Romanian Subway Employees Held Two-Hour Warning Strike Thursday

Union leader Ion Radoi said Thursday morning subway unionists are expecting to be invited to negotiations on wage increases.

Radoi said the Government wants to freeze subway employees’ wages and at the same time raise subway services costs by 300% to cut subsidies.

Thursday morning, between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., subway security agents and unionists blocked the access to the 49 subway stations in Bucharest and allowed passengers in after 6. Radoi said 10% of the subway’s 700,000 daily passengers use it between 5 and 6 a.m..

Radoi said there are slight chances for Transport Minister Radu Berceanu to allow state-owned subway company Metrorex to start wage increase negotiations with unions, considering his statements Wednesday.

„Subway employees want wage raises every year. They stay underground and they don’t want to see realities outside. Their wages increased by 23% in 2008, and by 26% in 2009, which is a 50% overall increase. I can no longer take into account any wage raise,” Berceanu said.

The Government approved Wednesday the revenue and expenses budget for 2009, which only included the wage raise decided for this year, which employees already got. in this case, unionists said protests will go ahead as planned.