Lisa Draexlmaier's employees at Romanian factory go on strike

The Romanian employees of the car cabling producer Lisa Draexlmaier Autopart, which runs a factory in Pitesti, Romania, recently went on strike, complaining about low salaries. Union leaders representing the 2,400 employees of the production unit who are currently on strike said the company does not respect the pledges made in the collective work contracts, which included an increase in salary paced with the rate of inflation, vouchers for holidays and a higher number of compensation salaries if employees are fired. The employees are waiting for the company's management to join them in negotiations, said union leader Alexandru Sergiu Lincă. The Pitesti factory had around 10,000 employees in 2007, but it axed some 6,000. Most of the strikers – some 80 percent – are women. The average salary in the factory is of some RON 1,100 – RON 1,200 net – the equivalent of EUR 266. The latest salary increase was at the beginning of the year, of RON 30 gross, according to the employees union. The factory in Pitesti produces car cabling for BMW and Audi and sells components to Mercedes and Rolls Royce, among others. The company had a turnover of some EUR 70 million last year and a net profit of EUR 2 million. Lisa Draexlmaier also runs factories at Codlea, Hunedoara, Satu Mare and Timişoara in Romania. Worldwide, the Draexlmaier group had a turnover of EUR 2 billion in 2011, and 40,000 employees. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: the company)