Radio România Internațional

Tag: workforce

  • Romania, increasingly attractive for immigrants       

    Romania, increasingly attractive for immigrants       

    Romania attracts an increasing number of foreign workers, who come to the country for higher salaries and better working conditions.

     

    Romania is becoming increasingly attractive for foreign workers, according to a study carried out by the Civil Society Development Foundation. In recent years, the labor market has seen a significant increase in the number of foreign employees, exceeding the 200,000 threshold in 2023. This trend reflects an increasing diversification of the workforce, at a time when the country is facing a crisis of human resources in certain sectors.

     

    There are several reasons why Romania is becoming a favorite destination for foreign workers. First, the wages offered are often higher compared to those in their home countries, especially for Asian workers. In addition, many Romanian and international companies operating in Romania face a shortage of skilled labor, and bringing in workers from abroad becomes an attractive solution. Although foreign workers contribute to economic growth, they also deal with many challenges, such as abuse by employers.

     

    According to the study, the countries of origin of most foreign workers in Romania are Nepal, Turkey, Italy, the Republic of Moldova, Sri Lanka and India. Foreign labor force is hired mostly in sectors like constructions, hospitality and retail. Data from the General Inspectorate for Immigration show that 80% of them do unskilled work.

     

    The integration of foreign workers is not easy, but it is important for Romania’s economic growth, says Ramona Chiriac, head of the European Union Representation in Romania. Ramona Chiriac: “The FDSC study will highlight the language barriers, the ill-adjusted legislation regarding social insurance, in some cases a limited access of workers to quality public services, the various abuses by employers, all of which require new appropriate public policies to transform this phenomenon in a success story, both for Romania and for those who come to Romania.”

     

    On her part, Victoria Stoiciu, state counsellor with the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, said that the representatives of several ministries are working jointly on a legislative framework to help immigrants. This would mean strengthening state control institutions, such as the Labor Inspectorate and ensuring decent working conditions, good wages and protection against human trafficking for immigrants. Hiring foreign workers is a win-win situation, increasing companies’ efficiency and productivity, while workers enjoy better working and living conditions.

     

    Cultural and linguistic differences can, however, create communication barriers, and the working and living conditions for these workers are not always optimal. However, many of them say they are satisfied with the opportunities found in Romania, appreciating both the stability of their jobs and the possibility of sending money home to support their families.

     

  • Romania’s new faces

    Romania’s new faces

    Romania has been facing a workforce deficit for quite some time now, created by a negative birthrate, a dramatic ageing of the population and a massive inflow of migrants. That is why, in recent years, finding a solution to the problem represented a priority for the Romanian Government, given the workforce shortage in certain fields. That explains why Romanian streets, from the regional capitals to the small country towns, today look different than they looked a couple of years ago. In the confectioner’s shop windows, riding the food delivery bicycles, in the restaurant kitchens and in all sorts of factories, as we speak, people from afar have a job. All their hopes are pinned on Romania.

     

    That is why in each of the last three years, 2022, 2023 and 2024, a contingent of 100,000 work permits was approved of, for workers from non-European countries.

     

    Other data pointed to the fact that the number of work permits Romania issued to Sri Lankan citizens in 2022 accounted for more than 50% of the total number of such permits issued to Sri Lanka in the entire European Union. According to data provided by the General Inspectorate for Immigration, in 2023, 101, 253 work permits were issued for citizens from outside the European Union. Most of such workers were from Nepal, over 23,000, Sri Lanka 22,000, Bangladesh 18, 000, and Pakistan, over 8,250. The same data point to a significant gender gap: in 2023, almost 90% of the newcomers are men. Of the main fields these workers are employed in are tourism and the hospitality industry, factories, equipment, construction, cleaning.

     

    Notwithstanding, we find it hard to tackle the topic of the foreign works ignoring the issue of their right to fair and safe working conditions, capable of protecting them from the employers’ prospective abuses.

     

    Quite a few of the press articles and investigations that have been recently published highlight how the vulnerability circumstances of these people, in a country whose language and legislation they do not know, expose them to exploitation, fraudulency and illegality circumstances. Many times, that happens for reasons they are not responsible for. Oftentimes, the foreign citizens pay rip-off sums to the go-between employment agencies, which, for them, translates into loans ranging from 4,000 to 10,000 Euros. They plan to return the sums in installments provided by the wages they get in Romania. When asked how it was possible for them to make the loans, foreigner answered they pawned family jewels, sold their plots of land, went to the bank or guaranteed with the legal documents of the houses and plots of land where their families lived.

     

    Such circumstances have placed them in a dependence relationship with the Romanian employers, who can infringe upon their fundamental rights. Anatolie Cosciug is a researcher and deputy director of the Comparative Studies Migration Center. Here he is, speaking about the abuse cases as they have been highlighted in the surveys:

     

    Anatolie Cosciug:  “We tried to find out whether those cases of abuse we’ve heard of – including from other researches, other reports – are exceptions or isolated cases or it’s actually a system thing; and if it’s a system thing, why is this happening? Here there are factors of migration or social policies in general, so not only about migration, but as we are organized as society. This is rendering immigrants and people who came to work here, very vulnerable. And I proposed to have an approach centered on human rights. This is surreal somehow as nobody speaks about them as people with rights, who are vulnerable and need protection to some extent. This seemed absolutely exceptional – in the interviews with them, the NGOs and other stakeholders – no one has this human rights approach.”

     

    Asked about the main abuse cases he discovered, Anatolie Coşciug answers:

     

    Anatolie Cosciug: “We tried to tackle all the human rights, the main forms of human rights and see what the situation is for each of them and identify specific cases for each of these rights. So, we took for instance, the right to a decent job, to a decent dwelling place, family rights, education. And surprisingly or not, we found out situations in which some of these rights were being violated, particularly in the case of dwelling. There were difficult situations in this respect, you know. Most of them said they were living in overcrowded areas and there were extreme cases in which people didn’t have access to water, the right type of food for the efforts they are making. There are also cases in which these human rights infringements aren’t that visible, you know. Such as those regarding family reunification, which involves very complicated procedures and is not encouraged by the employer, their governments or the Romanian government.”   

     

    Many believe that improvements are not going to appear very quickly; that all the sides involved, from institutions to the private environment, including the collective outlook,  – we all have a long road to walk in order to learn how to have a healthy approach towards the new-comers.

    (EN&bill)

  • Working in Romania

    Working in Romania

    27% of
    the Romanian managers are concerned with the labour shortage reported in the
    first half of the year, according to a Confidex survey conducted by Impetum
    Group. This is 16% more than the level reported at the end of lui 2022. The
    labour shortage seems to become one of the main concerns for the business
    environment, overtaking other worrying issues such as the inflation rate and
    price rises, which were a concern for almost half of the managers interviewed
    at the end of last year, the polling company said. One solution to this
    problem, according to some managers, is to integrate public sector employees in
    the private system and to import human resources from other countries. But the
    latter has proved complicated, given that Romania is not an attractive country
    for immigrant workers, so employee retention is a challenge in itself, the
    survey authors also pointed out. The Confidex survey aims to provide a clear
    image of the perceptions of business people in Romania, with more than 2,500
    entrepreneurs and company executives taking part in the 8 editions of the poll
    so far.


    The
    biggest problem facing construction companies in Romania at present has to do
    with the workforce, an IBC Focus report reads. Over 75% of the constructions
    entrepreneurs say they still struggle with labour shortages, and only 11% of
    the respondents say they have enough employees and well trained people in their
    teams. Nearly 58% of the participants in the poll said they were interested in increasing
    their personnel numbers in the coming year. Also, one in 3 constructions
    companies in Romania currently uses foreign workers, as opposed to 1 in 4
    companies last year. The authors of the poll argue that the number of companies
    adjusting to the labour market and defining procedures for employing foreign
    workers is growing, and some 20% of the construction companies in Romania are
    looking at the option of hiring foreign nationals.



    Another survey, conducted by Deloitte, indicates
    that 41% of the companies operating in Romania which say they cannot find
    enough staff are facing a shortage of skills required for the current business
    systems, which is why companies increasingly resort to so-called workforce
    eco-systems, which involve the identification and management of new types of
    human resources, such as consultants, freelancers, contractors or outsourcing, in
    addition to traditional workforce consisting of full time or part time
    employees. The Deloitte report also indicates that, for companies in Romania,
    the benefits of a workforce eco-system comprising several different types of
    human resources and managed through customized strategies and processes include
    improved financial performance for 41% of the respondents and better personnel
    retention for 29% of the respondents. Taking part in the latest edition of the Global
    Human Capital Trends report, conducted by Deloitte on a yearly basis, were
    around 10,000 respondents from 105 countries, including Romania.




    More than 4,000 foreign nationals were found
    staying in Romania illegally in the first 9 months of this year, the General
    Immigration Inspectorate announced. In January – September, the police
    conducted nearly 13,000 checks and inspections aimed at preventing and fighting
    the illegal stay and unregistered employment of foreign nationals in Romania. Local
    employment inspectorate employees also took part in these actions. Some 9,000
    fines were issued for the violation of the legal and employment status of
    foreigners, and around 3,200 people were issued return decisions. Another 1,000
    were escorted out of the country, and 960 others were taken into custody until
    their repatriation. (AMP)

  • Encouraging education in Romania’s hospitality industry

    Encouraging education in Romania’s hospitality industry

    Romania is facing a workforce crisis
    just like many other European countries, these days. Perhaps to a greater extent than in
    other walks of life, employees’ shortage in tourism takes its toll on Romanian economy.
    We do have high-schools and vocational schools specializing in tourism, yet a
    sizeable part of the graduates opts for other career paths or simply avoids employment
    in Romania. You want to know the reasons why? The de-motivating salaries and
    the seasonal status of the job.

    A member of the Romanian Hotel Industry
    Federation’s Steering Committee, Marius Bazavan will now be giving us an
    outline of the current situation on the Romanian labor market.


    Marius Bazavan:

    I can see personnel
    fluctuation taking a downward trend. Fluctuation is increasingly on the wane.
    People have started to settle in, at the workplace. Personnel shortage is on everybody’s
    lips these days. We cannot hide that, but, as we speak, personnel shortage does
    exist, in terms of numbers, but also quality-wise, if we take into account the people who
    are skilled to work in the hospitality industry.


    For a better quality of services, but also in a bid to
    attract youngsters to seek employment in the hospitality industry, a guide has
    been recently compiled, by the Edu4Tourism Association,
    with the support of the Romanian Hotel Industry Federation. We’re
    speaking about The Hospitality Industry Practice
    Guide    , an educational instrument targeting teachers and pupils,
    at once setting the task to accomplish several clear-cut objectives: the percentage increase in the case of pupils who, having graduated
    from a specialized high-school, can opt for choosing a career path in the hospitality
    industry offering support to the parents, in a bid to make them understand the
    activities and the jobs their children can embrace in a tourist unit, and the
    support of the economic agents in need to of skilled personnel, so that they
    can offer high-standard services.

    Călin Ile is the President Romanian Hotel
    Industry Federation. He will now be telling us what exactly the guide means,
    for tourism industry operators.


    Calin Ile:

    It is a bridge between us, who
    activate as hospitality industry operators, the people involved in education,
    in high schools, in tourism schools part of the Romanian education system, between
    pupils and parents. We intend o created this dialogue bridge between us, so we
    may find the best solutions that can help those youngsters integrate in our industry,
    and in a bid to render our industry more pleasant so that we can give them the
    answers they need, for them to form the best opinion, all that enabling them to
    make a well-informed choice, whether they want or not to work with us. We
    wholeheartedly wait for their options. I believe that, before procedures and
    operating systems, it all boils down to a human relation, it is all about each
    and every one of us getting involved in supporting these youngsters in their
    effort to find a way in life. And we think a nice and fair way for themselves
    is also a career path in tourism.


    As for the incentive that can be offered to youngsters,
    it can be provided by the current tourism employees, provided education units
    set up, for the training stages, partnerships with the economic agents
    operating in the field. With details on that, here is Catalin Ile once again.


    Also, there will be an
    impetus for tourism employees to act as mentors and get involved as training
    tutors. And, last but not the least, I think it will also be a curiosity for youngsters,
    for pupils, to pick their training option, to do their training stages in our
    units. So it really is an incentive we provide for the three categories I’ve mentioned
    before, in a bid to properly consider doing their training in tourism and subsequently,
    even have employment in tourism.


    The Hospitality Industry Practice Guide
    has an electronic format; it is downloadable from any electronic device and
    includes essential information for the pupils who may wish to be good tourism
    workers. Or at least that is what project coordinator, Rocsana Borda, says.


    Rocsana Borda:

    It
    includes a teaching syllabus, jointly created with those of the Edu4Tourism.
    Also, it includes everything related to the annexes of the training, the pupils’
    evaluation, the steps to be taken. What you need to tick when, for the first
    time ever, you need to do the cleaning of a hotel room, well…cleaning is just
    un example. All these materials are a click away. Actually, the guide is
    downloadable. Anyone can download it, completely free of charge, so that they
    can get the information they need. I should also like to add that it provides a
    description of the jobs that are part of the hospitality industry. We should also
    consider a hotel also means an IT department, accounting, it also means
    marketing, it’s not only about the receptionist’s desk and the kitchen. It’s all of that in one single place.


    However, over and above anything else, the guide is an
    example of how economic operators get involved in tertiary education. Without such
    involvement, the workforce cannot be trained at a high-performance level. (EN)









  • Labour shortage in Romania

    Labour shortage in Romania

    Although the exact figures do not always concur, all the demographic surveys of the past decade point to the same conclusion: Romanias population is dwindling and ageing. The most recent such survey, commissioned by the Concordia Employers Association, and made public on Tuesday, is no exception. According to its findings, if the demographic decline and migration trends carry on at the same pace, Romanias population will drop to 18 million by 2030. By 2060, the pension system dependency ratio, which is the number of pensioners relative to contributors, will be close to 100%.



    Entitled “A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of the Romanian Labour Market, the survey estimates that the number of employees will drop from 8.4 million in 2016 to 7.3 million in 2030. The authors also say that, in terms of the job supply, geographic polarisation will deepen and the most economically dynamic regions, namely Bucharest-Ilfov in the south, the west and the north-west of the country, will also report the highest labour deficits. At national level, this deficit already amounts to some 300,000 people this year, and it may go well over half a million by 2023.



    The authors have also identified important population segments, around 2 million people, which are included neither in the labour market, nor in the education and vocational training system. “What we find, in other words, is untapped human potential. This phenomenon requires in-depth analysis, to enable us to understand the causes of this situation and subsequently to outline measures able to help them enter the labour market, reads the report.



    Some proposed solutions for the labour crisis mentioned in the study include closer cooperation between the education system and the labour market, aimed at modernising vocational and technical training, and implementing a strategy and an action plan to end the demographic decline.



    Commentators are rather sceptical that these trends can be reversed in the short and medium run. The population decline started 3 decades ago, shortly after the fall of the communist regime, when abortion was decriminalised. And migration, which picked up speed after Romanias EU accession in 2007, will continue as long as the national labour market remains hardly rewarding. Bogdan Hossu, the leader of one of the countrys most important trade union association, Cartel Alfa, says that Romania ranks first in the European Union by share of employees below the poverty threshold, namely 20%.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)