27 March, 2008Workers at Renault-owned Dacia are striking for improved wages and benefits.
ROMANIA: Some 10,000 workers at Romanian automaker Dacia, the country's largest carmaker owned by Renault, went on strike on March 24 for a 50 per cent increase in wages and improved benefits and conditions. The strike follows a March 14 walkout, when 4,000 workers downed tools in a two hour protest.
Management has attempted to intimidate workers by threatening to move production to other countries. The company has challenged the legality of the strike and a court said it would deliver a ruling on April 2.
The average gross monthly salary at Dacia-Renault is about 1,064 lei (US$446), however some 2,500 workers with no seniority rights are paid much less, at a monthly rate of 780 lei (US$327). Workers are demanding raises of 550 lei (US$231) per month for all employees.
Other worker demands include participation in profit sharing, improved Easter and Christmas bonuses, equal rights for workers, a reduction and limit on use of fixed-term contracts, and a vehicle discount for purchases of Logan Dacia, Renault and Nissan cars.
Dacia-Renault reported record sales in 2007 of 230,000 vehicles sold in Romania and abroad, up 17.4 per cent from the previous year.