200,000 workers facing layoff on February 1

Trade unions are demanding the Executive to support temporary unemployment considering that a total of 200,000 would be probably sacked from February 1 onwards. Cartel Alfa President Bogdan Hossu says union members will take to the streets next week when they also plan to piquet the Finance Ministry for one and a half hours every day.

A hundred protesters will piquet the building every day. Hossu also noted talks would start with industry employers' organisations in order for them to jointly advocate the extension of temporary unemployment in 2010. With this form of technical unemployment, the responsibility is shared between employer, employee and the state.

'After February 1, 2010, we will have 200,000 more unemployed people for whom there has to be a support system Hossu said, according to Mediafax. The Cartel Alfa president was recently stating that the latest draft normative acts stipulating layoffs in education, social work and public administration had been prepared by accountants and not by experts and that trade unions were preparing industrial action.

Labour unions claim the emergency ordinance regulating the temporary unemployment will no longer be in force after February 1, 2010. Employers, on the other hand, warn that, if the validity of the act is not extended, they will have to terminate many jobs.

'We want to keep our workers in the system of temporary unemployment, where the wage is shared by the three partners: worker - employer - state. Otherwise, we loose our current qualified workforce and we may end up augmenting the ranks of bankrupt companies' said the President of the Federation of Employers' Organisations in the Chemical and Petro-chemical Industry, Ioan Cezar Coraci, according to Antena 3 TV.

In fact, one third of Romanians expect to be fired in the course of this year, according to www.Capital.ro that cites a poll taken by www.Myjob.ro. According to survey, 33.28 per cent of Romanians expect to be affected by job cuts at the company where they work, 12.03 per cent expect a reduced salary this year and 11.19 per cent do not expect their employer to recruit staff in 2010.

Rising unemployment

The economic crisis has hit many sectors, companies do not receive enough orders so they're letting workers go. 'Romania libera' daily shows that Electroputere SA Craiova will continue layoffs in 2010, when 500 people should leave with compensating payments because the personnel scheme is too large for the company's capabilities.

Layoffs also continue in Galati, where unemployment is still considerably higher than the national average. 'Ziarul financiar' reports that the Damen Galati Shipyard has notified 211 job cuts for lack of orders to the County Labour Agency (AJOFM).

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