The Trade Union and the Administration at the Negotiation Table

At every end of the year, the railway trade unions, together with the board of administration of the three railway companies, start up on the "traditional" round of negotiations for the future collective work contract. There is beginning now a long period of analysis and debates, more or less in contradiction, which will be extended up to the first month of the next year, when there should appear the Collective Work Contract on 2003.

Florin Dobrescu, the president of the National Federation Iron Way
"As always, for the railway trade unions the end of the year is the most difficult from the annual activity program. And that, due to the fact that according to the conditions of the collective work contract, at the end of the year, before winter holidays there are made calculations for granting certain material support to the railway employees and, in the same time, there start the negotiations for the new collective work contract.
The first part of the discussions is allocated to the negotiation at the level of the group of units where the representative federations have participated: Iron Way, Hauling Movement-Commercial, Wagons and Elcatel. By all means, there would be many other trade unions that would like to take part, smaller ones, but I do not think is possible. Anyway, there is something for sure: we are negotiating on behalf of all the railway employees. We will center our effort especially on the conception of a contract at the level of the branches, with clear provisions, according to the specific of the three railway companies. I refer now, first of all to the hierarchical issue on branches, which has already become acute and has to be finalized. Maybe now, on the last hundred meters race, we will succeed… Secondly, we are concerned about the bonuses issue, which probably will be included in the wage. There is a version of matricial griding, which will be taken into discussion.
We are also discussing about the modifications of certain essential chapters included in the present contract, as the one referring to the trade union rights. Unfortunately, there are a lot of anomalies, which need a rapid solution.
Still, we are sure that a real collaboration between the five trade union groupings, around the work table will lead to the elaboration of a well structured and favorable contract for all the railway employees.
By all means, we should not forget that all the treaties depend first of all on the position of the administration. Up to the present time, for complete information, we have required all the data referring to the budget project, expenses, personnel policy etc. If we have had the possibility to agree, during the next year we would have a satisfying collective work contract.
For the time being, we are in the stage in which the National Convention of the Shippers formulates the requirements. Even if there is a busy period, I am sure that there will be find solutions for all the provisions from the contract.
At the end, I would like to wish to the trade unionists from the National Federation Iron Way a happy new year, with more promising provisions in the new work contract. Help them God to fulfill all their wishes and to give them health, so that we will succeed to continue further on the company's activity!"

Ionel Socaciu, the president of ELCATEL Federation
"Now, at the end of the year, we, the trade unions, as well as the administration should provide to their employees those stipulated through the collective work contract: respectively, the money for the children (1.5%) and the Christmas bonus, which during the current year is dimensioned according to the salary class I. From the legal point of view, these provisions can not be renegotiated, being clearly stipulated in the budget of incomes and expanses.
Simultaneously, there have been started off the negotiation of the collective work contract for 2003. We are making the preparations now, the discussions being resumed after the holidays, on January. There should be urgently finalized in order to take advantage of their rights starting with January. The current year, there is for the first time when we are working organized. We have founded a managing association, because there should be elaborated first of all a contract at the level of the group of units. There is compulsory to fructify this unique contract at the level of the confederation of the Transports branch, with all its clauses and provisions. As a parenthesis, there should be told that the project for the new Code of labor forces that the other minimal provisions of the contract to be respected.
The works become more complicated in the waging area, because we would like to introduce in the basic salary the bonuses that are implied, as a permanent feature, fact that means a new salary, with a matricial griding - either exponential, or linear. If starting with January 1st, the minimal wage on the economy will be 2,500,000 ROL, then the railway salaries should be correlated with the gross minimum wage on the country. At the Railways, we have six-seven classes of waging under this level and obviously we will not agree to modify the current hierarchy quotients, so that the salary griding to be once again suffering. In the respective case we will try to find solutions; we are trying to achieve two work contracts - at the level of the group of units and then, immediately, at the unit level. There will be difficult to achieve everything we propose, because the time is very short. Still, I believe that we will succeed to clear up things without too many troubles.
On the other hand, it is well known the fact that the waging problem is linked to the budget; a budget built on what has been spent, multiplied with an inflation which is forecasted at 14%. Or, a salary increase with 14 % is not accepted at the Railways, where the salaries have remained as they are. That is why, we should know exactly what the administration thinks about with regard to the reduction of the pressure in point of the salaries. I think that the idea of externalizing the activity and the building in branches is no longer up to date. Or, if it is, there are a few sectors of activity that lend themselves to something like this. Then, if the solution of personnel reduction no longer exists, there will surely be some question marks regarding the solutions of the productivity increase.
These would be the things on the agenda of this end of the year. There is sure that, still related to the CWC, we are concerned with the idea of correlating the legislation issued, which is rich and it is compulsory to be taken into consideration. I would like to make only two references. There is already a law, no. 346, of the assurance in case of accidents and professional diseases, with application since January 1, 2003, from which the Railways makes abstraction. This forces the employer to pay some amounts for the professional risks from minimum 0.5% to a maximum of 4%, there surely appears an additional expenses, and we should solve other matters too. In the same time, there should be also solved the leasing issue of certain special or remarkable conditions.
The inclusion of certain handicrafts to the special conditions is a complicated problem at the Railways, because there are a lot of positions that have the right to enter in the respective category. There are performed works for the safety traffic, in the difficult conditions - cold, rain., heat, contact line etc. -, and there is obvious that if we report to other positions which we know that are included in the same category through the law no. 19, in the annexes, now, through the above mentioned category, and some of the railway handicrafts have all the chances to be included between them. But this is a problem, which is included first of all in the ministry's attention. Even if this is not an emergency for this end of the year, anyway it is a problem, which should be solved.
Apart of that, regarding retrospectively because during the current year we have not been heard too much in press declarations, maybe it may seem that the railway trade unions have kind of lost their enthusiasm. In fact, our silence has been motivated by the current year achievements, which have been, we can say, quite good. We are also terrified by the blockage state, by the lack of cash and the value of the debts and creante which the railway companies are cumulating. All these also touch us, but we cannot protest either only to maintain the image of the "fighters". Let's not forget that the various objectives (tracks, traffic sections, and so on) are disconnected from the power network because we did not succeed to pay. Or, for the people from the infrastructure it is very important that the equipment operates in safety conditions, not to be disconnected just like that because there was an order coming from SC Electrica. These matters are extremely delicate, the ministry has intervened trying to obtain the echeloning of the debts. This would be only one of the many constraints, which, we, the trade unions understand.
Because this year is rapidly approaching to the end, I feel like assuring my guild colleagues that in the Railways there is no longer the instability, which in the last years was profoundly affecting the railway employees. By all means, a real stability is also conferred by a good salary, the fact that the letting go is no longer the objects of the current governing, the fact that, although the companies and the railway undertakings have been put in the situation to opt for the provision of the social protection through a financing granted by the Work Bank, neither the administration, nor the trade unions did not wish to utilize this formula which brought about a personnel reduction. The only concerns, which the railway employees could have, are aiming the faith of the people who work within the 18 branches founded in the last two years, and now there is brought into discussion the privatization matter. What is it going to happen with them in that case? The time will prove that there can not harm the integrity of the railways, and the branches - with a good railway specific - would not be annulled.
I should also say that, as in the previous years, the rights gained in the trade unionist fight will not represent anymore a fight reason; this time, I have convinced the ministry that they can not renegotiate endlessly every year. In the perspective of year 2003, I am sure that we will have again negative negotiation, namely to reach to the "performance" on which we are emphasizing, to negotiate… under the inflation rate. Anyway, I assure the people that from the salary point of view there is the chance to enter the normal. The railway employees should know that we do not seem so aggressive because we are trying to solve things amiably, diplomatically. And I am sure that everything will be all right. I can not conclude without wishing to the railway employees the traditional: "Happy New Year!" and "Merry Holidays!"

Oana Branzan