More than 2,000 trade unionists in the railway sector have started, Monday morning, on the Railwayman’s Day, a protest in front of the Transport Ministry. Their main requests are related to the adopting of the railway staff statute and decent wages.
The trade unionists waved the national flag of Romania, the EU flag and trade unions’ flags, wearing jackets with the trade unions’ names, capital.ro informs.
They have placards with various slogans: “We want work conditions”, “Instead of blocked highways, good railways”, “Viorica 20 20”, “Governments come and go, all forget the railways”, “Down with the wage slicers”, “We want the statute on railway staff”, “Put an end to the destruction of railways”, “Hands off the CFR Marfa”.
The CFR employees say that some of them, having 30 years of experience, earn salaries at the level of minimum wage and are ready to start general strike.
On Friday, some 3,000 railwaymen took to the streets, dissatisfied with the labour conditions and the lack of investments in the railway sector. They said they have to patch up the locomotives and trains, and their lives and the passengers’ lives are at peril on every destination.
The protests are organised by the Federation of Engine Drivers in Romania, the National Trade Union Federation in Transports ‘ELCATEL’, the Federation of Railway Transporters Trade Unions in Romania, the Federation of Alfa Transport and National Trade Union Federation with the Railway Infrastructure, organisations grouped in the Technical Railway Alliance Federations, together with the National Federation ‘Iron way’. The trade unions on protest represent about 60% of the railway staff in Romania.