Romania needs employer unity, social and political consensus for an efficient labor market

Romania needs employer unity, social and political consensus for the elaboration of a medium and long term strategy on employment. This was the conclusion of the first debate this year of the “Work Pact – Together Reconstructing Romania”, event initiated by CONAF and FPPG, which took place in Timisoara.

“We want to work in Romania! We want to learn a trade in Romania! ” said Cristina Chiriac, president of the National Confederation for Women Entrepreneurship – CONAF. She added that it is time to realize that the most important resource of Romania is the people and we have a moral duty to create all the conditions for increasing the quality of life in Romania.

Franck Neel, president of the The Oil and Gas Employers’ Federation, said that although measures have been taken at the governmental level for post-pandemic economic recovery, much more measures are needed to help Romania’s economy. “Investments are needed, the only ones capable of creating new jobs. But for that, legislative changes are also needed. And they are needed now! An example of this is the Black Sea gas. Investments in this sector not only have the advantage of ensuring the country’s energy security, but also of creating tens of thousands of new jobs directly and horizontally,” added Franck Neel.

The Secretary of State in the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure and Communications Dragos Preda announced that the government authorities, together with representatives of the entrepreneurial environment, want to compile a list of opportunities in Romania. According to him, the pandemic gave Romania the chance to restart, to implement new technologies, digitalization, 5G, etc. “Probably a list of new trades will be needed, with the advent of new technologies,” said Preda.

Christian von Albrichsfeld, General Manager of Continental Romania, stated that in the automotive industry, strongly affected by the pandemic crisis, efforts are being made to find solutions that will lead to job retention. A shortcoming in Romania is the fact that, in the last 4 years, it has lost its competitiveness, the most important cause being that wages have increased, without increasing labor productivity.