Social partners opt out of social dialogue in protest at new legislation

Romania’s five national trade union groups removed themselves temporarily from all social dialogue in protest at the effects of a new Social Dialogue Act, passed unilaterally by the government in 2011. Four national employers’ organisations joined their protest. The act effectively put an end to collective bargaining and set out new rules for representation. A new National Tripartite Council met for the first time in November and will hopefully revive talks.

A new framework for tripartite dialogue

Two pieces of legislation of major importance for industrial relations in Romania were passed in 2011, an amended version of the Labour Code, and the Social Dialogue Act (RO1107029I).

The Social Dialogue Act repealed legislation which had been used to govern collective bargaining, effectively abolishing the national unique collective agreement, which served as a reference point for collective bargaining at all levels. Branch collective agreements were replaced by sectoral collective agreements.

Article 1(r) of the Social Dialogue Act states that 'activity sectors shall be determined by government decision, after consultation with the social partners', and Article 223 provides that the 'representativeness of employer and trade union organisations, recognised until the effective date hereof, shall produce effects after the coming into force of the Act only to the extent that such organisations meet the representativeness criteria stipulated herein'.

In other words, existing employer and trade union organisations that had been representative for their sectors until May 2011 will now have to prove that they meet the requirements for representativeness set out in the new legislation for the relevant sector.

The Act also brings other changes; the government is no longer represented on the Economic and Social Council (CES), and the CES has been deprived of any role in collective bargaining. For the purpose of promoting good practice in tripartite social dialogue, Article 75 of the act provides for the formation of a National Tripartite Council for Social Dialogue (CNTDS), chaired by the prime minister and composed of the following:

• the presidents of national employers’ organisations and national trade union confederations;

• the government's representatives (who must at least hold the position of secretary of state in the ministries concerned);

• a representative of the National Bank of Romania (BNR);

• the president of the CES; and

• other members, as agreed with the social partners.

Among other duties, the CNTDS also has the obligation 'to ensure the requisite conditions for consultations on the guaranteed minimum wage'.

Social partners' actions

Trade unions’ withdrawal from social dialogue

On 23 September 2011, the five national trade union confederations sent Prime Minister Emil Boc an open letter stating their decision to suspend themselves, for an indefinite period of time, from all social dialogue committees in ministries, prefectures and the CES.

The five confederations were:

• National Trade Union Confederation Cartel Alfa (CNS Cartel Alfa);

• National Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Romania Frăţia (CNSLR Frăţia);

• National Trade Union Bloc (BNS);

• National Trade Union Confederation Meridian (CSN Meridian);

• Confederation of Romanian Democratic Trade Unions (CSDR).

Their decision to withdraw from all social dialogue bodies was caused by a number of factors, including the government's failure to define, by that date, the sectors of economic activity, and also its failure to form the CNTDS. This effectively abolished tripartism, blocked collective bargaining and obstructed social partners from following the necessary procedures to regain their representativeness.

The open letter ended with a request from the unions for an urgent meeting of the CNTDS, to find solutions to the issues raised and take immediate action to remedy them.

The unions made it known that the decision to stay out of all social dialogue bodies would not be reversed until the CNTDS is established and duly convened.

Employers join trade unions

One week later, on 30 September 2011, four of the 13 national employer confederations joined the five national trade union confederations to demand that the prime minister urgently call a meeting of the CNTDS.

The four were:

• the Confederation of Romanian Employers in Industry, Agriculture, Construction, and Services (CONPIROM);

• the Romanian Employers Organisation (PR);

• the General Union of Romanian Industrialists 1903 (UGIR 1903);

• the National Union of Romanian Employers (UNPR).

Together they form the Union of Romanian Independent Employers’ Confederations, PATROROM, which, it says, accounts for 62% of the country's active labour force, and for 65% of its gross domestic product.

Under a written agreement with the five unions, they decided to make their request of the prime minister 'in compliance with the European practice regarding the mutual recognition of social partners, and due to the Romanian government's total disregard for social dialogue'. Behind the demand lies a long list of recriminations, including:

• the Romanian government's continued lack of interest in social dialogue;

• the government's positioning, through Act no. 62/2011 (the new Social Dialogue Act), outside the European framework established under the Treaties of the European Union (EU) and the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO);

• the abolition by law of the national unique collective agreement, and the government's failure to determine the sectors which will, in future, be covered by individual collective agreements. This bars social partners from regaining representativeness, makes collective bargaining at all levels impossible and prevents sectoral committees from functioning;

• the abolition of the capacity to be a representative social partner recognised by consensus, among Romania's social dialogue bodies, CES included;

• suppression of social dialogue in tripartite bodies by eliminating the social partners (for example, from the board of the National Health Insurance Agency, CNAS) or by deliberately ignoring them whenever such bodies were convened during the past 12 months (as in the case of the National Agency for Employment, ANOFM).

In the same open letter, the social partners have asked the prime minister to place discussions about anti-crisis measures on the CNTDS agenda. They also suggest a national pact for the re-establishment of relations between employers’ organisations and trade unions (a pact that had already been signed by the social partners on 17 October 2011), amendments to the labour legislation, and the reinstatement of sectoral committees as the main structures with responsibility for drawing up development and continuous vocational training strategies.

Resumption of the tripartite social dialogue

At its meeting of 27 October 2011, the Cabinet resolved to schedule the first meeting of the CNTDS for 1 November.

At the first meeting of the CNTDS, the prime minister informed social partners of the central budget for 2012. However, it was too late for the social partners to have any say, because the state budget act had already been submitted to Parliament, and because, in any case, the increase in the monthly minimum wage that is being negotiated is a mere RON 30 (approximately €6.9).

Commentary

In 2011, new and amended legislation concerning industrial relations and the labour market was adopted unilaterally by the government, circumventing tripartite social dialogue.

Both national and sectoral collective bargaining was simply suppressed, due, on the one hand to the abolition of the old collective bargaining rules, and, on the other, to the government's failure to determine, together with social partners, the sectors of activity.

This has deprived collective bargaining at company level of any frame of reference.

Constantin Ciutacu, Institute of National Economy, Romanian Academy