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| The Week in Review 06-12/03/2011 |
| (2011-03-11) |
| Last updated: 2011-03-14 12:55 EET |
The New Labour Code, for which the government on Tuesday took responsibility in parliament thus turning the matter into a vote of confidence, remains a bone of contention between Romanian politicians and trade unions.
Whereas the ruling collation believes the new legislation will make the labour market more flexible, the opposition condemns the erosion of worker rights. PM Emil Boc: “First there was Romania’s EU accession and the need for the Romanian labour legislation to comply with EU standards. Secondly, the global crisis that also affected Romania has underscored the need to make work relations more flexible.”
Conversely, trade unions say the new code discards all forms of protection for employees, thus instating a new form of slavery. Trade unions threaten to continue protests throughout the country and hold a massive protest on March 16th, the day Parliament will vote on the motion of censure submitted by the opposition.
Those who have filed the motion disapprove both of the amendments made to the new code, that would damage the rights of employers and employees, and also its procedural introduction. The opposition believes that the government’s decision to take responsibility for the new code is an abuse of power, typical of an undemocratic regime. In case it passes, the motion will topple the government. If it doesn’t, the new labour code will be deemed approved.
The Romanian Public Ministry on Monday presented its activity report for 2010. There were approximately one and a half million prosecutions, assets worth some 300 million euros were sequestered and there was a significant rise in the number of people brought to court for tax evasion and smuggling.
Attending the event was Romanian president Traian Basescu, who underscored the fact that tax evasion accounts for over one-third of the resources due to the state. The Romanian head of state added that the fight against tax evasion must be pursued in 2011, as every cent stolen from the state is an attack on social and national security. President Basescu told prosecutors that ranking high on the prosecutors’ agenda should be high-level corruption cases, cases of tax evasion and those involving organized crime groups. In turn, General Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovsi highlighted the need to amend the current legislation.
The main reason for this is the prosecutor’s limited legal scope when investigating complex cases. Kovesi further argued in favour of extending the length of detention from 24 to 72 hours, claiming it is virtually impossible for prosecutors to complete the proceedings and examine all defendants within 24 hours. It is equally hard for lawyers to read the dossiers, and for the court to conduct public hearings before the 24-hours arrest warrant ends.
Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu claims the law should be changed so as to allow authorities to seize fortunes illegally amassed by people indicted for corruption. Predoiu added that putting criminals behind bars is as important as locating their wealth placed in companies and foreign accounts.
In Bucharest, business people and politicians from Romania and the Gulf states took part in an economic forum on business opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe. The head of state, President Basescu, said that Romania could be a gateway in relation to the European Union for capital from those countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. In addition, said the Romanian president, Romania is a country that guarantees foreign investment and has a competitive banking system, even though red tape is still an issue.
Traian Basescu: “We don’t have a hostile business environment, investments are guaranteed, we have all the conditions for an investor to feel good in Romania, if we work on the red tape, which I promise will happen. We are certain to simplify a lot of the laws that the business community says are too bureaucratic”.
He called on Gulf business people to invest in agriculture, infrastructure, tourism, but mainly in the energy sector. Energy investments are a priority for the government in Bucharest. Romania plans to become a notable energy market for Eastern Europe because it often has more energy than it needs, which it exports.
Romanians are struggling to cope with successive hikes in the price of fuel, and implicitly, food, energy and services. Earlier this year, oil companies increased fuel prices six times, and other prices went up by 3.5% on an average.
Prime Minister Emil Boc explained that the hikes were partially due to the international market, and partially to privatizations made by the government in 2004. According to Boc, right now the authorities don’t have all the leverage they need to curb the rise in fuel prices, which they believe to be unnatural. However, he promised that the state will use all the means at its disposal to put a stop to the increases.
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