Czech Republic. The other game, Hapoel Beer Sheva of Israel defeated Lugano 2-1. In the rankings, FCSB comes 1st, with three points, followed by Hapoel, also with three points.

27 September 2017