Social Tensions at CFR Marfa
Still in the portfolio of the Romanian state after last years failed privatization attempt, the Freight Division of the Romanian Railway Company – CFR Marfa, continues to be a reason of discontent .
România Internațional, 16.04.2014, 13:41
The trade union federations of the state-owned Romanian Railway Company threaten to start an all-out labor conflict as of April 23rd unless the new collective bargaining agreement is signed by that time. Trade union leaders say that the current contracts expire on April 19th and the failure to sign new contracts would entail the dismissal of 2,500 employees of CFR Marfa. Furthermore, trade unionists are discontent with the more and more precarious labor environment, the small salaries and the loss, in the past 3 years, of certain benefits such as the free travel passes. Gheorghe Fratica, the president of the Miscare-Comercial (Movement-Commercial) National Federation has more:
Gheorghe Fratica: “Railway workers have benefited from free travel passes for many years. This is also valid across Europe. Now the Romanian railway workers can no longer travel by train free-of-charge, and neither can their family members”.
The discontent of the railway company employees will be the topic of the negotiations to be held between trade unionists and the transport minister, Dan Sova. Despite the prospect of negotiations, trade unionists are not at all optimistic given the failure of the government to observe its promises in the past years. The negotiations will be held after, last week, the board of CFR Marfa announced the trade unions of their intention to lay off as many as 2,300 employees as a result of the reduction of the wage bill, as provided for in this year’s budget.
Collective layoffs, says the CFR Marfa board, will take place between June and September 2014, and the people made redundant will benefit from unemployment aid and other additional benefits depending on their length of service. The layoffs are, according to economic pundits, the natural consequence of many years of bad management that ruined CFR Marfa.
Once a thriving company, CFR Marfa is now struggling to survive on a market governed by unfair competition. Proof thereof is the fact that the owner of the Romanian Railway Group, GFR, who intended to take over CFR Marfa, is now arrested in a corruption file. He is accused of giving bribe to win a contract to the detriment of the Freight Division of the Romanian Railway Company- CFR Marfa. Actually, along the years, the print press showed that the skyrocketing ascension of GFR was backed by unorthodox practices, such as illegally recruiting employees and managers or taking over, under suspect circumstances, rolling stock from its very direct competitor, CFR Marfa.
