Bucharest Court Decides Subway General Strike Illegal

Magistrates of the Bucharest Court decided on Tuesday that the general strike planned by subway workers in Romania’s capital is illegal, after it previously made the same decision regarding a warning strike they held last Thursday.

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The court ordered the subway workers’ union to cease plans for the protest activity, initially announced for Wednesday but later delayed due to cabinet uncertainty over the leadership of Romania’s Transportations Ministries. The decision is not final and can be appealed.

Bucharest subway union USLM decided on Tuesday to postpone a previously announced general strike until the appointment of a new transportations minister, hours before President Klaus Iohannis refused the ruling party’s proposal for the office.

USLM chairman Ion Radoi announced on Tueday morning that the union decided in an emergency meeting to postpone the general strike scheduled for Wednesday, after the ruling Social Democrat Party announced on Monday that it will replace Transportations Minister Lucian Sova with former Labor Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu.

The union postponed the strike until at least after the first meeting with the new minister, who should act as a mediator for CBA negotiations between workers and public subway company Metrorex.

However, President Klaus Iohannis announced later on Tuesday that he rejected the proposal of Vasilescu for new transportations minister, and decided also to reject the dismissal of the current minister.

The union made no further announcements on the matter following the president's announcement, as of Tuesday afternoon.

Previously, USLM announced on Monday that it will carry on with its plan to start a general strike on Wednesday, despite the Bucharest Court decision rejecting their request and declaring their previous warning strike illegal.

The strike was due to take place between 04.00 and 16.00 local time, starting with Wednesday, and would continue indefinitely until a new collective bargaining agreement is signed, according to the union.

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