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Employees Of Carmaker Dacia Continue General Strike

The employees of Romanian carmaker Dacia Pitesti, the local division of French Renault, continue the general strike Tuesday after the unionists rejected the salary offer forwarded by the plant’s management, saying it was largely the same as the old one forwarded last week.
Employees Of Carmaker Dacia Continue General Strike
25 mart. 2008, 12:50, English
Dacia Renault communication director, Liviu Ion, Tuesday said the plant’s management is still open to talks with the unionists. 
 
Ion said the plant’s management challenged in court the legality of the general strike initiated by the employees, filing a complaint with the Agres Court.
 
Ion stressed the unionists did not go through all four chapters of negotiation before calling general strike.
 
According to the unionists, the first term of the lawsuit filed by the plant’s management is scheduled Wednesday.
 
Over 10,000 employees of Dacia Pitesti went on general strike Monday, March 24, after failed negotiations for higher salaries.
 
Employees will be on strike indefinitely after the company management proposed a 12% hike in wages, percentage that employees consider too low. 
 
In addition, the management challenges the union lists containing the number of participants in the strike, claiming that only 49% of employees (3,025 people) were on strike in the first shift, while 3,169 employees did not participate in the protests.
 
The management offered an 18.5% increase in salaries for employees with minimal salary and a 12% increase in the gross average salary.
 
Ion said the management cannot grant a RON550 raise as unionists required. He said that adding all the requirements would results in a raise of over 70%, which is unacceptable considering that Dacia still has to recover losses of EUR61 million.
 
According to the quoted source, management also offers a bonus, for the results registered in 2007, equivalent to on individual base salary granted in one round, this bonus reaching at least RON1,020, as well as Easter and vacation bonuses.
 
Unionists said the management’s new offer is largely the same as the old one and employees continue protests.
 
Unionists demand an increase of RON550 in two tranches: RON350 starting Jan 1, 2008 and RON200 starting Jun 1, 2008.
 
Dacia employees last went on general strike in 2002, for three days.
 
Over 4,000 employees were on warning strike two weeks ago, demanding higher wages and higher Easter and Christmas bonuses.
 
The carmaker employs 13,000 people.