Social protests in Romania

Several trade unions are staging protests these days, disgruntled with the measures adopted by the government

Mihai Pelin, 21.12.2021, 14:00

Employees in a number of public sectors in Romania have
expressed their discontentment with the measures affecting their incomes starting
next year. Employees of the Romanian Railway Company on Monday staged a spontaneous
protest, suspending rail traffic for several hours. Thousands of people were
left stranded in train cars for hours, after 100 trains stopped in stations.
Rail employees are unhappy with the law on the status of rail employees
adopted in 2020, which has been postponed for the third time. The law provides
for a series of salary increases and additional benefits. After the
negotiations, the Ministry of Transport and trade unions in the rail sector
agreed on a salary increase of approximately 10% to be implemented starting January 1.

Also on
Monday, education trade unions staged a rally in front of the Government building,
unhappy with the underfunding in the education sector and calling for the
observance of salary rights stipulated under the law.. A work-in strike was
called in schooling units until Wednesday. The three trade federations are also
organizing a referendum whereby members must decide if they should go on an
all-out strike in January, provided the Government refuses to increase their
salaries. In turn, healthcare employees are disgruntled. The Sanitas Federation
announced a work-in strike this week, also in connection with
their salary rights. Trade union members say the current government promised to
ensure the necessary resources for health and social security workers delayed by the former government for 2021. Some 85,000 employees, particularly nurses,
orderlies, TESA staff and social workers are currently in this situation. They
are calling for base salaries and bonuses for all healthcare workers tantamount
to the salary level of 2022, and warn that the pandemic is in full swing, and
the system is getting overworked due to the scarcity of resources, the shortage
of staff and exhaustion.

In addition, the Environment Guard trade union
submitted an open letter to Klaus Iohannis, calling on the president to see
that the workers in this sector are properly remunerated, in order to avoid an
all-out strike. Trade unionists claim eco-crime is on the rise whereas
eco-criminals have diversified and improved their methods, particularly in terms
of transporting illegal waste. Last week, law enforcement unions protested
again in front of the Interior Ministry building, displeased with the Government’s
reluctance to implement the salary increases stipulated in the salary law
starting January, 2022. No fines will be handed during the protest period,
which particularly affects road traffic, where drivers frequently break the law.
Road traffic agents can only issue warnings for offenses that would have
normally required the application of large fines or the revocation of the
vehicle registration certificate and identification plates. (VP)