Labor Contracts Often Violated By Employers In Romania - Report

In a report published Tuesday, NGO Freedom House says the majority of Romanian employees "have the legal right to establish and join trade unions, and at least five countrywide union confederations operate largely without government interference." Categories which are not permitted to join unions include magistrates, prison and law enforcement employees, prosecutors and high government officials. They have, however, formed various organizations.

Freedom House says penalties for anti-union activities are weak and rarely enforced.

"While less than half of the workforce is unionized, nearly all workers are covered by collective-bargaining contracts, whether at the unit level or through four-year national agreements negotiated by the government, employers' associations, and trade unions," reads the report.

Still, labor contracts "are often violated by employers, and enforcement and penalties are not robust."

According to Freedom House, Romanian law protects the right to strike, "although the same categories of workers that may not form unions are generally barred from striking." "Moreover, would-be strikers must exhaust all means of conciliation and provide 48 hours' notice before a walkout," reads the report.

"Despite these legal restrictions, state employees vigorously protested planned cuts to public-sector jobs and salaries," and one action in 2009 "reportedly involved about half of the country's 1.4 million public-sector employees," says Freedom House.

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