Employees Of Carmaker Dacia Start General Strike

Employees will be on strike indefinitely after the company management proposed a 12% hike in wages, percentage that employees consider too low.

“The 12% hike is actually another form of the RON118 wage proposal company representatives had forwarded as of March 1. Starting Monday, 80% of employees go on strike. We ask for a RON550 wage increase,” said Ion Iordache, vice-president of the Automobile Dacia union.

Unionists demand an increase of RON550 in two tranches: RON350 starting Jan 1, 2008 and RON200 starting Jun 1, 2008.

Dacia employees last went on general strike in 2002, for three days.

Over 4,000 employees were on warning strike two weeks ago, demanding higher wages and higher Easter and Christmas bonuses.

The carmaker employs 13,000 people.