Romanian Unions File ILO Complaint Against Govt On 25% Cut In Public Sector Wages

The complaint was filed within the 99th ILO Conference and the delegation representing Cartel Alfa at the conference proposed the adoption of a resolution concerning Romania. The resolution targets the situation Romania's five large union confederations deemed a violation of workers' rights, Cartel Alfa said in a press release Tuesday.

The resolution was drafted alongside Belgian legal experts and was adopted by the ILO Conference. According to the resolution, the economic crisis in Romania cannot be used as a pretext to reduce salaries or other social benefitd by 25%. All these cuts represent a severe breach of international labor conventions, the national Labor Code and related documents of the International Labor Organization signed by Romania. The resolution also states the firm opposition against any measures that breach the fundamental rights of workers and affect social peace, which are mandatory in a state that must cope with the challenges of the economic crisis.

Cartel Alfa also filed a complaint against the Romanian Government, alongside the representatives of confederations attending the ILO Conference, in which the Romanian authorities are accused of having breached the provisions of Convention 95 regarding the protection of salaries.

Cartel Alfa said the resolution, coupled with the complaint submitted during the ILO Conference, will place Romania, as of 2011, on the list of ILO's special cases.

Recession-hit Romania, which is relying on a EUR20 billion international rescue loan led by the International Monetary Fund, has pledged to drastically cut public spending and the Government has adopted laws cutting public sector wages by 25% and pensions by 15%. However, the Constitutional Court ruled pension cuts illegal and the Government is now raising taxes to make up for that part of its spending cut plan.

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