Union density is higher in Romania than in most Central and Eastern European countries, with between a fifth and a quarter of all employees in unions. The structures are fragmented, with five separate confederations, CNSLR-Frăţia, BNS CNS Cartel Alfa, CSDR and CSN Meridian. Each has broadly similar membership levels and a wide spread of affiliated federations. 1

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Union density and structure

There are no national estimates of union density (the proportion of employees who are union members) but the OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database estimates union density at 21.4% in 2018. 2 Union density is higher – at 26.4% – if the total certified membership of the five representative national union confederations – 1.415 million – is divided by the average number of employees in 2023, as reported by the Romanian national statistical institute – 5.365 million. 3 These are the statistics used in Romanian legislation to determine the representative status of national union confederations (see Legal framework). The lower union density figure in the OECD/AIAS database is because it uses a higher figure for the number of employees, which comes from the EU Labour Force Survey rather than national figures.

There are five main union confederations in Romania, which all meet the conditions to be considered as representative at national level. 4 One key condition is that they must have at least 5% of Romania’s employees in membership, but they must also comply with certain formal legal obligations and have local structures in more than half the country’s 41 counties plus the capital Bucharest.

The confederations show that they meet the membership condition by submitting details of their membership, including that of the union federations affiliated to them to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, and these figures are published on the ministry website. 5

All five union confederations are all of broadly similar size, and the 5% membership threshold means that they need to have at least around 260,000 members to maintain their status as nationally representative organisations.

Currently, the largest is CNSLR- Frăţia, with 307,804 members. 6 It developed from a merger in 1990 of the former official trade union movement (CNSLR) with the new confederation, Frăţia. CNS Cartel Alfa, which was set up in 1990, is now the second largest with 287,337 members. 7 BNS, which had its founding congress in 1991, is in third place in membership terms, with 280,387 members in 2023. 8 CSN Meridian, which was set up in 1994, is very slightly smaller. It had 276,960 members in 2024. 9 CSDR, which emerged after a split in CNSLR-Frăţia in 1994, is now the smallest of the five with 262,663 members in 2020. 10

There have been attempts to bring the confederations together in the past. At the end of 2011 BNS announced that it wanted to create a new union structure. Talks were started with both CNRLR-Frăţia and Cartel Alfa, although CNRLR-Frăţia rapidly withdrew. In 2012, BNS and Cartel Alfa announced that they planned to merge in 2013, but these plans were abandoned before the end of the year.

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Individual unions

All the confederations have several industry federations affiliated to them, which are detailed in the documents they submit to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (see Union density and structure).

CNSLR-Frăţia has 15 affiliated industry federations, of which the largest by far is the health services union Federatia Sanitas, with 93,332 members, almost a third (30%) of the confederation’s total membership. Other large unions in CNSLR-Frăţia are the education union FSE Spiru Haret, with 66,842 members, the public employees’ union Federația Columna-Scor with 32,270 and the civil service union SED-LEX with 24,345.

Cartel Alfa has 39 affiliated federations, and two largest affiliates, are the local authority workers union, FNSA, with 39,452 members and the police union, SNPCC, with 35,695. Other substantial unions in the confederation are the health union, Federația “Solidaritatea Sanitară” with 19,249, the education union FNS Alma Mater with 18,679, and the metalworkers’ union, FNSSM, with 18,000.

BNS has 30 affiliated federations. The largest BNS affiliate is the construction and construction material union FGS Familia, with 39,128 members, with the manufacturing union, IndustriALL-BNS, with 30,366, in second place. The third-largest BNS affiliate is PUBLISIND, representing 29,576 workers in public administration, and FNL, which has members in a range of industries, including television, has 28,200 members.

CSN Meridian has 24 affiliated federations of the largest is Federaţia Agro PROPACT, which has 88,138 members and brings together unions of workers in the agricultural sector, including farmers. The next largest is FNM, which has 55,776 and represents miners and energy workers, followed by Organizatia CONSILVA, which organises forestry workers and has 32,000 members. Three smaller unions are Forta Legii (24,585) representing workers in public administration, Alianta Intersindicala Dambovita, which has 22,982 members, and the union representing cooperatives, Alianta Naţionala Confederativa Sindical - Cooperatistă Meridian, with 21,989 members. 11

Finally, CSDR has 16 affiliated industry federations, and the largest is the teachers’ union FSLI with 162,194 members, 62% of its total membership. FSCM, with 22,720 members in motor manufacturing is the second largest affiliate of the CSDR confederation.

All five confederations also have local structures in most of Romania’s counties.

Although a federation can be formed by just two unions, they may bring together a large number of small unions, which often only cover a single employer. For example, the BNS affiliate PUBLISIND, operating in public administration with 29,576 members has 62 separate affiliated unions, and in total BNS has 935 individual affiliated unions. Similarly, the Cartel-Alfa affiliate FNSSM, which has 18,000 members and operates in the metalworking sector, has 51 separate affiliated unions. 12

One of the consequences of this structure is that unions are fragmented with competition for membership, and local unions will sometimes move from one federation to another.

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Political position

A study on Romania unions published by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in 2016 found that there was no “significant difference [between the confederations] in terms of doctrine, affiliated sectors or composition”. 13 However, as the same study pointed out, there have been links between the confederations and political parties, despite a formal prohibition on trade unions carrying out political activities. The largest confederation, CNSLR-Frăţia has traditionally been close to the social democratic party PSD, and it signed a new agreement with the party in November 2019, with both sides emphasising their close cooperation over 30 years. 14 More recently the local branch of CNSLR- in Iași county, the largest in Romania, signed a cooperation agreement with PSD before local elections in 2024. 15 However, it makes clear on its website that it is “independent of political parties”. 16

Cartel Alfa emphasises on its website that is “totally independent of government or political groups”, 17 while BNS sent an open letter to the leaders of all political parties in 2023, expressing its willingness to entire into dialogue with any of them. 18

CSN Meridian and CSDR have no clear party-political position.

The ETUI-supported study on Romania unions published in 2023 suggested that Romanian unions have few political links, concluding that “the union movement today seems politically isolated, with no political allegiance at the national level and no political relevance at the local level.” 19

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Legal framework

Unions in Romania operate within a clearly defined legal framework particularly in relation to their role in tripartite consultation and collective bargaining and this framework was substantially changed through legislation, the amended Social Dialogue Act, introduced at the end of 2022 and amended in 2023. 20

Except for those in the military and some other occupations such as judges and prosecutors, all workers, including the self-employed, have a right to join a union. However, a union can only be set up by either 10 employees in a single workplace or 20 employees in several workplaces in the same industry. This is a significant change on the position before 2022 as, under the terms of the previous Social Dialogue Act, a union could only be set by 15 workers in the same workplace.

Although the Social Dialogue Act states that unions’ operations and their relations with the members are determined by the statutes of the unions themselves, there are rules on various aspects of union activity, particularly on the representativeness of confederations, federations and individual unions. These cover three levels of representation, nation, industry and workplace.

To be representative at national level, a confederation must:

• have legal status as a trade union confederation;
• be organisationally and financially independent;
• have its own structures in more than half Romania’s 41 counties plus Bucharest; and
• have member unions which together account for 5% of the workers in the national economy.

Confederations are required to demonstrate this by presenting the necessary documents, including declarations on membership signed by the representatives of the individual federations, to the Bucharest court.

To be representative at industry level, or, in some cases, at the level of a smaller group of companies, a federation must again meet the formal requirements of legal status and organisational and financial independence, and it must show that its membership accounts for at least 5% of the number of employees in that industry or group of companies. (Before the 2022 change the threshold was 7%.) Union federations can have representative status in several industries.

To be representative at workplace level, a union must have the appropriate legal status and be independent, and at least 35% of the employees at that workplace must be its members. (Before the 2022 change the threshold was 50% plus one.)

Representative status is important both in terms of the right to conduct collective bargaining and having seats on tripartite consultative bodies (see Collective bargaining).

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Membership trends

Overall trade union membership in Romania has declined since the beginning of the 1990s, when there were perhaps more than four million union members as compared with 1.4 million in 2024, although the figures, particularly in the 1990s and early 2000s are not reliable. 21 The requirement, under the 2011 Social Dialogue Act, to produce proof of membership to achieve representative status, something that has been retained in the 2022 version, has resulted in more accurate figures.

The most recent figures, comparing the latest submitted figures with those presented four years earlier, show an increase in overall union membership of 6.2%, although there are variations between the confederations (see the Table below).

Union membership changes

Confederation	2016-2020	2020-2024	Change
CNRLR-Frăţia	304,842	307,804	1.0%
Cartel-Alfa	258,099	287,227	11.3%
BNS	259,428	280,387	8.1%
CNS Meridian	254,280	276,960	8.9%
CSDR	255,757	262,663	2.7%
Total	1,332,406	1,415,041	6.2%

Source: figures submitted to Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. The dates the material is submitted, vary between the confederations.

As in many other countries, union membership in Romania is now higher in the public sector than in the private sector, and the two largest union federations are in education, FSLI with 162,194 members, and health, Sanitas, with 93,332 members.

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Women

There is only limited data on the proportion of women in trade unions. The membership figures submitted to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection do not include a breakdown by sex, and the information provided to the ETUC’s gender equality survey is not up to date. The latest available figures show that 47% of CNRLR-Frăţia’s membership was female in 2016, 40% of the membership of BNS in 2015 and 40% of the membership of Cartel Alfa in 2013. 22 CSDR has never provided this breakdown, and CNS Meridian is not affiliated to the ETUC.

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The possibility of bargaining at industry level has been greatly improved by new legislation passed in 2022 and 2023, which also strengthened unions’ ability to reach company-level deals. However, lack of data means that the impact of these changes is difficult to measure, and the information available suggests that there has been no widespread return to industry-level bargaining.

Collective bargaining coverage and structure

The OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database estimates that adjusted collective bargaining coverage, after taking account of those workers who for legal reasons are not permitted to negotiate their pay and conditions was 15% in 2017. 23

However, this estimate does not take account of the changes in the legal collective structure for collective bargaining, introduced in 2022 to meet Romania’s commitment to the EU under Romania’s National Reform Programme, and further amended in 2023. These changes have made easier to bargain at industry level, strengthened unions’ bargaining position at company level, and, potentially, reintroduced bargaining at national level.

At present, it is impossible to assess what impact these changes have had in terms of coverage. As the most recent annual study on Romania from Eurofound points out, “it is very difficult to estimate the collective bargaining coverage as no data is adequate.” 24

It is only possible to set out how the recent legislation, the 2022 Social Dialogue Act (Lege Nr. 367/2022), passed in December 2022, 25 and the Government Emergency Ordinance (Ordonanță de Urgență Nr. 42/2023) 26, which followed in May 2023, has changed the previous situation, established by the 2011 Social Dialogue Act (Legea dialogului social 62/2011). 27

Under the 2022 and 2023 legislation, collective agreements can, as before, be negotiated at industry level, at company/organisation level and for groups of companies. However, in a change to the previous situation, it is now also theoretically possible to negotiate a national level agreement covering all employees. (National agreements were a central part of Romania’s industrial relations structure before the 2011 Social Dialogue Act but became impossible after it was passed.)

So far (2024), there have not been any national-level negotiations. However, the changes introduced in the rules for negotiations at industry, company and groups of company level have already made a difference. 28 These rules cover, among other things, who needs to bargain, who is entitled to bargain, and how bargaining is conducted,

The current situation is that bargaining on pay and conditions is obligatory at both industry and at company level, provided certain conditions are met.

The obligation to bargaining at company/organisation level depends on the company/organisation having 10 or more employees. Before the 2022 change the threshold was 21 or more. There are also detailed rules setting out who is able bargaining on behalf of the workers (see Who negotiates?). However, it is important to emphasise that although companies with 10 or more employees have an obligation to bargain, there is no obligation to reach agreement.

There is no employment threshold in the case industry-level collective bargaining, and theoretically it is now obligatory to negotiate, although, again, not to reach agreement, in each of the 58 collective bargaining sectors defined by the government. The number was increased from 30 to 58 in March 2023 to make the system more flexible and “encourage collective negotiations. 29 However, unions and employers’ associations can only negotiate agreements at industry level if they are “representative” in that industry. Unions must have at least 5% of the total number of employees in that collective bargaining sector to be representative and employers’ associations must have employers in membership who employ at least 10% of those working in that collective bargaining sector. 30 (The current percentage of employees required for unions to be representative (5%) is lower than the 7% required before the changes were introduced in 2022.)

Negotiating at the level of groups of companies is possible where the employers concerned have voluntarily decided to act together to negotiate a collective agreement, although a union can only negotiate at this level if its members make up at least 5% of the employees in this voluntary group of companies.

The requirement to negotiate company/organisational level, which existed before the changes introduced at the end of 2022, means that large number of company-level collective agreements are signed each year. (Agreements are signed for between 12 and 24 months.) The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection produces regular bulletins on the number of collective agreements at company/organisational level. 31The figures for 2023, show that 7,793 collective agreements were signed at this level. Of these, 6,858 (88%) were in the private sector, 803 (10%) were in the public sector, and 132 (2%) were in organisations with some other ownership form. However, as in total there were 87,575 organisations with 10 or more employees registered with the labour inspectorate, this means that only 8.9% of companies and other organisations required to negotiate had a collective agreement signed in that year. Even if the 1,192 additional agreements also signed in 2023 are also included, the percentage of companies and organisations covered by an agreement signed in that year only rises to 9.4% 32

The total number of collective agreements in 2023 was 12.2% higher than in 2022, suggesting that the reduction in the employment threshold at which negotiations become necessary from 21 to 10 is starting to have an effect. This is reinforced by the figures for collective agreements signed at company/organisational level in the first six months of 2024, which at 7,268 were 56.2% higher than the 4,652 agreements signed at this level in the same period in 2022 before the recent change in rules.

However, while the 2022 changes appear to have had some impact on the number of agreements signed at company/organisational level, this seems to be less the case at the level at industry and groups of companies’ level.

Details published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity at the end of 2024 show only four agreements clearly covering an industry (bargaining sector). There are in banking, pre-university education, social care and water supply and sewage. 33 This is a larger number than before the changes introduced in 2022, when, for several years, public health services and pre-university education were the two industries covered by an industry agreement. However, it is only a small proportion of the 58 bargaining sectors the government has identified.

At the level of groups of companies, there appears to have been an increase in the number of agreements signed since 2021, although most appear to be in the public (budgetary) sector. 34

It is impossible to estimate the impact of these changes on the coverage of collective agreements. Figures quoted in Eurofound’s most recent study on Romania indicate that 771,955 workers were covered by company/organisational agreements in 2023, compared with 1,1071,728 in 2022 and 524,886 in 2021. 35 With 5.635,000 employees in Romania, this indicates coverage varying between around 10% and 20%. The Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity does not publish figures on the coverage of industry-level agreements and the Eurofound study concludes that “no data is adequate” to estimate collective bargaining coverage.

Collective agreements, by law, must be in writing and should be registered with the appropriate authorities – with the local labour inspectorate in the case of company agreements and at national level, with the labour ministry, for industry agreements. There can only be one collective agreement for each bargaining group – in other words there cannot be competing agreements at industry level, nor can there be separate agreements for different groups of employees in the same company.

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Variations in collective bargaining coverage

Lack of information makes it impossible to produce statistical information on extent of bargaining in different industries. In line with union strength, it seems likely that collective agreements have a greater impact in the public than in the private sector, although banking and finance is an area where it has been possible to negotiate and industry-wide deal.

Extending agreements

Industry-level collective agreements can be extended to all employees in the industry concerned not just the signatory parties. However, this can only be done if the number of employees working for employers who have signed the agreement is more than 35% of the employees in that industry (bargaining sector). In addition, the proposal to extend an agreement in this way but be agreed by the National Tripartite Council, which brings together, employers, unions and the government (see Joint employer/union body at national level), and also approved by the government. 36

In practice, the fact that currently there are so few industry-level agreements limits the significance of the ability to extend them. However, in October 2024, the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity proposed extending the industry-level agreement for banking to the whole banking sector. 37 This was the first time this had been done. Speaking in November 2024, the then prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, described the extension as “an important step in strengthening social dialogue in Romania”. 38

A national agreement can also be legally extended. However, in order to be initially registered, the agreement must first be signed by employers’ associations, which together employ more than 20% of employees in the national economy, excluding the budgetary (public) sector. It must then be endorsed by the National Tripartite Council, which brings together, employers, unions and the government (see Joint employer/union body at national level), and, like industry-level agreements, also approved by the government.

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Allowing local variations

Collective agreements in Romania apply hierarchically to the organisations that have signed them. This means that agreements reached at national level apply to the employers who are members of the signatory bodies and to their employees. The same is true at industry level. In other words, companies and organisations that are members of employers’ associations that have signed the deals, are bound by the terms of the agreements these bodies have signed. They cannot pay less or provide worse conditions.

However, with very few industry-level agreements, most companies and organisations are not bound by high-level agreements and can sign their own deals. As a result, allowing companies or organisations to vary the industry-level agreement or opt-out of some of its clauses has not arisen as an issue.

Who negotiates?

The rules establishing who has the right to negotiate are complex, particularly at company/organisational level, and have had an impact on the shape of industrial relations in Romania.

At national level, negotiations can only take place between nationally representative unions, which, among other things, must have in membership 5% of the employees in the national economy, and nationally representative employers’ associations, whose membership must account for 7% of total employment in the economy, excluding those in the budgetary (public) sector.

At industry level, negotiations can only take place between industry-level representative unions, whose membership must be at least 5% of those employed in that industry, and employers’ associations, which must employ at least 10% of the employees in that industry to be representative. If there are no industry-level representative unions in the industry, nationally representative unions with affiliated unions in that industry can conduct negotiations. (The emergency ordinance in 2023 added representatives of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to the employers’ side, although they do not have a veto on the outcome.)

At the level of groups of companies, negotiations are between representatives of the employers in the companies involved, and unions representative at industry level plus unions that are representative in the individual companies concerned.

At company/organisational level, negotiations are between the individual employer and union representatives on the other (at least, in most cases). The choice of union representative depends on the number of union members in the company/organisation concerned, and therefore that union’s status.

If a union has 35% or more of the total employees in that company/organisation in membership, it is the representative union, and it can negotiate on behalf of the employees. If there is more than one representative union in a company, that is two with more than 35% of employees in membership, and, if one refuses to sign, an agreement can only be reached if a union can show that it has the support of at least 50% plus one of the employees.

If there are no representative unions at company level, but there are representative trade unions at industry level, these unions can negotiate, although only at the request of unions within the company. If there are no representative unions either at the company or at the industry level, then unions that are representative at national level can negotiate at the request of unions within the company. If these two fall-back solutions are unavailable, unions in the company can negotiate, even if they are not representative, although they must negotiate together in a joint team, with no more than 10 members,

Finally, if there are no unions in the company/organisation at all, employees elect representatives to negotiate on their behalf. These representatives must be elected by more than 50% of those employed in the company/organisation with a specific negotiating mandate.

It is difficult to assess how these new rules, which make it easier for a union to have negotiating rights at company/organisational level, have worked in practice. However, before this change, the vast majority of company/organisational-level agreements (85.5%) appear to have been signed by employee representatives rather than unions. 39

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Industrial action

Collective disputes can be initiated by the bodies entitled to negotiate collective agreements (see Who negotiates?). The 2022 Social Dialogue Act (Lege Nr. 367/2022), passed in December 2022, sets out the rules for industrial action. 40

Disputes must be notified to the labour authorities, who are involved in attempts to resolve them. Conciliation is mandatory, but mediation and arbitration depend on the agreement of the two sides.

If the dispute cannot be resolved, the bodies entitled to negotiate can begin strike action. The requirement under the 2011 Social Dialogue Act that at least half of the union members involved must vote in favour was removed by the legislation passed in 2022. However, where there is no union and negotiations are being conducted by specially elected representatives, at least a quarter of the employees must indicate their written support before the strike can go ahead.

The law provides for three different types of strikes:

• warning strikes, which cannot last more than two hours;
• solidarity strikes, which cannot last more than a day, and which must be notified to the employer 48 hours in advance; they must be called by the same federation or confederation and have the support of at least 35% of the workers in the workplace; and
• “proper” strikes, which must be preceded by warning strikes at least two days earlier (five days in areas like health and rail transport).

Political strikes are generally prohibited but representative federations and confederations can call strikes against the social and economic policy of the government. However, they must give 10 days’ notice and set out the reasons for their action, and the intention is that this period should be used for negotiations aiming to resolve the issue.

Workers in crucial public services, like health, the rail industry telecommunications and energy supply, are entitled to strike, but, as well as giving five days’ rather than two days’ notice (see above), they must provide a service equivalent to one third of the normal level of services.

Statistics on industrial action are published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity, and they show that strikes are rare. In 2023, there were 15 instances of industrial action. The employers affected had 5,170 employees, with a round half (2,485) taking part in the action. 41 The figures for earlier years are similar: 14 strikes with 4,199 employees in 2022, two with 203 employees in 2021, six with 4,578 in 2020 and 26 with 30,630 in 2019. 42

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Length and timing of agreements

The legal minimum period that a collective agreement can last is 12 months and the legal maximum is two years, although this can be extended by a further 12 months by mutual agreement, although only once. Both employers and the unions have a right to initiate negotiations and can announce that they intend to begin them at least 60 days before the existing agreement expires. The employer should convene negotiations within 15 days of that announcement and negotiations should not last longer than 45 days, except where agreed. Negotiations typically take place at the end of one calendar year and the start of the next.

Subjects covered in agreements

There is no longer legislation setting out what a collective agreement must contain. However, most agreements will include clauses on pay and other financial benefits, working hours and working conditions, dispute resolution procedures, employees’ social benefits and the processes determining how the agreements is to be amended or re-negotiated. 43

A survey of union negotiators carried out in February to April 2018 found that the pay-linked issues most often included in collective agreements covered vouchers, overtime payments, social benefits, end-of-year bonuses, reimbursement of training costs, reimbursement of travel costs and holiday pay. The non-pay issues most frequently included in agreements were working conditions, the length of individual employment contracts, work schedules, dismissal compensation and occupational training. 44

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Trends in collective bargaining

As already stated, the 2022 Social Dialogue Act in December 2022 and the further amendments in May 2023 substantially changed the legal basis for collective bargaining in Romania, making it easier for unions to exist at local level and to negotiate agreements. This was followed by a national campaign by the labour inspectorate in February 2024 to promote collective bargaining in small and medium-sized businesses. Among other things, this pointed out the fines of between €6,000 to €10,000 that could be imposed for hindering the creation of a union.

The government introduced these changes as part of a strategy to strengthen collective bargaining, and the reduction from 21 to 10 in the employee threshold above which collective bargaining is obligatory has led to more company agreements being signed (see Collective bargaining coverage and structure). However, how far this has changed collective bargaining coverage and who is signing these agreements – unions or other employee representatives – remains unclear.

The situation may become clearer by October 2025, which is when the Romanian government has said it will report the level of collective bargaining coverage to the European Commission.

Minimum wage

There is a national minimum wage, which is set by the government following discussions with representative unions and employers in the National Tripartite Council, for Social Dialogue, the CNTDS (see Joint employer/union body at national level). 45 In setting the rate for 2025, the government made clear that it was also taking account of the formula set out in the European minimum wage directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2041), based on “clear and predictable economic indicators”. 46

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Joint employer/union body at national level

The National Tripartite Council, for Social Dialogue, the CNTDS, brings together the presidents of the representative union confederations and employers’ associations, as well as government representatives. It typically meets quarterly, and as well as discussing the minimum wage it also discusses other government initiatives and is involved in supporting their implementation in the area of social dialogue. 47

There are also tripartite social dialogue bodies at sectoral (industry) and local/regional level.

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Employee representation at the workplace is provided either through a union or through elected employee representatives. Both have similar rights, and both are involved in collective bargaining. However, they are alternatives, and the union has precedence. Employee representatives can only be elected if there is no union organisation.

The basic structure

Union organisations are the prime body for employee representation, at least under current legislation. Only if there is no trade union at the workplace may the employees – provided there are more than 10 – elect employee representatives (reprezentantii salariatilor). 48 Despite this, most employees are represented through elected employee representatives rather than unions.

The rules on employee representatives like those covering Collective bargaining, were significantly changed by 2022 Social Dialogue Act (Lege Nr. 367/2022), passed in December 2022, 49 Among other things, it removed the requirement for a union to be “representative”, which at company/organisation level means that it must have 35% or more of the total employees in membership, before it has representation rights. Under the 2022 legislation, a union at the workplace has the right to represent employees, irrespective of the number of members it has.

In organisations where there is no union, employers are required to facilitate the election of employee representatives if employees request this. However, they are not required initiate the process themselves or ensure that employee representatives are elected.

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The extent of workplace representation

There are no national figures on the number of workplaces with employee representation in Romania nor on whether this is through unions or elected employee representatives.

However, Eurofound’s 2019 European Company Survey show that 56% of Romanian establishments with at least 10 employees had some form of official employee representation in 2019. 50 This is the highest proportion among all EU states and almost double the EU27 average of 29%. As elsewhere in Europe, larger organisations were much more likely to have such a structure than smaller ones. Among establishments with more than 250 employees, 76% across the EU had some form of employee representation in 2019. In Romania, the figure was 89%. However, the gap between the EU27 average and the Romanian figure was greatest for smaller companies with between 10 and 49 employees. In Romania, half of these companies/organisations had employee representation. Across the EU27 it was under a quarter (23%).

As well as indicating the extent of employee representation the 2019 European Company Survey also indicates how it was provided. It states that in a majority of cases it was “non-union staff representation”, in other words elected employee representatives, who were present in the workplace. This survey was carried out before the change in the law in 2022, and it is not clear how much the situation has changed as a result.

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The role of unions

As already stated, non-union employee representation only exists if there is no union in the workplace, although a union can only be set up by either 10 employees in a single workplace or 20 employees in several workplaces in the same industry. However, following the 2022 Social Dialogue Act, there is no longer a requirement for the union to have a specific proportion of the workplace in membership to exercise its powers.

If there is no union but employees want advice to organise the elections, they can ask a union federation operating in their industry and that federation then has access to the process of the election.

The 2022 Social Dialogue Act also includes a provision indirectly aimed at encouraging union membership. This is that, where there is no union in a company/organisation, the employer has an obligation to allow the organisation of a meeting by the union federations covering the sector, which sets out employees’ individual and collective rights. These meetings, to which the union federations are invited, should take place at least once a year (Article 33).

Numbers and structure

The numbers and structure of trade union representation at the workplace depend on the rules of the union.

Where there is no union, the number of representatives should be mutually agreed with the employer, in relation to the number of employees. In the past this was not specified further, but 2022 Social Dialogue Act introduced maximum numbers to be used if agreement cannot be reached. They are as follows:

Number of employees	Number of representatives
Up to100	2
101 to 500	3
501 to 1,000	4
1,001 to 2,000	5
More than 2,000	6

The 2022 legislation also reduced the threshold above which employees have a right to elect employee representatives from 20 to 10.

In calculating employee numbers, temporary employees must also be taken into account, although they cannot be elected as representatives (see Elections and term of office).

Operation

The way union representatives operate depends on the rules of the union.

For elected employee representatives the Social Dialogue Act states only that the manner in which they fulfil their duties (see Tasks and rights) will be decided at the general assembly of the workers that elected them.

Election and term of office

The choice and term of office of workplace union representatives depend on the rules of the union.

Elected employee representatives, who can be chosen in workplaces where there are more than 10 employees and no union, are elected by the employees at a general meeting. The arrangements are organised by the employees, who can establish an initiative group to carry through the elections. The employer is required to facilitate the elections and inform employees that they are happening.

All employees aged over 18 can stand as candidates, although senior staff representing the employer or involved in managing the business are now excluded. (This was not the vase before 2022.) To be elected they must receive the support of at least half the employees plus one.

The period of office for union representatives depends on the union. The period of office for elected employee representatives is two years.

Tasks and rights

The union and the elected employee representatives both have rights in relation to collective bargaining (see section on Collective bargaining) and information and consultation, although if there is a union, no employee representatives can be elected.

In most specific areas, there is no difference in the rights enjoyed either by the representative union organisation or by the employee representatives. However, the 2022 Social Dialogue Act also sets out the main duties of the employee representatives (Article 59). These are to:

• to participate in drawing up the company’s internal rules;
• to notify the Labour Inspectorate of any breaches of regulations and the applicable collective agreement; and
• to negotiate collective agreements.

The 2022 Social Dialogue Act also states that those involved in negotiating a collective agreement, whether the union or elected employee representatives, should receive the information they need for negotiations (Article 30) and that decisions of the board relating to areas where they have information and consultation rights should be passed to them within two working days (Article 30).

The 2022 Social Dialogue Act also strengthens unions’ and employee representatives’ existing information and consultation rights, as set out in Law no. 467/2006 (Lege nr. 467/2006), which implemented the 2002 EU directive on a general framework for information and consultation at national level (2002/14/EC ). 51

Under Article 31 of the 2022 Social Dialogue Act employers are required to start the information and consultation process after reporting the financial statements for the previous year. If the employer does not do this, the employees can make a written request for this process to start. The employer must provide:

• financial information relevant for the preparation of collective bargaining;
• detailed information on the company’s/ organisation’s workforce situation and social policy; and
• any other necessary information requested by the union or employee representatives, as well as by third parties assisting them.

Consultation covers decisions that may lead to important changes in the organisation of work, contractual relations or labour relations, such as company transfers, acquisitions or mergers, redundancy and closures. The employer must complete the process of informing and consulting employees before decisions are implemented allowing them to formulate proposals for the protection of their rights. If employees believe there is a threat to their jobs, the information and consultation process will begin at their written request within no more than 10 days from that request being communicated. The employer is required, on request, to provide the information necessary for the issue to be adequately examined. The consultation must be conducted in a way that allows the union or employee representatives to obtain a reasoned response to their proposals.

However, although the legislation states that the position of the two sides must be recorded, the final decision lies in the hands of the employer.

The 2022 Social Dialogue Act (Article 31) also allows for the union or employees representatives to be assisted by third parties (external experts), chosen by them, who have access to the documents. However, it does not state that they will be paid by the employer.

In addition, the Social Dialogue Act includes a provision in Article 30 for the union to participate in the work of the board of directors to “discuss issues of professional, economic and social interest with an impact on employees” (See Board-level employee representation).

Other aspects of the rights of unions and employee representatives are covered in the Labour Code. 52 These include specific issues where the union or the employee representatives must be consulted:

• short-time working because of a temporary reduction in activity (Article 52);
• collective redundancies, where the union or the employee representatives have the right to make alternative proposals, to which the employer must respond (Articles 69 and 71);
• work schedules (Article 132);
• holiday arrangements (Article 148);
• business transfers, where both the company transferring the business and the one receiving it should consult the union or the employee representatives (Article 174);
• the development of health and safety measures (Article 178);
• the annual training plan (Article 195); and
• internal company rules, which cover a range of topics, from disciplinary procedure to the specific rights and obligations of the employer and employees (Article 241).

As well as collective bargaining and information and consultation rights, the workplace union is specifically entitled to support union members in dispute with the employer in court.

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Protection against dismissal

The elected members of the governing bodies of the workplace union have legal protection “against the imposition of any form of conditions, coercion or limitation on the exercise of their functions”. They also cannot be dismissed during their period of office for reasons related to their activities as union leaders. Both rights are set out in Article 220 of the Labour Code. They can, however, be dismissed for other reasons.

Elected employee representatives are also protected during their term of office against dismissal for reasons linked to the fulfilment of their duties as employee representatives (This protection is set out both in the Labour Code (Article 261) and in 2022 Social Dialogue Act (Article 62)).

Time off and other resources

Under the 2022 Social Dialogue Act (Article 38), the elected members of the governing bodies of the workplace union have the right to “reduce their monthly work schedule” to allow them to conduct trade union activity. However, the amount of this reduction is not set out in legislation. Instead, it is determined by the relevant collective agreement, or, where this does not exist, though direct negotiations with management. The legislation only states that it should be in proportion to union membership.

The legislation also states that unused time for trade union duties can be carried forward to the next month, and the way that the time is used over the month and the timing of workforce meetings should be determined either in a collective agreement or through direct negotiations with management.

The time off for elected employee representatives must similarly be fixed in a collective agreement or through direct agreement with the employer (2022 Social Dialogue Act (Article 61)).

Training rights

Neither the leaders of the union at the workplace nor elected employee representatives have any statutory rights to time off or payment for training for their role.

Representation at group level

The legislation does not provide for any form of employee representation above company level.

Employee representatives have no right to be board members in Romania, although they are invited to attend board meetings for some items.

The extent of board-level employee representation

Representatives of the employees do not have a right to be board members in any of the company forms. The two main forms of companies in Romania are joint stock companies (SAs) for larger and listed companies, which can have either a two-tier or a single-tier structure, and limited liability companies (SRLs) for smaller companies which have a single-tier board of directors.

However, the 2022 Social Dialogue Act, as amended by the Government Emergency Ordinance (42/2023), includes a provision in Article 30 for the employer to “invite the representative unions at the unit [company/organisation] level to participate in the work of the board of directors or of another body similar to it to discuss issues of professional, economic and social interest with an impact on employees/workers, in accordance with Law no. 467/2006 [the law implementing the EU directive on information and consultation]”.

If there is no representative union – one with 35% of the workforce in membership – the unions present should elect a representative to participate in the board’s discussions.

This is a strengthening of the previous provision contained in the 2011 Social Dialogue Act, which said in Article 30 only that the employer can invite the representative union to participate.

Romanian members of European bodies linked with European Works Councils and the European Company are chosen by the existing employee representatives, who will be the trade union representatives at company level.

European Works Councils

Romanian members of the special negotiating body (SNB) for an EWC are appointed by the existing employees’ representatives. These are defined in the legislation as the trade union representatives, unless there is no union, in which case employees have a right to elect individuals to represent their interests. If there are no existing employees’ representatives – either trade unionists or others – Romanian employees can elect the Romanian members of the SNB directly. 53

The same procedures apply for the Romanian members of an EWC set up under the fallback procedures in the annex to the directive.

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European Company

Romanian members of the special negotiating body (SNB) for a European Company are appointed by the existing employees’ representatives. These are defined in the legislation as the trade union representatives, unless there is no union, in which case employees have a right to elect individuals to represent their interests. If there are no existing employees’ representatives – either trade unionists or others – Romanian employees can elect the Romanian members of the SNB directly. 54

The same procedures apply for the Romanian members of the SE representative body set up under the fallback procedures in the annex to the directive.

The legislation does not deal with how Romanian representatives at board level under the fallback procedures to the directive are to be chosen.

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Romania has a system of specially elected health and safety representatives, who should be present in all organisations with at least 10 employees. In larger organisations (50 or more employees) a joint health and safety committee should be established. This has a wide range of duties, although the employer is not obliged to accept its decisions.

Employee health and safety bodies

Employee representation in the area of health and safety is provided by specially elected health and safety representatives – literally workers’ representatives with specific responsibility for safety and health at work (reprezentantii lucratorilor cu raspunderi specifice in domeniul securitatii si sanatatii in munca). In organisations with 50 or more employees, these representatives are members of a joint employee/employer health and safety committee (Comitetul de securitate si sanatate in munca), which has a wide range of duties.

Numbers and structure

Health and safety representatives should be elected in all organisations employing at least 10 people, and the number increases with the size of the workforce (see table).

Number of employees	Number of health and safety representatives
10 to 49	1
50 to 100	2
101 to 500	3
501 to 1,000	4
1,000 to 2,000	5
2,001 to 3,000	6
3,001 to 4,000	7
More than 4,000	8

These are minimum figures, set out in the government decision implementing the main legislation. Collective agreements can provide for higher numbers.

In organisations with 50 or more employees, a joint health and safety committee should also be established. It may also be necessary to set up a health and safety committee in smaller organisations, if the labour inspector thinks that this is justified, given the nature of the risks involved. The employee members of the health and safety committee are the elected health and safety representatives, although where a health and safety committee is set up in organisations with fewer than 50 employees, there are two employee representatives. The other members of the committee are the employer or a representative of the employer, management representatives with specific health and safety responsibilities and the occupational physician, where present (see Other elements of workplace health and safety).

There should be an equal number of employee and employer members, but the committee should be chaired by the employer or the employer’s representative. If the organisation uses an external health and safety service (see Other elements of workplace health and safety) its representatives will be invited to attend, and the labour inspector can also be present. Notification is sent out in advance and the minutes of the meeting are sent to the labour inspectorate as well being displayed at the workplace. Decisions are taken on the basis of a two thirds majority.

Research by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in 2019 found that 87% of workplaces in Romania had health and safety representatives. This is the joint highest figure in the EU (along with Lithuania) and is much above the EU27 average of 56%. More than a third of workplaces (36%) also have a health and safety committee compared with the EU27 average of 22%. (The figures are for workplaces with five or more employees.) 55

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Tasks and rights

There is a general obligation on employers to inform and consult with workers and/or their representatives on health and safety issues.

In addition, health and safety representatives have specific responsibilities to:

• work with the employers to improve health and safety conditions at work;
• accompany the individual or individuals carrying out risk assessment;
• help workers become aware of the need to implement health and safety measures at work;
• notify the employer or health and safety committee about any proposals to improve working conditions;
• monitor the implementation of the plan to prevent and protect against risks;
• inform the competent authorities if legal health and safety provisions are not complied with.

Health and safety representatives also have the right to ask the employer to take appropriate measures to reduce risks and eliminate hazards and they can appeal to appropriate authorities if they feel that the employer has not done enough to ensure safe and healthy working conditions. They can also make representations to the labour inspectorate during inspections.

The tasks to be undertaken by the health and safety committee are more detailed. It should:

• analyse and make proposals on health and safety policy, and the organisation’s plan for the prevention of and the protection against risks;
• monitor compliance with this plan, and ensure that sufficient resources are available to carry it out;
• assess the health and safety implications of the introduction of new technology and make proposals on how any resulting problems should be resolved;
• assess the choice, maintenance and use of equipment, and of collective and personal protective equipment;
• evaluate the work of any external agency providing health and safety services and advise whether the services should be retained or dispensed with;
• make proposals on work organisation, taking account of the position of particularly vulnerable groups;
• assess complaints received from employees on their working conditions, and the provision of health and safety services, whether provided externally or internally;
• monitor whether health and safety law and instructions from the labour inspectors are being complied with;
• examine employees’ proposals for improving health and safety;
• investigate accidents at work and occupational diseases, and propose measures to deal with them;
• ensure that its own instructions are being complied with, and make a written report on this;
• discuss the written report on health and safety which the employer should provide at least once a year (see below).

As indicated above, the employer must present an annual report to the health and safety committee setting out the overall health and safety situation, as well as a plan for prevention and protection in the following year. As well as going to the health and safety committee, this should also be sent to the labour inspectorate. The employer must also inform the committee about measures relating to first aid, fire fighting and evacuation.

Where the employer chooses not to accept the proposals of the health and safety committee, he or she must justify this refusal, and the justification must be noted in the minutes of the meeting.

Frequency of meetings

The health and safety committee should meet at least once every three months, and more frequently if necessary.

Election and term of office

Health and safety representatives are elected by the employees according to procedures laid down by collective agreement. The term of office is normally two years.

Resources, time off and training

Members of the health and safety committee are entitled to paid time off. For health and safety committee members the amount is laid down by law and rises with the size of the workforce (see Table). These figures are for each health and safety representative.

Number of employees	Paid time off for each health and safety representative
Up to 99	2 hours a month
100 to 299	5 hours a month
300 to 499	10 hours a month
500 to 1,499	15 hours a month
1,500 and more	20 hours a month

The employer must also provide them with the resources to carry out their work.

In addition, each health and safety representative is entitled to 40 hours’ training when first elected.

Protection against dismissal

Health and safety representatives have protection against dismissal.

Other elements of workplace health and safety

Depending on the size of the organisation and the nature of its activities, employers can comply with their health and safety obligations in one of four ways: they can take on the work themselves; they can designate one of more employees to deal with the health and safety tasks; they can set up an internal health and safety service; or they can use an external health and safety service.

In small organisations, those with fewer than 10 employees, which do not operate in highly risky industries, such as the manufacture of explosives or work with radioactive substances, the employer can take on the health and safety tasks, provided that he or she has had at least 40 hours training. This also applies in larger organisations – with 10 to 49 employees – provided that these are in industries where there is no risk of accidents or diseases causing death or disability. For these smaller companies, it is also possible for health and safety tasks to be outsourced to an external provider.

In the case of organisations with 50 to 249 employees, the employer can either designate one or more employees to carry out the health and safety tasks or set up an internal health and safety service. In the case of organisations with 250 or more employees, as well as all organisations operating in activities of high risk, the employer must set up an internal health and safety service. Designated health and safety workers must have had at least 80 hours of training, as must those working in the internal health and safety service (more for the person in charge).

In all cases the employer must use an external health and safety service if internal employees do not have the skills or capacity to carry out the necessary health and safety tasks.

National context

The ministry responsible for health and safety at work is the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice (Ministerul Muncii și Justiției Sociale). Compliance with Romania’s health and safety laws and regulations is ensured by the Labour Inspectorate (Inspecția muncii), an administrative body subordinate to the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice. The Labour Inspectorate also enforces laws relating to general labour rights and access to the labour market.

Trade unions and employers are able to influence health and safety policy through their membership of the National Tripartite Council for Social Dialogue (Consiliul Național Tripartit pentru Dialog Social), which has a wide economic and social remit but can discuss health and safety issues. The presidents of the five national representative trade union confederations are members of the National Tripartite Council, which is chaired by the prime minister. 56

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Key legislation

Law No. 319, 14 July 2006 – Law on Safety and Health at Work

Government decision 1425/2006

Government decision 955/2010

Legea nr. 319 din 14 iulie 2006 - Legea securităţii şi sănătăţii în muncă

Hotararea de Guvern 1425 din 2006

Hotararea de Guvern 955 din 2010