Cartel Alfa leader: Unions might have no other way but call general strike in September

Trade unions might have no other way but call general strike in September if the solutions proposed as alternatives to some of the government's reform measures are ignored, leader of the Cartel Alfa Trade Union Confederation Bogdan Hossu said on Wednesday after discussions at the Victoria Palace with Deputy Prime Minister Dragos Anastasiu.

"We have submitted the list of issues and the list of reforms that should complete and address the various problems in the public sector and the economy overall. We have come to the conclusion that certain ministers or deputy prime ministers are responsible for various reform pillars in the second or third reform steps and they have understood our message to coopt a representative from each major trade union and employer confederation into the respective working group, so that we come to an agreement to sort out the problems. (...) Deputy Prime Minister Anastasiu told us to designate a representative from each trade union and employer confederation to sit on the respective commission and analyze all the proposals," stated Hossu.

He argued that the government should establish a much clearer calendar for the implementation of the envisaged measures and also set itself as a priority setting the guaranteed minimum wage for 2026.

In his opinion, it's quite likely that the Constitutional Court of Romania will overturn some of the measures announced in the second reform package, due to the lack of expertise or proper legislative knowledge in devising them, so that a much more pragmatic analysis on the matter is needed.

The Cartel Alfa leader also emphasized that the unions have requested that a monthly analysis is conducted on the efficiency or consequences of Ordinance No. 36 and the regulatory act the government pledged responsibility for, because "we consider that many of the decisions taken, as transposed into regulatory acts, will not have the expected beneficial effect, but will only stir up social dissatisfaction at the reforms and measures that must be accepted. With monitoring, certain elements in the said decisions could be repealed or modified in a positive way. (...) It is difficult to say what will happen with steps two or three, but, as we see things now, trade union confederations might be pushed to go on general strike in September, when the impact on the purse of every citizen will be massive, and then we will have just one request - ousting the government. It all depends on what the Executive does until then," Bogdan Hossu said.