STUDIU DE IMPACT PRIVIND REFORMELE LEGISLATIEI MUNCII ÎN ROMÂNIA

Romanian labour and industrial relations law has undergone wide-ranging changes in recent years. The Social Dialogue Law No. 62/2011 repealed and replaced several laws regulating industrial relations, while the Romanian Labour Code was extensively modified through the Law No. 40/2011. This legislation followed the Romanian government’s passing of a broad package of economic and labour reforms comprising wide-ranging cuts in entitlements and tax rises. These reforms were aimed at achieving macroeconomic stability and reducing government budget deficits, thus satisfying conditions in agreements Romania had signed with various international financial institutions. The authors themselves point out in the study that the time lapsed from the date of these legislative changes is rather short. However, the official statistics show that in 2008 the employees’ wages accounted for 42% of the gross domestic product, and the gross operating surplus for 47.2% of the GDP. In 2011, the share of the employees’ wages dropped to 40.6%, and the surplus rose to 50.8%. In other words, the crisis took its toll mostly on the workers and their earnings. According to the study, the reforms have had detrimental social impacts and have not delivered the economic benefits promised. Workers and their representatives have lost a wide array of entitlements, leaving them in a very precarious working situation. There has been a decline in both the quantity and the quality of work and employment. There has also been a decline in the number of employed people and in the average number of hours worked per week. The reforms have also caused collective bargaining in Romania to stagnate. At all levels, there is a noticeable drop in the extent of collective bargaining and the number of agreements. Even those agreements which have been signed cover less workers and their provisions offer inferior protection to employees compared to previous agreements in similar contexts. This poses longer term concerns for regulation, working conditions and social stability. The English version of the study was published on Labordoc database (http://labordoc.ilo.org/record/457525).