Board Of Nokia Factory In Romania Offers 5% Wage Hike

The president of Nokia Romania’s Free Union, Cristian Copil, said on Friday that negotiations with the plant’s management on the collective labor contract were immediately halted by discontent unionists and will be restarted next Thursday.

 

“The 5% percentage offered by Nokia is far too low. It is unacceptable, considering the current conditions in Romania and the international value of the company. (…) Until Thursday, Nokia has enough time to present us another offer of at least 25%. We cannot live with the actual salary," Copil added.

 

According to the Union president, Nokia’s board has considered the employees do not deserve a higher wage hike, nor the several bonuses demanded.

 

Members of the Nokia Romania Free Union demanded last week a 50% wage raise and the granting of a loyalty bonus of 1% for each year of employment at Finnish mobile giant Nokia’s plant in Jucu, in the northwestern Romanian county of Cluj.

 

"We want raises of 50% for employees, a 10% loyalty bonus for the first year of employment and a 1% loyalty bonus for each year of employment after that,” Copil said at that time.

 

Unionists also want a 10% bonus for hard labor.

 

The average gross salary in Nokia’s Romanian plant is 860 lei (EUR1=RON 3.6875).

 

The union was founded in September and is affiliated to the CNSLR Fratia national union confederation.

 

Nokia’s Romanian plant employs 1,600 people, half of which are union members.