Romanian Court Auxiliary Staff Begin Warning Strike

The protesters have begun gathering in front of the Bucharest Court of Appeals.

The “Projust” union announced last Thursday it will hold a two hour warning strike on Monday. Court auxiliary staff affiliated to the “Justitia” union also said they will go on a warning strike, out of solidarity with “Projust”.

Auxiliary staff in the justice sector started protests one month ago because the collective labor contract they negotiated with the Justice Ministry in December last year was not applied and they had not been paid overdue salary rights.

Employees of the Bucharest Court and the Courts of sectors 1, 2 and 3 stopped working last Wednesday, with archives and registries being closed down and hearing rooms suspended for around three hours, while some employees of the Court of sector 4 and the Bucharest Appeal Court did not show up for work as a sign of protest.

On April 13, around 400 members of the Romanian “Projust” workers’ union picketed the headquarters of the Justice Ministry, unhappy with the draft law on the wages of court auxiliary staff.

According to “Projust”, Government Emergency Ordinance no. 75/2008 says the wages of staff in the justice department may be paid in three stages, over 18 months. Union members said that, although the first installment had been paid in September 2008, the second stage, which was due to be paid on March 10, 2009, had not. Moreover, the Justice Ministry had issued no statement on whether that state of affairs was going to change.

After the protests, justice minister Catalin Predoiu told union members that the current economic situation had imposed a negative change in the budget allocated to the ministry, therefore salaries could only be paid at a later, uncertain, date. Unhappy with the result of the talks with the Minister, “Projust” announced on April 24 that it is gathering signatures to begin a work conflict.

One day before the union was to notify the ministry about the general strike, the ministry sent the collective contract, stopping the strike. Union members announced they will begin a new work conflict, on other grounds, related to the payment of overtime, inadequate working conditions and insufficient staff.

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