Romania’s largest railway union to stop trains for 2 hours on September 15

Romania’s National Federation of Commercial Railway Movement is organizing a warning strike this Friday, September 15, to draw attention to the problems facing the railway industry. The strike will stop trains for two hours.

Thus, on Friday, between 7 and 9 in the morning, trains will not run, affecting mainly the commuters.

The protest is organized by the National Federation of Commercial Railway Movement, the largest and most representative organization of railway workers, which is affiliated with the National Trade Union Bloc (BNS), according to ObservatorNews.ro. Among the union's demands are salary increases and improved working conditions in railway stations and depots for engineers and railway workers.

Railway workers part of the union demand that the state purchase new locomotives and wagons, increase their salaries, and cover the deficit of 6,000 employees. The lack of manpower has resulted in enormous overtime hours over the years, numbering in the tens of thousands, they say.

The union also notes the lack of approved revenue and expenditure budgets for the current year, which leads to a generalized blockade in the railway sector, as another reason for the strike.

“A nationally coordinated project with European structures and funded with tens of billions of euros is needed to bring the Romanian railway structure back to European parameters. So far, such a project has not been funded, and the opening of construction sites on transport corridors strictly dedicated to European interests leaves the rest of the country in disrepair," say the unionists.

The lack of investment in modern rolling stock and the lack of fair, motivating wages that would bring new workers are also cited as reasons for the strike.

"We only need to mention the working conditions in railway stations, depots, wagon revisions, lines, or installations, whether in summer or winter, at impossible temperatures. It is important to note that many, too many of the safety requirements for railway transportation are solved only due to the skills and improvisation of engineers and railway workers," the unionists further stated.

(Photo source: Vlad Ispas | Dreamstime.com)