Industrial relations and the new Constitution

Download article in original language : RO0401105FRO.DOC

In October 2003, a revised Romanian Constitution was approved in a national referendum. Some of the new constitutional provisions relate to important industrial relations and employment matters. A number of trade union confederations expressed discontent about a perceived lack of public consultation over the changes and about the way the referendum was organised.

The Constitution of Romania, approved by a national referendum on 8 December 1991, was revised by parliament during 2003 and the proposed new text was published in the Official Monitor no. 669/22 September 2003 and put to a national referendum on 18-19 October 2003. The new Constitution was approved in the referendum (see below).

The amendments insert nine new articles into the old Constitution, amend 63 articles, and repeal five articles. The new Constitution aligns the organisation and functioning of all state institutions (legislative, executive and judiciary) with European standards. A special title is devoted to Romania’s 'Euro-Atlantic' integration, which deals with EU and NATO membership. Its provisions relate to matters such as:

• the transfer of some competences to the EU institutions,

• the prevalence of the EU Treaties and their mandatory regulations over the domestic legal framework;

• guarantees offered by the state’s institutions - the parliament, the presidency, the government and the judiciary authorities - to fulfil all obligations assumed when joining the EU;

• a requirement for parliamentary debates over planned EU mandatory regulations prior to their approval by the EU institutions

Moreover, the new Constitution confers additional rights for citizens, such as:

• the right for national minorities to make use of their own language in relations with the local public administration or in judicial proceedings, where such minorities are significantly represented;

• the implementation of a national policy for equal opportunities and for effectively involving people with disabilities into the life of the community;

• guarantees of free access to culture and of people’s freedom unrestrictedly to develop their 'spirituality' ;

• the acknowledgement of everyone’s right to a healthy environment, under balanced ecological conditions for which a special legal framework is provided;

• affirmation that international regulations regarding fundamental human rights, to which Romania is party, prevail over domestic law, except in the case where the Constitution or domestic laws provide more favourable regulations;

• a statement that private property is guaranteed and protected by law equally, regardless of its owner. Nationalisation or any other measures of enforced transfer of ownership into public property based on the social, ethnic, religious or political characteristics of its owner or on any other form of discrimination is proscribed. Furthermore, foreign citizens may now own land, under the terms stipulated in EU regulations and other international treaties to which Romania is party; and

• the minimum number of citizens whose support is required in order to submit a legislative initiative has been reduced from 250,000 to 100,000 people.

Industrial relations aspects

Among the many supplements and amendments to the Constitution, some are directly related to industrial relations and employment matters:

• Romania is stated to be a 'democratic and social' state, governed by the rule of law and based on the solidarity of its citizens;

• a special article has been introduced on trade unions, employers’ organisations and professional associations, stipulating that such bodies shall be established and shall carry out their activity according to their statutes, subject to the law, and shall contribute to the protection of rights and the promotion of their members’ professional, economic, and social interests;

• the Romanian state now guarantees equal opportunities between men and women in any civilian or military employment;

• the right to work cannot be restrained and this implies freedom to choose one's profession, occupation and employment;

• employees have a right to social protection measures. These are to be provided by special regulations regarding employees’ safety and health, women and young people at work, the establishment of a national minimum wage (RO0401104F), weekly rest periods, annual paid leave, work in special and hazardous conditions, vocational training and other specific issues;

• the normal duration of a working day is a maximum of eight hours, on average;

• for equal work with men, women shall receive equal pay;

• the right to collective bargaining and the binding force of collective agreements shall be guaranteed;

• forced labour is forbidden;

• employees have the right to strike in order to protect their professional, economic and social interests;

• free access of persons to an economic activity, free enterprise, and their exercise under the law shall be guaranteed (ie 'economic freedom'); and

• as stated in the law regarding its establishment, organisation and functioning, the tripartite Economic and Social Council (Consiliul Economic si Social, CES) is acknowledged as a consultative body for parliament and the government.

The referendum

Despite the advantageous nature of many of the proposed amendments to the Constitution, there were indications that citizens were unlikely to vote in sufficient numbers to make the referendum valid. In order to avoid the likelihood of an invalid referendum, the government decided to hold it over two days, on 18-19 October. After the first day, the turn-out was only 15%, which led to appeals in the mass media for people to vote, while local authorities made use of all means available to encourage citizens to participate. As a result, on 19 October the turn-out had risen to 23.2% at 12.00, 34.3% at 15.00, 45.5% at 18.00 and at the end of the day the final turn-out reached 55.7%, thus making the referendum valid.

Of those who took part in the referendum, 89.7% voted in favour of the new Constitution, while only 8.8% were opposed. The new Constitution was thus approved by only 49.9% of all Romanian citizens who were entitled to vote.

Social partners’ views on referendum

The way in which the referendum was prepared and organised was criticised by the opposition political parties, several non-governmental organisations and three of the five nationally representative trade union confederations (RO0307101F) - the National Trade Unions Bloc (Blocul National Sindical, BNS), Cartel Alfa and the Democratic Trade Union Confederation of Romania (Confederaţia Sindicatelor Democratice din România, CSDR). In their opinion, the government campaign to promote the new Constitution was initiated too late and its duration was too short to assure adequate and correct public information. The three-month period during which this project of national importance was put into practice did not allow civil society to make its own contribution and public consultation was inadequate, according to the critics.

Furthermore, in the trade unions’ opinion, the new Constitution failed to make some important changes, such as a reduction in the number of seats in parliament and guaranteeing an independent judicial authority. Also, the three union organisations criticised a lack of demarcation between the social insurance budget and the public administration budget, which may continue to allow the government to make use of the former's funds for purposes other than social protection.

Commentary

The need to amend the Constitution arose from the new realities of Romania's transition and reform process, and its integration into European (and Atlantic) economic and political structures. The opening of the economy, privatisation, deregulation, construction of a functional market economy, democratisation of domestic political life and transposition of the 'acquis communautaire' (the body of EU law which new Member States must implement) are among the motives which drove the constitutional changes. The referendum campaign was thus focused mainly on such significant improvements.

At first, some social partners and civil society organisations suspected the government of making use of the referendum for its own electoral campaign. They could not simply reject the new Constitution, but they called on citizens to investigate the proposals carefully and to participate in the referendum as a way of expressing their judgment. The main discontent was about a lack of public consultation, which, in their view, was highly necessary for such an important issue. Also, the fact that the campaign occurred at the same time as a wave of trade union protests (RO0310102F) was not in government’s favour.

Despite such reservations, in many respects the new Constitution of Romania is in line with the spirit of the European enlargement process, with the acquis communautaire and with Romania’s future status as a full member of the European Union. (Constantin Ciutacu, Institute of National Economy)