The newly concluded collective bargaining agreement includes:

  • starting from the May 1, 2019, a 5.5% salary rise and an additional attendance bonus of 50 euro gross. 

  • starting from the January 1, 2020: a further 5.5% salary rise and an additional bonus of 100 euro gross;

  • meal vouchers of 66 euro;

  • annual bonus;

  • holiday vouchers;

  • private medical insurance, compensatory salaries, retirement bonus and up to 28 days of holiday per year as part of the benefits package.

The attendance bonus can no longer be lost, as it is proportional with the days worked and is calculated in the sick leave, whereas in the management’s initial offer the bonus was to be lost even in case of sick leave.

This is a great victory for the workers and their union, especially considering that the initial demand of the workers was a 70 euro increase (as a fixed sum), while the company offered 34 euro.

This victory is the result of pressure from all sides and it is a great example of what international solidarity can achieve. During the last weeks of the strike, the situation escalated: the Romanian unions increased the pressure on the company through a caravan running through the entire country asking people to boycott products which Electrolux is producing at the cost of unfairly cheap labour in Romania. 

The Swedish colleagues from IF Metall and Unionen increased the pressure on the central management in Sweden and this contributed to a large extent to the change in the attitude of the local management in Romania. Together, these efforts made the final agreement possible. 

IndustriAll Europe General Secretary Luc Triangle said:

“We congratulate the Romanian workers and their union for their perseverance during the long and tough dispute at Electrolux, and the Swedish unions for their solidarity and help. This case is a great example of the power of international solidarity, which is one of the strongest instruments that we as unions have in dealing with multinational companies that are pitting workers against workers in a race to the bottom. The victory at Electrolux shows the benefits of being part of a union and of collective bargaining which make a positives difference for workers’ pay and working conditions.”  

Read more: Electrolux Romania workers in sixth week of general strike for fair pay