Romanian State-Owned Railway Cargo Carrier Defends Need For Layoffs

The decrease in the quantity of carried goods is caused by many local producers reducing their activity, on account of the worsening economic situation.

„The reorganization and restructuring project has been the subject of discussion with union officials since the second half of 2008. While in the first stage, we tried to adopt measures which would not affect the staff, the company’s results after ten months showed that a financial recovery desperately needs such a measure, something we tried to avoid until now,” a company press release issued Thursday to MEDIAFAX said.

The reorganization and restructuring project will cut personnel of all levels. Of the total number of layoffs, 5,470 employees are workers, 910 are TESA (technical, economic social-administrative) personnel.

CFR Marfa said cutbacks cannot be avoided, because as it is not financed from the state budget, the income-expenses balance may only be found by adopting „drastic measures” to cut expenses, including layoffs.

As regards the company’s privatization, CFR Marfa said that „at the moment, the management aims to normalize CFR Marfa’s activity; the decision to privatize the company belongs to the Romanian state (as single shareholder) through the Ministry of Transports and Infrastructure.

Romanian railway unionists said they would sue the Transports Ministry and state-owned railway company CFR Marfa because they have not withdrawn the collective layoff plan which would come into effect before the Government decision providing severance pay for some 6,380 employees.

Train Engineer Federation leader Iulian Mantescu told MEDIAFAX Wednesday that, after four hours of discussions between the management and unions, CFR Marfa has refused to withdraw the layoff plan. Unionists said they would take the matter to court and notify the Labor Inspectorate about the management’s breach of the labor code.

Mantescu said that once the new Cabinet assumes power, it will issue a decision regarding the 20-24 net average salaries those laid off from CFR Marfa must receive.

„Should this decision not be issued, we will take the Government to court and call on international institutions, because employees fired from CFR Marfa would be discriminated against without severance pay. Just as a Government Decision was issued concerning bodies under the management of the Economy Ministry, for miners and energy employees, so must one be issued for CFR Marfa,” Mantescu said.