Romania’s Transport Min Has Money To Pay Railway Employees’ Wages For 2009

Axinia added he will stop negotiations with unionists and further talks will be had only with general managers of the railway companies.

Romanian railway unionists threatened Monday to go on general strike in protest to the government's plan to scrap more than 10,000 jobs in the sector, but said they are confident Finance Minister Gheorghe Pogea would not endorse the Transport Ministry's plan.

Union leader Iulian Mantescu told MEDIAFAX Monday that railway workers will go on general strike indefinitely if the draft decree is approved and more than 10,300 railway workers are left jobless.

"It is just a draft decree for now and I doubt the finance minister will sign it, but if he does, we are considering going on general strike. We'll see what we'll do but we never have and never will approve of layoffs in the railway sector," Mantescu said.

Romania will fire more than 10,300 railway sector employees, who will get double the average net wage per economy as severance, unemployment aid and monthly severance pay for 20 to 24 months, depending on seniority, according to a draft decree drawn up by the Transport Ministry.

Most jobs will be cut at the freight division of the state-owned railway company CFR Marfa (6,700 people), the passenger division CFR Calatori (1,032 people), train car maintenance and repair company CFR IRV (800 people), the railway company CFR SA (600 people) and the locomotive maintenance and repair company CFR IRLU (500 people).

Upon termination of their contract, employees will get double the average net salary per economy set by the country's statistics institute for January, along unemployment benefits and a monthly income, which is the difference between the employee's net monthly wage for the past three months, but no more than the average wage per economy, and the unemployment aid. This monthly income will be granted for a period of 20 to 24 months, depending on seniority.

The decree sets layoffs are to be operated by December 31, 2012.

Cutting jobs in the railway sector will increase the country's costs for the unemployment budget by 55.3 million lei (EUR1=RON4.2670) in 2009, RON168.5 million in 2010 and RON135.2 million in 2011.

The decree drafted by the Transport Ministry motivates the need for layoffs saying the economic crisis has deeply affected the railway sector and railway transport demand has started decreasing in autumn 2008 and plummeted in 2009.

Mantescu said in August that railway unions would agree to layoffs if workers got 24 monthly wages as severance pay.

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