Trade union members chose the dialogue, but….”

Interview with Mr. Cornel Radulescu, vice-president of the Free Railway Trade Unions “ Movement and Commercial”

Railway Journal: Mr.Vice-president, lots of railway men are complaining about certain working conditions at CFR.
Cornel Radulescu: I would like to rephrase. There are not certain conditions, but urgent problems that had to be solved even from 1989, but nobody has found a solution to these problems so far. If you remember, during December 1998, at Marshalling Ploiesti Station there was this spontaneous labor conflict. Those 400 employees were complaining mainly about the bad working conditions. Here we are in November 2000, and in two years, there has been no changing.
RJ: Nothing has been done or what has been done does not comply with your demands?
CR: First of all, I would like to talk about men’s complaints. Our employees do not have at their disposal sanitary groups, the necessary equipment is totally nonexistent, should be rain or snow, they have no place to go, and besides all these, they have no water to drink while at work. So get a picture of what means not to have a drop of water to wash yourself or drink after 12 hours of work. So, these are really urgent problems. We are not absurd, but we are talking about the minimum necessary needs we want to have. Many time we are considered merely working men who do not think, who are not in the position of analyzing a situation, who are not capable of defend their rights and still we are the only one responsible with traffic safety! How could you explain this? Starting with this year, we have been trying to change the policy of the union trades by promoting young people who will know better how to defend union trade members’ rights. That is why we tried to eliminate the policy of “pounding the table”. We want to approach diplomatically each meeting we will have with the administrations of the railway companies.
I would like to tell you that during these two years, nothing has been done. Just two weeks ago, a representative of our trade union was in the field. The only thing he noticed was that everywhere, working conditions were exactly as they used to be two years ago. So, nothing has been done. The administrations of railway companies do not have to forget that during December 1998, employees couldn’t bear any longer and they went on strike. We are entering the winter of 2000, and people will get over the moment of elections. What matters for them is to go to work, to have proper working conditions and then go home.
RJ: How is to blame in your opinion?
CR: I would say that the administrations of the railway companies. As I recall, during spring 1999, a team of specialists came in the field, and elaborated some RK projects for some of the buildings. For others, only a few plans for draining systems, but everything is now just in a project phase. The only thing they achieved was just a mere make up, meaning just a few painting over the facades of the building. Let’s take as example Valea Prahovei, where the railway stations were painted on the outside, whereas on the inside the employees do not have a single piece of a toilet and water. Imagine this: a railway agent - which is a pretty important position in the railways - has to carry his own bottles with water to soften his thirst or to wash his hands. I do not think I have to mention about his other physiological needs. So it is easily understandable why, we cannot think of that as appropriate and decent working conditions. As long as they are not able to work in an optimal space, men is submitted to failure. And, God forbid us of mistakes in the Railway! You can imagine that if the everyday stress comes on the top, among the other problems, the employees cannot have any efficiency at all. To create a tragic accident, all we need is a moment of absent-mindedness. And, why not admit it, social risk is very raised as related to our employees.
RJ: Aside from these two problems -lack of water and of sanitary groups- are there any other problems?
CR: We are also confronting with the absence of heat in the cloakrooms. Before shifting, employees have to get dressed in that protection equipment, and after 12 hours of work in the rain or snow, to have to change your clothes in a room where the temperature is exactly as outside…. . The result of some statistics we made shows that the average age at CFR is 32-33 years old. Due to these people, the administration goes on. But how? By not insuring minimum working conditions? Those who lead us should not forget that even if years are passing, men remained the same. Once the conflict started, we will no longer have any control over them.
RJ: Could you tell me when was the last meeting between you and the administration, and what were the main debates?
CR: These kinds of meetings have been quite frequent lately. Support we find just at CFR-SA, that already started a very accurate program about the improvement of the working conditions. In the railways where their employees are working, a part of which being also members of our union trade, offices are already equipped with refrigerators and air conditioning devices or ventilators. So at least they tried something, in comparison with the other companies, which didn’t move a finger. At Marshaling Ploiesti Station that belongs to Freight Railway Company, nothing has been done yet.
RJ: What arguments had the representatives of these companies, to support the idea of not doing a thing?
CR: Generally they talked around the bush. They had no arguments, either pros or cons. Instead, they came armed with a program of measures, but we are sick and tired of measure put on a piece of paper; we want facts!
RJ: Aside from the problems of minimum working conditions and traffic safety, there is one more: that of the Health Insurance House of Transportation (CAST) of which you say it is too soon to talk about it. Still do you foresee a possible work conflict?
CR: I think that each premise for any labor conflict is now available. Taking into account that in two years there has been other two conflicts because of the stringent problems I presented to you, and that we, the leaders couldn’t do a thing to help them, or to prevent such conflicts, yes, I would say that this could happen.

Reporting Oana Bran