(Thursday, FEB 9) Romanian media reports that the employees at the Electrolux factory in Satu-Mare, Romania, are on strike and its not going well for them, especially when the temperatures in Romania nowadays are very low and the management keeps the gates closed.
The employees at the local factory of the Swedish giant Electrolux, have been on strike for two weeks for various reasons. The workers want to keep their old collective labor agreement, which offers them compensation in case of layoffs and the breaks workers are entitled to and need to take given the nature of their work. As one of the union members explained, due to the nature of the factory’s production work, the employees work at conveyor belts. Now the management wants to reduce their breaks.
Reportedly, the management wants to reduce their breaks from two breaks of 7 minutes each for physiological needs to 5 minutes each, and their lunch break to 15 minutes. Workers have also asked for a paycheck increase of RON 100 (approx. USD 30) per month to be implemented in January and another negotiable increase of up to RON 100 in September. That would be an increase of RON 200 in the best case scenario, or approximately SEK 400/USD 60. While the local management of Electrolux says the measures proposed to the union are in agreement with Romanian legislation, the union that represents the workers says the factory management is taking illegal actions.
One such measure prohibiting workers on strike to enter the premises of the factory on Wednesday. The management also closed down the factory for three days (Wednesday to Friday), which is something they are allowed to do only after a general meeting of the Board or of the shareholders. The last two measures are in flagrant contradiction with the Romanian law, say union leaders, as workers who are on strike have to be on strike at their workplace not in the street and the conditions for deciding to close down the factory have not been met. In a press release, Electrolux said that it had consulted with the management and the unions before closing the factory.
According to the President of the Samus Union, Sorin Faur, the decision to close the factory was taken by the local management team alone – as far as the union knows. On Thursday, the management called people at the factory for a few hours only to force them out with the company’s security personnel, a move characterized by those present and union representatives as provocation. To be noted that the workers did not make one fowl move during all this, not even when the factory’s local management forced them to stay outside the factory at -26 degrees Celsius. The union representatives said that Samus will be taking legal action against the local management of Electrolux.
UPDATE FRIDAY, FEB. 10
On Friday, February 10, strikers were not allowed to enter the factory again. Just like on Wednesday, some 850 workers were kept at the gates. The president of the workers’ union Samus, Sorin Faur, said that he couldn’t understand the management’s attitude, which has made things worse. Now the workers demand, in addition to the preservation of the old collective agreement, that the general manager, Dietmar Blomer, and the HR manager, Martin Rusneac, step down. One of the workers said that the reason they wanted the two to resign and leave the factory was because they were treating the factory workers as their own slaves. Union leaders Sorin Faur and Radu Matica also disclosed that the management suggested that they would close down the factory, either temporarily or permanently, in a meeting with the union representatives on Thursday. “They said that they were not happy with the attitude of the union or that of the workers, and if the current attitude does not change there is a possibility that the owners in Sweden will shut down the factory,” Faur told Gazeta de Nord Vest. Despite this, workers say they’ve had enough and they don’t plan on backing down on their demands and if the Swedes want to leave, they’re welcome to do so. “Better if they leave, than turn us into their slaves.”
Another article in the local newspaper Gazeta de Nord Vest reveals that strikers started receiving threatening text messages on their phones saying that they should quit the strike and return to work before it’s too late, that they would be fired or even that the factory will be permanently shut down. Some of them suspect the factory’s HR manager to be behind the texts, but they have no evidence to support their speculation.
UPDATE SUNDAY, FEB 12
Late on Friday evening, the management of Electrolux informed the union that workers will be allowed inside the factory on Monday between 7-9 am to conduct their legal strike meeting. The local labor office has started an investigation to determine whether the decision to close down the factory during strike was legal or not. The management decided on Tuesday, February 7, to close down the factory for three days (Wednesday to Friday) and they prevented strikers from entering the factory for their meeting on Wednesday and Friday. Faur said that it was not clear from the management’s communication if the factory was closed or not after all.
UPDATE MONDAY, FEB 13
The factory’s management allowed the workers access inside the factory between 7-9 am local time. In that time, the union presented to the workers the new offer from the management, but workers were not satisfied and they decided to continue their strike for at least another day.
The union made a counter offer in return, and they are waiting for the management’s reply today. Also today, the Ministry of Labor would release the results of its inquiry into how the strike was handled. A similar result is en route from the local labor inspectorate.
- ELECTROLUX REACTION
A press statement issued on Monday reveals that both parties agree on the wide majority of conditions in the new collective labor agreement. Furthermore, the company said it offered a wage increase for 2012, without revealing the proposed increase. The company also put on the table severance payments which are higher than those demanded in the new Labor Code in case of mass layoffs. Electrolux employees at the factory in Satu Mare will continue to receive meal tickets and loyalty incentives of up to 25% of their monthly paychecks.
Full press statement as provided by the company’s press office:
13.02.2012
Electrolux Press Statement
In the light of the current situation undergoing at the Electrolux Satu Mare plant, Electrolux Group would like to point out certain aspects of the negotiations that have been carried out in the past two months, between the Satu Mare plant’s management and union officials.
To begin with, the conditions of the 2012 collective labour contract are, at present, mostly agreed by both parties. The management has already offered a salary increase for 2012 and a compensatory payment package in case of collective layoffs, higher than the one stipulated in the Romanian Labour Code.
Furthermore, employees of the Satu Mare plant will continue to receive their meal tickets and their monthly fidelity bonuses, that represent up to 25% from the monthly base salary.We are confident that these offers confirm Electrolux flexibility and openness to discussions, and represent another plea to constructive negotiations.
Electrolux is represented by Dietmar Bloemer – Satu Mare plant manager, and Martin Rusneac – Satu Mare plant HR Manager, together with the entire Management Team to negotiate in the name of Electrolux Group. The company has full confidence in the team to fullfill this role.
Once again, we appeal to the Union officials’ willingness to negotiate, in the hope of flexible and constructive discussions, that could lead to a rapid resolution of the situation, in favour of both parties involved.
DW sent a set of three question to the Electrolux corporate press office on Thursday, February 9. Below the answers, as they were sent by Media Relations Manager, Erik Zsiga (questions and answers, my emphasis):
1. What is your position to the break reductions (technological breaks down from 7 to 5 minutes, lunch break of 15 minutes only)? Do you consider these to be fair and reasonable? Can you draw a short parallel with the similar rights enjoyed by Swedish production workers or with production workers elsewhere in Europe?
I will not go into the specific details of the negotiations, as these are a subject between the employees and us. But let me state that we have offered a salary increase for 2012 and a compensatory payment package in case of collective layoffs, and in total our offers are higher than the one stipulated in the Romanian Labour Code. Electrolux remains open to continue negotiations. The ambition to have a setup as efficient as possible, is a subject in the negotiations with the unions in all our factories.
2. Has the local management team consulted the parent company regarding the temporary shut-down of the factory during a strike (as they claim)?
Yes.
3. Is Electrolux considering the shutdown of the factory (as suggested by the negotiators on Thursday) if the union and workers to not back down on their demands?
The competition is hard in the appliance industry and we are continuosly reviewing all our factories to maintain a competitive manufacturing setup. However, the discussions now are about the future labor contracts, nothing else. Let’s stay to that discussion.
