Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre la negociación colectiva, 1981 (núm. 154) - Rumania (Ratificación : 1992)

Adoption of Act No 367/2022 on Social Dialogue. The Committee recalls that, as part of the examination of the application of the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), it noted with satisfaction the promulgation, on December 19, 2022, of Act No 367/2022 on social dialogue, which, particularly with regard to the promotion of collective bargaining in the private sector, took into account numerous comments and recommendations made by the committee, the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards of the International Labour Conference, and the Committee on Freedom of Association. The Committee hopes that the implementation of the Act will contribute to the development and strengthening of free and voluntary collective bargaining in the country.

Collective bargaining in the public sector/public administration. In its previous comments, having asked the Government to provide additional information on the categories of civil servants and public sector workers benefiting from the right to collective bargaining, the Committee requested the Government to specify in particular the situation of salaried personnel of the Judiciary. The committee notes that the Government indicates that collective bargaining covers the public administration as well as personnel paid from the state budget (education, public order, health, culture, justice, etc...). The committee also notes with interest the Government’s indication that police officers, within the framework of the laws applicable to them, are also granted the right to unionize and bargain collectively.

The Committee also requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the legislation does not restrict the range of issues related to conditions and employment that can be negotiated in the public sector. The Committee notes that in its latest comment on Convention No. 98, it noted the Government’s indications regarding the provisions of Section 105 of Act No 367/2022 relating to staff paid from the state budget, according to which: (i) collective agreements cannot contain clauses regarding wage entitlements of which the granting and amount are established by the legislation in force; (ii) collective labour agreements may, nevertheless, provide for bargaining after the approval of the income and expenditure budgets of the respective units, within the limits and under the conditions established by the latter; and (iii) where wage entitlements are set in special laws between minimum and maximum limits, the concrete wage entitlements are determined by collective bargaining. The Committee notes that in the context of its report under this convention, the Government, specifically referring to the situation of civil servants, indicates that: (i) the rules governing their service relationship are established by a special law that is subject to consultation with a joint commission; (ii) their salaries are set by law (Act No. 153/2017); and (iii) collective agreements allow for the negotiation of additional measures concerning the creation and use of funds intended to improve working conditions, occupational safety and health, working time, vocational training, and measures to protect union members and their leaders (Act on social dialogue and Article 487 of the administrative code).

The Committee takes note of this information. It recalls that, under the Convention, civil servants must be able to negotiate wages collectively, even if the specificities of the public administration justify a certain flexibility in this area, particularly due to the complexity of the budgetary procedure where state authorities must take economic constraints into account and reconcile multiple interests. The Committee therefore requests the Government to: (i) specify concretely the content and scope of economic negotiations taking place for the different categories of personnel paid from the state budget (civil servants and other categories of public sector workers); and (ii) provide a copy of the various collective agreements signed in the public sector.