Sunday Night’s Unrest

Outside the BEC headquarters in Bucharest’s Old Town, the protest escalated around 10:00 PM as demonstrators attempted to breach the security cordon protecting the institution. According to police reports, some protesters threw stones, firecrackers, and bottles at security forces, while others started fires and flipped over a local news station’s car. There were also reports of protesters ripping up pavement stones to throw at the gendarmes, along with plastic objects and eggs. Riot police responded to the violence by deploying tear gas to disperse the crowd.

As a result of the clashes, thirteen gendarmes were injured, with four requiring hospitalization. Police have identified over 500 people who participated in the protest and have initiated criminal reports for 11 offenses, including destruction of property. Damage included broken windows, destruction of street furniture, and burned trash bins.

The Central Electoral Bureau announced that Călin Georgescu’s candidacy was rejected because he failed to comply with electoral procedure rules, violating the obligation to defend democracy and fair elections. Georgescu, known for his critical stance towards Ukraine and NATO, has also expressed admiration for Russia and Romania’s fascist regime during World War II.

AUR leader George Simion, whose party supports Georgescu, has claimed that the violence was orchestrated to discredit the protest and undermine their movement. Simion alleges that the ruling coalition is plotting against AUR and Georgescu.

Potential for Further Protests

Recent events have heightened political tensions in Bucharest, raising concerns about potential violence ahead of the upcoming presidential election. While the long-term impact of Georgescu’s disqualification and the resulting protests remains to be seen, authorities and political analysts alike are closely monitoring the situation.

Visit Bucharest issued a warning regarding the potential of future protests in Romania’s Capital.

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The demonstrations reflect a growing discontent with the political establishment amid allegations of electoral misconduct.

The unrest began after Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of presidential elections held on November 24, 2024. This decision was made just two days before a scheduled runoff, citing concerns over alleged Russian interference that purportedly influenced the election in favour of Călin Georgescu, an ultranationalist candidate.

Despite these claims, the authorities have presented no concrete evidence to substantiate allegations of Russian involvement in the electoral process. This fueled the idea of an abuse of power by the political class ruling the country, disappointed with the results of the first round of the presidential elections.

On January 18, thousands gathered in Bucharest and other cities countrywide, waving Romanian flags and chanting slogans such as “We want free elections” and “Democracy is not optional.” Protesters expressed their frustration over what they perceived as a betrayal by their leaders and called for immediate action to restore democratic integrity.

Government’s Response and New Election Dates

In response to the ongoing protests and public outcry, the Romanian government recently announced new dates for presidential elections. The first round is set for May 4, 2025, with a runoff scheduled for May 18 if no candidate secures an absolute majority.

While this decision aims to address some of the protesters’ demands, many remain sceptical about whether these elections will genuinely reflect the people’s will.

Growing tensions countrywide

The protests underscore a broader sentiment among Romanians who feel their political leaders betrayed their will. Many demonstrators articulated their desire for transparency and accountability from those in power.

As protests continue into January 19, 2025, it is evident that calls for President Iohannis’s resignation and a return to democratic norms are at the forefront of public consciousness in Romania. The unfolding situation represents a critical moment in the nation’s political landscape as citizens mobilize to reclaim their rights and demand accountability from their leaders amidst ongoing uncertainty.

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TAROM Pilots Silent Strike Began on Sunday Evening

The strike began late Sunday, with over 20 pilots and co-pilots declaring themselves “unfit to fly.” This action led TAROM to describe the situation as “unprecedented,” though it stopped short of acknowledging the strike publicly. Information about the strike has primarily circulated through unofficial channels, leaving passengers and stakeholders in the dark.

The company officially announced that some flights from July 8, 2024, will be cancelled due to the temporary unavailability of crew members. Under international aviation regulations and strict domestic flight safety policies, each flight was cancelled because a crew member of each aircraft was declared “unfit to fly.” Individual pilot decisions were made following applicable regulations to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers and crew.

The flights cancelled so far are ROT101/2 Otopeni – Cairo – Otopeni, ROT167/8 Otopeni – Beyrut – Otopeni, ROT187/8 Otopeni – Amman-Otopeni, ROT701/2 Otopeni – Iasi – Otopeni, ROT621/2 – Otopeni – Oradea – Otopeni, ROT261/2 – Otopeni – Istanbul -Otopeni, ROT231/2 – Otopeni – Budapest – Otopeni, ROT 301/2 – Otopeni – Frankfurt – Otopeni, ROT361/2 – Otopeni – Amsterdam – Otopeni, ROT 381/2 – Otopeni – Paris – Otopeni, ROT 415/6 -Otopeni – Madrid– Otopeni, ROT 291/2 – Otopeni – Sofia – Otopeni, ROT 643/4 – Otopeni – Cluj – Otopeni, ROT 703/4 – Otopeni – Iasi – Otopeni, ROT 211 /2 – Otopeni – Belgrade – Otopeni, ROT 627/8 – Otopeni – Oradea – Otopeni, ROT 383/4 – Otopeni – Paris– Otopeni, ROT 237/8 – Otopeni – Budapest – Otopeni, ROT 363/4 – Otopeni – Amsterdam – Otopeni, ROT 305/6 – Otopeni – Frankfurt – Otopeni, ROT 607/8 – Otopeni – Timisoara – Otopeni.

On Monday, July 8, TAROM announced other flights cancelled: ROT 211/2 – Otopeni – Belgrade – Otopeni, ROT 627/8 – Otopeni – Oradea – Otopeni, ROT 383/4 – Otopeni – Paris– Otopeni, ROT 237/8 – Otopeni – Budapest – Otopeni, ROT 363 /4 – Otopeni – Amsterdam – Otopeni, ROT 305/6 – Otopeni – Frankfurt – Otopeni, ROT 607/8 – Otopeni – Timisoara – Otopeni

Wage Disparities Is the Cause of Pilot’s Unfitness

At the heart of the strike are significant wage concerns. Currently, TAROM pilots earn a salary of 6,000 euros net per month, while co-pilots earn between 2,000 and 3,000 euros. Despite these figures, TAROM salaries are roughly half of those other airlines offer, highlighting a competitive disadvantage in attracting and retaining talent.

Broader Workforce Discontent

The strike by flight crew members is part of a larger narrative of dissatisfaction among TAROM employees. Union leader Narcis Pascu has been vocal about the lack of wage increases, noting that the last salary hike occurred in 2007. Many TAROM employees, particularly those not involved in flight operations, continue to earn minimum wage, exacerbating workplace dissatisfaction.

TAROM’s Financial Struggles and Management Instability

TAROM’s financial woes further complicate the situation. The airline last posted a profit in 2007 and has since relied on state aid, including a recent injection of around 100 million euros. Compounding these issues is a revolving door of leadership; the airline has seen 18 general directors in the past 11 years, contributing to its instability and lack of strategic direction.

The strike by TAROM’s pilots and co-pilots is a symptom of deeper issues within the airline, including wage disparities, broader employee discontent, financial instability, and leadership challenges. As the airline grapples with these problems, finding a sustainable resolution to employee grievances will be crucial for its future stability and success.

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Visit Bucharest, the only platform promoting Bucharest in English warns its readers about the situation. Also, the page dedicated to the Night of Museums in Bucharest will be modified later according to the latest museum announcements.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The selection you see below is not the definitive one. Because of the protests of the museums’ staff, as they demand higher salaries, the Night of the Museums in Bucharest could be affected. Many museums’ representatives announced they would skip this edition, and chances are they will keep it like this, or they might change their minds and agree to open on Saturday night. Either way, stay tuned for the latest changes in this year’s lineup.

Visit Bucharest warning to the foreign tourists in Bucharest

Other cities’ museums rallied to protest against the museums’ employees who demanded increased salaries. Four museums in Cluj, including the Museum of Art, announced their boycotting the event, while in Constanta, near the Black Sea, only two museums will have their doors open.

The Art Museum in Cluj shared a “See you in 2025” banner across the Night of the Museums logo.

On May 18, 2024, the Art Museum should have participated in the Night of Museums event to promote culture and museum heritage. Unfortunately, our institution will stand in solidarity with colleagues from the National Federation of Culture and Media Trade Unions (Culturmedia), organizing a protest in Bucharest on May 18. This approach wants to draw attention to the financial shortages within museum institutions and libraries in Romania

Official communication of the Museum of Art in Cluj Napoca

The situation mirrors the sub-financing of the cultural activities and institutions in the country. Yet, the ones who will suffer from this boycott are the culture and art lovers in Romania and the foreign tourists who want to visit Bucharest museums.

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Protesters asked to discuss with the Government’s representatives, but the officials refused to meet the protesters. The only official to meet them was Bucharest’s prefect, who asked for calm.

I invite the protesters’ representatives to the headquarters of the Prefect’s Institution to concretely present their demands. Knowing there is a desire for dialogue is important, so I went among them tonight. However, the protesters’ demands must be presented punctually and concretely to identify solutions. We are ready to start discussions to identify solutions as soon as a delegation is appointed

Bucharest Prefect Rareș Hopincă.

The special forces and the national police stopped the protesters at Chiajna, a village near Bucharest’s outskirts.

The Romanian farmers asked for lower taxes and more subsidies for agriculture, but they also asked for Romania not to favour the Ukrainian farmers any longer.

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As part of the company’s modernization and digitalization processes, Auchan has remodelled store checkout lines and built a 100% self-checkout path for customers. Thanks to the new checkout system, customers benefit from a reduced waiting time at checkouts, all permanently open. In addition, all employees in the checkout area are moving to a new job, that of adviser, their new role being to provide advice and support to customers.

Auchan Romania on the decision to replace cashiers with self-check-out

So far, the decision has managed to do a few things. The first is to bring chaos to the self-pay areas, as people are unfamiliar with using the systems. Indeed, at least one Auchan employee is there to help people learn how to be a cashier, but it takes time, and customers show they lose patience. It’s not digitalization if you make me scan the products myself and insert the bills or the credit card to pay for them.

The second “accomplishment” is that former cashiers will lose their jobs. All the cashiers are learning how to help clients pick up and scan their products – this is one of the lamest examples of justifying a purely economic decision. Auchan is now cutting positions and finally jobs – even if they are currently keeping the cashiers in other positions, not all cashiers will adapt and not all the jobs will be kept after the former cashiers will leave the company. As simple as that.

So, Auchan made customers put in the additional effort by making them self-scan and pay for the products, pretending this was progress, digitalization, modernization and technological development. If this is progress, we expect restaurants where you will have to go to the kitchen and fry your spicy chicken and prepare your French fries after washing and chopping the potatoes yourself.

The real reason for replacing employees with technology: employment taxation in Romania is enormous

The reality here is that employment taxation in Romania is enormous. On average, employers pay 73% in additional taxes for salaries, which is unsustainable in the long term. For each EUR 500 monthly salary paid to each cashier, Auchan pays an additional EUR 365 to the state budget. That means millions of Euros in the long run, which are now saved by introducing self-check-out and forcing customers to scan their products. Auchan cuts thousands of positions, makes customers learn how to be a cashier and saves millions.

So, it’s not only about the money each employee cashed in at the end of each month; it’s also about saving the money the state cashed in taxes. Specialists estimate that the actual cost of employment in Romania for each employee is at least double the net salary if we include all the spending an employee means to employers.

Boycotting foreign companies seems to be the most recent of all forms of protest in Romania. After Austria blocked the country’s access to Schengen, Romanians called for boycotting the Austrian products, a move which is still ongoing. France could be the next target if this “modernization” continues in Auchan or other French or foreign retailers.

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According to unionists’ estimates, more than 20,000 protesters gathered in Victoriei Square at the rally organized by the five Romanian trade union confederations in protest against the decrease in salaries and pensions.

The National Trade Union Bloc (NBS) urges assistance measures to counteract the war’s economic and social impacts in Ukraine. On the other hand, the NBS urgently calls for measures to ensure Romania’s energy and food security, noting that, in the case of energy, reducing reliance on Russian energy resources overlaps with the effects of liberalizing the electricity and natural gas markets. To a strong interconnection of Romania’s energy product markets (electricity, gas, and fuel) with European ones, with effects particularly in terms of price increases. Simultaneously, the organization demands the signing of a national defence accord that includes tangible steps for the sector’s relaunch and a reduction in the strain felt by the public as a result of the Army’s endowment financing costs.

They are representatives of various fields of activity, workers in the private economic sector, companies with the state capital, and workers in the public sector. We have a broad representation that covers the entire structure of the Romanian economy. Today we are on the street to send a message to the Romanian Government and the governing Coalition. Our message is one in which we want to have no longer what we wrote on one of the banners that will accompany us during the march. We don’t want to feel abandoned in our own country. We live in times that certainly none of us would have liked to experience. Things were happening in the north, northeast of Romania that we heard about in the stories of our ancestors and grandparents. The dementia of some political leaders has forced Europe today to take drastic measures, which have repercussions on the daily life of every European citizen (…) The war in Ukraine produces not only human casualties but also economic casualties. That’s one of the reasons we’re here on the street today.

Dumitru Costin, leader NBS

Because costs are rising daily while wages remain stagnant and poverty is knocking at the door, the Romanian government must develop measures for Romanian employees to lower labour taxes or enhance earnings. This protest comes shortly after Romanian citizens protested against the high gas and energy prices. In a European country with European prices, Romania does not allow itself to have European salaries, which is decisive for any employee.

Photo source: National Trade Union Bloc Facebook page

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On February 11, the workers started protesting, demanding decent wages. Due to poor salaries, the Cugir Mechanical Plant workers claim that wages are so low that they can only cover the heat and electricity costs.

According to Stiripesurse.ro, one of the workers claimed that after 20 years of work, she received an advance of 100 Euro and a remaining payment of 254 Euro. Another employer said that after more than 40 years of working in the factory for “special products”, he received only 323 Euro.

The protesters demand, first of all, an increase in salaries and justice for all the years dedicated to the armaments industry. The Board of Directors of the Cugir Mechanical Plant should meet on Monday, February 14, to solve the issue.

On the sidelines of the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Romania, as a NATO member, plays an important strategic military role in the eastern part of Europe, one of Romania’s armament factories is slowed down by such problems. It is an undesirable problem that Romania is confronted with, especially in the armaments industry. Although Romanian President Klaus Johannis states that the Romanian army is prepared for any situation, one of the essential weapons factories shows the contrary.

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Gendarmerie forces are overwhelmed and the Romanian Secret Service – SPP, which protects the building, blocked the large doors to secure the entrance inside. Nobody is able to enter or exit.

Notably, this large protest, gathering thousands of people from all over Romania, takes place exactly 32 years after the Revolution in 1989. On December 21, 1989, hundreds of young Romanians were shot or arrested for protesting for liberty.

The nationalist party AUR organizes the ongoing protest. Its leader, George Simion, is famous for his attitude against COVID-19 restrictions. His nationalist political approach makes him an undesirable partner for the other Parliamentary parties, mainly the Socialists, PSD, and the Liberals, PNL. Also, the Hungarian minority is against any cooperation with AUR, which makes this party the perfect Opposition formation of the moment.

Less than 35% of the population is vaccinated in Romania. Some say the percentage is less than 30%, considering the fake vaccination procedures identified so far. This means that close to 70% of the population oppose compulsory vaccination.

This is the context of today’s protest, and this is what the people want: no compulsory vaccination, no restrictions based on vaccination certificates. Instead, protesters want the interdictions to be applied for being infected, not for being unvaccinated.

A decision from Prime Minister Ciuca is waited for assuming or no his responsibility in the Parliament for this law.

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The organizers expect around 10,000 people to join the protests, but the number could be even higher. The two main hot spots in Bucharest are Piata Universitatii and Piata Victoriei, but the groups will join in Piata Victoriei where the protests will continue until midnight.

People ask for the resignation of the Government. Also, they ask for the restrictions to be dropped and demand their liberties back.

In their opinion, there is no efficiency in vaccination. Actually, Bucharest, along with Cluj-Napoca and Timisoara are among the most vaccinated cities in the country. The issue is that exactly these cities entered quarantine firstly, which is at least controversial in regard to the efficiency of the vaccine.

In Bucharest, restrictions are not imposed only on the vaccinated. All the other persons, even if they had Green Certificate after a negative test, are restricted from entering cinemas, theaters, restaurants or cafes. Romania becomes the first country that discriminates against the non-vaccinated, even though they have a negative test.

On Tuesday, the Government will face the no-confidence motion in Parliament and pundits expect the motion to pass.

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