Main Romanian carmaker can’t reach an agreement with unions on salaries, protests may follow

Romanian carmaker Dacia’s employees working at the company’s plant in Mioveni, Romania, refuse to sign a new collective labour agreement, asking for higher salaries and bonuses, reports local Digi24. Unions have asked Dacia’s management to increase workers’ salaries by RON 400 (some EUR 89), or about 15% above current levels. They have also asked for RON 2,300 (EUR 511) bonuses for this year, 65% higher than last year. Company officials don’t agree with their demands however, saying that salaries have been increased every year, and that the current wage level is at a decent level, above the industry’s average in Romania. The employees might start a protest in the following period if the two parties don’t manage to agree on the new agreement’s terms. Dacia, which is part of French group Renault, registered its highest sales in Europe ever last year, on higher sales in France, Germany and in the UK, which are some of its largest markets.In the first 11 months, Dacia’s sales in Europe increased by 26%, to more than 335,000 units, while its market share increased from 2.3%, in 2013, to 2.8%. Not all Dacia cars sold in Europe are made in the company’s factory in Romania. In fact, Renault has shifted more of Dacia’s production to its plants in Turkey and Maroc in recent years, and the group’s officials have been talking about competitiveness issues for the plant in Romania. The Dacia plant in Pitesti has about 14,000 employees and makes 320,000 cars each year. In 2013, Dacia had a turnover of EUR 4.16 billion, which made it the largest single company in Romania. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com