Source: https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/Worker_participation_-_Romania
Timestamp: 2020-06-06 06:47:06
Document Index: 200432046

Matched Legal Cases: ['Art. 16', 'Art. 18', 'Art. 20', 'Art. 10', 'Art. 11', 'Art. 19', 'Art. 17', 'Art. 40', 'Art. 174', 'Art. 191', 'Art. 4', 'Art. 4', 'Art. 1', 'Art. 16', 'Art. 18', 'Art.18', 'Art. 19', 'Art. 20', 'Art. 120', 'Art. 9', 'Art. 183', 'Art. 52']

Worker participation - Romania - OSHWiki
Georgiana Nicolescu, and Alina Trifu, INCDPM, Romania
2.1.1 The Labour Code
2.1.2 The Law 467/2006
2.1.3 The Law 62/2011
2.1.4 The Law 319/2006
2.1.4.1 Section 5 – Worker information (Art. 16)
2.1.4.2 Section 6 – Consultation and participation of workers (Art. 18 & 19)
2.1.4.3 Section 7 – Training of workers (Art. 20 & 21)
3.1.1 The National Tripartite Social Council
3.1.2 The Economic and Social Council
3.1.2.2 Formal opinions
3.1.3 The Social Dialogue Commissions
3.1.4 The Department for Social Dialogue
3.1.4.1 Composition
3.1.4.2 Formal opinions
3.3.1.1 Occupational safety and health committee
3.4 Direct participation of workers in connection with wellbeing
3.4.1 Trade Union delegation
3.4.1.1 Regulatory framework
3.4.1.2 Powers
3.4.2 Worker consultation
In Romania, the worker participation is carried out at national, sectoral and company level. No significant differences are to be emphasised between the public and the private sector as regards the implementation of the legal framework regulating worker information and consultation, and worker participation, i.e. methods, good practices, monitoring the outcomes.
At national level, the trade unions play a major role within the framework of the social dialogue through the national collective agreements assumed by all the social partners. At sectoral level, the employer organisations’ role is increasingly important alongside with the trade unions’ initiatives.
At company level, the entreprise management, on one hand, and the workers’ organisations (safety and health committees for the companies with over 50 employees, trade unions, worker representatives) constitute the key factors in terms of an effective worker participation. Concomitantly, the implementation of the occupational safety and health management system and, where applicable, of the integrated management system in the companies represents good premises for an efficient worker participation within those companies.
The EU Framework Directive 89/391/EEC [1] constitutes the most inclusive European legal act in terms of worker information (Art. 10) and worker consultation and participation (Art. 11) in relation with the workplace health and safety.
In addition, other EU documents regulating worker participation consist of the Council Directive 2001/86/EC that is complementary to the Statute of a European company as concerns employees’ involvement [2] and the Directive 2002/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002 [3] establishing a general framework for informing and consulting the employees in the European Community. The two directives were transposed into the national legislation accordingly.
As part of the worker rights, the workers’ right to information and consultation is also addressed through a series of ILO’s (the International Labour Organization) conventions and recommendations as the only tripartite body of the United Nations’ system [4] [5] [6] [7]. Besides the Council Directive 2001/86/EC and the Directive 2002/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002, worker rights to participation and consultation are consecrated through international and national documents. In Romania, the legal framework defining worker rights consists of international/European and national level legislation.
The ILO’s regulations are either conventions that are mandatory once they are ratified by the UN member states, or recommendations consisting of a series of non-mandatory documents guiding the Member States’ policies in the area. The scope of ILO’s conventions and recommendations covers a large number of labour-related aspects: for example, the trade-union’s freedom and right protection (ILO Convention C 87/1948) [4] ; the workers’ representatives (ILO Convention C 135/1971) [5]; the minimum employment age (ILO Convention C 138/1973) [6]; workers’ protection against toxic substances; protection of women; working time duration and so on. Worker participation is particularly addressed through ILO Convention C 155 [7] that applies to all the economic activities. More detailed provisions are stipulated within Art. 19 of the above ILO Convention with regard to workers’ information and consultation, OSH training, workers – employer co-operation. The Romanian legislation transposed the provisions of the international conventions, such as the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) [4][5][6][7] and EU Directives [2][3] into appropriate national laws, especially within the Labour Code, and stipulated a series of regulations arising from the recommendations in the area as well.
Additional regulations are provided so that they cover almost all the labour related matters: for example, the trade-union’s freedom and right, social policy, and workers’ representatives.
In Romania, specific elements of the legal framework for worker information and consultation can be found in:
The Labour Code, Law No. 53/2003 [8]
The Law No. 467/2006 establishing a general framework for employee information and consultation [9]
The Law No. 62/2011 on the Social Dialogue [10].
The Labour Code (Law No. 53/2003) regulates the labour relations and their implementation as well. The Labour Code provides the general right to information and consultation of the employees (e.g. Art. 17, 18, 19, 39, 40) [8].
The Labour Code stipulates employers’ obligation to periodically communicate the company economic and financial status to the employees and to consult trade unions in this respect, where available (Art. 40). Specifically, the employers have the obligation to consult the employees (e.g. through the health and safety committees at the companies with at least 50 employees, the trade unions where constituted and/or the worker representatives where health and safety committees and/or trade unions do not exist) when developing measures on occupational safety and health (Art. 174), training plans (Art. 191), at the elaboration of internal regulations within the company. [8].
The Law 467/2006
The Law No. 467 of 12 December 2006 published in the Official Journal of 18 December 2006 [9] establishes a general framework for informing and consulting the employees. It was adopted by the Romanian Parliament to transpose the Directive 2002/14/EC into the national legislation and sets up the basic requirements in terms of employees’ right to information and consultation on the company key measures/plans/policies, OSH issues included. This law applies to the Romanian companies with at least 20 employees (Art. 4). [9]
The Law 62/2011
The Law 62/2011 on the Social Dialogue republished in the Official Journal No. 625 of 31 August 2012 [10] provides a series of key regulations with regard to the statute and the organisation of the trade unions and the employer organisations, the Tripartite National Council and the Social and Economic Council respectively. It also includes important provisions on the concluding of a collective agreement at national level (Art. 4). In Romania, collective bargaining is conducted at three levels: at national and sectoral level, and at the company or group of companies level. The provisions of these contracts are of statutory nature being applicable to all the employees at the respective level. The employers have the obligation to invite the delegates elected by the workers from representative trade unions to participate in the Board in order to discuss professional, socio-economic, occupational health and safety, cultural or leisure related matters. [10]
The Law 319/2006
The EU Framework Directive 89/391/EEC [1] constitutes the major European legal source in terms of worker information and consultation with regard to workplace health and safety in acknowledgement of the role worker participation plays in the OSH management at company level.
In the Romanian legislation, the EU Framework Directive 89/391/EEC [1] was fully transposed by the Law No. 319/2006 on occupational health and safety [11].
The Law No. 319/2006 on occupational health and safety establishes the general principles, rights and obligations of employers and workers in terms of safety and health at work and the correlative prevention measures to be taken by the employers on this purpose. The Law No. 319/2006 has to be applied to any employer with at least one employee, to the workers and workers’ representatives from the public and private sector and all the activity sectors. As stated since Art. 1, the main goal of the Law No. 319/2006 consists of ‘providing adequate measures meant to promote the improvement of workers’ health and safety at work’. The law also addresses worker information, consultation and participation as significant factors for a successful OSH management within the companies. Therefore, sections 5, 6 and 7 of the law particularly address these issues.
Section 5 – Worker information (Art. 16)
On the basis of the company size (number of employees, subsidiaries), the employer shall take appropiate measures so that the workers and/or their representatives receive all the necessary information concerning the safety and health related risks, and the protective and preventive measures to be taken, in accordance with the legal provisions.
Section 6 – Consultation and participation of workers (Art. 18 & 19)
The employers shall consult the workers and/or their representatives and enable them to participate in the decision making process on all the workplace safety and health related matters (Art.18). Workers’ representatives with specific responsibilities in terms of safety and health at work are entitled to ask the employer to take appropriate measures to eliminate or mitigate the workplace related risks.
They are also entitled to submit proposals to the employer for the improvement of the working conditions through adequate measures. The employer should allow workers’ representatives in charge with OSH to develop OSH related activities during the work programme without salary cuts.The employer shall ensure all the necessary means to enable worker representatives exercise their rights and functions deriving from the law. Workers and /or workers’ representatives with specific OSH responsibilities are entitled to appeal to the competent authority whenever the employers’ measures are insufficient to ensure adequate safety and health at work.
The employers should set up and organize safety and health at work committees and make them fully operational (Art. 19).
Section 7 – Training of workers (Art. 20 & 21)
The employers should ensure appropriate conditions so that each worker would receive sufficient and adequate safety and health training, particularly in the form of information and instructions specific to his/her workplace and activity. Workers’ training should take into account the changes occurred in the company and the new and emerging risks as well.
The training shoud be periodically provided and also whenever necesarry depending on the organisation needs.
The institutionalized social dialogue in Romania is developed through two major approaches namely:
bipartite social dialogue (trade unions, employers)
tripartite social dialogue (government, trade unions, employers)
The bipartite social dialogue (trade unions, employers) is found mainly at the negotiation and conclusion of the collective labour agreements. In Romania, the collective labour agreements are concluded at national, sectoral (branches and groups of the enterprises) and business organisations (companies with over 21 employees) level. In Romania, the tripartite social dialogue at national level is governed by two advisory bodies:
The National Tripartite Social Council (3.1.1)
The Economic and Social Council (3.1.2).
The Department for Social Dialogue (3.1.3) was constituted to provide a link between the Government and the Economic and Social Council and for the coordination and monitoring of the advisory commissions of social dialogue.
The National Tripartite Social Council
The National Tripartite Social Council, as consultative body, was established to promote good practice in the tripartite social dialogue at the highest level.
The National Tripartite Council has the following structure: a) Presidents of the national representative confederations and trade unions, b) Government representatives appointed by the Prime Minister, at least at the Secretary of State level from each ministry and other state structures, as agreed with the social partners, c) The representative of the National Bank of Romania, the president of the Economic and Social Council and other members as agreed with the social partners. The National Tripartite Council is chaired by the Prime Minister.
The National Tripartite Council's main tasks consist of: a) providing a consultation framework for setting up minimum guaranteed wages for the employers, b) to discuss and review the projects and programmes developed at government level, c) to develop and support the implementation of strategies, programmes, methodologies and standards regarding the social dialogue, d) settling the disputes through tripartite social and economic dialogue, e) to negotiate and conclude social agreements, pacts and/or any other national agreements and to monitor their implementation, g) other tasks as agreed among the parties.
The Economic and Social Council is a public, tripartite and autonomous institution of national interest established by the Law No. 62/2011 [10]. Its role consists of ensuring an effective social dialogue at national level among employers, trade unions and governmental bodies, and a climate of stability and social peace. The Economic and Social Council is the main consultative body within the national tripartite social partnership.
The Economic and Social Council consists of representatives of the government, trade unions and employers organisations at national level.
The functioning of the ESC is ensured through:
the Plenary Session,
the Bureau (BEX)
) the President and the Vice-presidents,
the Permanent Sections,
the Secretary - General.
The ESC Plenary Session should consist of 45 members including the President and the Vice-presidents. The nomination of the Economic and Social Council members is to be carried out as follows:
15 members nominated by the employer confederations’ representatives at national level,
15 members nominated by the trade union confederations’ representative at national level,
15 members represent the civil society and are to be appointed through the decision of the Prime Minister, on the proposal of the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Protection and Elderly Persons. They shall be representatives for the cooperative structures, professional associations, consumer protection organisations, scientific and academic community, farmers’ organisations, organisations of the retired people, local community organisations, associations representing families and people with disabilities, NGOs.
The distribution of seats associated with each trade union and employers’ confederations within the ESC should be carried out by consensus and, in case of disagreement, by a vote of half plus one of the total number of confederations.
The Economic and Social Council shall act as a consultative body for the Government and the Parliament of Romania and has the following duties:
to act as advisory body with regard to the draft acts initiated by the Government and/or the Parliament and to invite the initiators to take part in the debates on these draft acts,
to carry out analyses and studies on the economic and social realities upon the request of the Government, of the Parliament or on its own initiative,
to inform the Government and the Parliament on the emergence of economic and social events that call for new regulations,
to accomplish its duties in accordance with the ILO Convention No. 144 /1976 adopted on the 2nd of June 1976 in Geneva on tripartite consultations for the promotion and enforcement of the international labour standards [12].
The Social Dialogue Commissions
The Law No. 62/2011 [10] also provides the creation and functioning of the commissions for social dialogue at the local administration and territorial level, respectively (Art. 120).
The social dialogue commissions have a consultative role and their activity mainly addresses:
the social partnership relations among the public administration structures, and the employer and trade union organisations,
the mandatory consultation of the social partners on any socio-economic legal initiative,
social partners’ information and consultation on any activity developed at central or local administration level that might be of interest for the social partners.
In conclusion, the main role of the social dialogue commissions consists of strengthening the relationships among the social partners up to the smallest local administration and territorial structures with regard to the socio-economic decisions affecting the enterprises of various economic sectors, the employers and employees and, nevertheless, the local community as well.
The Department for Social Dialogue
The Department for Social Dialogue was established to ensure the coordination of the government social partnership with the trade unions and employers' national organisations and other civil society organisations as well. The Department for Social Dialogue was established on April 14, 2005 by the Government Decision No. 296, published in the Official Journal, Part I, No. 325 of 18 April 2005. The Department for Social Dialogue is part of the government structure, without legal personality, subordinated to the Prime Minister.
The Department for Social Dialogue is headed by a Secretary of State, appointed by the Prime Minister,
The maximum number of posts of the Department for Social Dialogue is 10, excluding the President,
The financial resources of the Department for Social Dialogue come from the governmental budget,
The Department for Social Dialogue develops relationships with:
ministries and the CES
the national trade union confederations
the national employer confederations
NGOs and other civil society structures
The Department for Social Dialogue has the following main responsibilities:
To ensure adequate communication between the Government and the social dialogue partners,
To prepare, develop, negotiate and monitor the agreements with the social partners,
To initiate, coordinate and monitor the implementation of the programmes for developing social partnership in collaboration with local and central public administration authorities, employers, trade unions and other civil society structures, and with international organisations and institutions in the field,
The Prime Minister holds meetings with the representatives of the social partners,
To ensure Government collaboration with the Economic and Social Council.
The social dialogue at sectoral level concerns the establishment, organisation and functioning of the social dialogue committees. These committees are established and operating in all ministries being constituted of representatives of the ministry and the trade unions’ and employers' representatives at national level. In these committees, the social partners are consulted on all legal acts elaborated in the ministry as well as on any other matters of interest to the social partners. All the sectors of activity at national level, industries included, are represented within the social dialogue committees thus constituted in the corresponding ministries. The trade unions’ and employers’ representatives ensure a full coverage of the sectors of activity depending on the specificity of their activity.
The composition of the social dialogue committees at government level consists of:
the prefect and the representatives of the decentralised public services of the ministries and other bodies of the central public administration, appointed through the prefect’s order,
the president of the county council or the mayor of the capital, the city of Bucharest,
the social partners’ representatives - trade unions’ and employers' representatives nationwide,
experts of the trade unions and employers, depending on the topic,
representatives of the territorial labour inspectorates.
At company level, worker participation is mainly accomplished through the safety and health committees that include the employer or his legal representative, employer’s representative with OSH responsibilities, workers’ representatives and the occupational medicine physician. In accordance with the legal provisions, the safety and health committees may be constituted within the companies with at least 50 employees. For the entreprises with less than 50 employees, the health and safety at work attributions can be taken over by the employer providing that this one is dully qualified on this purpose and the activity of the SME does not imply specific risks [Section 2, Art. 9(4), Law 319/2006 amended on Safety and Health at Work].
In SMEs, workers cannot be represented to a large extent because of a reduced number of employees and trade union membership does not exist in most of the cases. In addition, despite its legal obligations and the efforts made, the labour inspection is inevitably focused on big enterprises of the high risks sectors rather than on every single SME running a large variety of economic activities. In such situations, the quality of the SMEs management and leadership makes the difference between an authentical worker participation to the benefit of both the employees and the company and a rather formal approach to employees’ involvement and the OSH related matters.
In Romania, worker indirect participation on occupational safety and health is formalised through the occupational safety and health committees.
Regulatory framework The Law No. 53/2003 - Labour Code [8], republished, includes the following provisions on the occupational safety and health committees (Art. 183-185) - ‘In order to ensure employee involvement in making and implementing the decisions on labour protection, the employer should set up an occupational safety and health committee at each company level’. The occupational safety and health committees should be established in all the organisations with at least 50 employees. However, in case that the working conditions are hard and imply a high level of workplace related risks, the labour inspector may ask for the establishment of safety and health committees for the enterprises with less than 50 employees as well. For those organisations having more subsidiaries distributed in different locations, the safety and health committees should be set up in each of the company subsidiaries.
The organisation of the occupational safety and health committees is mainly regulated through the Government Decision No. 1425/2006 [13] amended and completed through the Government Decision No. 955 of 27 September 2010 [14] approving the Methodological Norms for the implementation of the Law No. 319/2006 for safety and health at work with further amendments [11]. The provisions related to the occupational safety and health committees are included in Chap. 4, Sections 1 to 4 of the above act.
Composition The occupational safety and health committees consist of:
the employer or his legal representative,
the employer’s representative responsible for safety and health at work,
workers' representatives with specific responsibility for the workers’ health and safety,
an occupational medicine physician.
The employer or his legal representative is the chairman of the OSH committee. The safety and health committee’s members are appointed through the written decision of the president and the number of workers’ representatives should be equal to the number of the employer’s legal representatives. Workers' representatives in the OSH committees are elected for a two-year period.
The health and safety committee is working under its own operating rules. The employer must ensure the periodical meeting of the health and safety committees’ members at least quarterly but also whenever necessary.
Workers' representatives with specific OSH responsibilities The Government Decision No. 1425/2006 [13] approving the Methodological Norms for the application of the Law No. 319/2006 on safety and health at work, as further amended, establishes the following issues (Art. 52-56) related to workers' representatives: ‘Workers' representatives with specific responsibilities in terms of safety and health at work are elected by and from the employees of the entreprise and / or the organisation concerned, as stated within the collective agreement or the rules of the company organisation and operation’.
The minimum number of workers’ representatives of the health and safety committees is determined by the overall number of workers of the organisation, as follows:
from 50 to 100 workers - two representatives
101 to 500 workers - three representatives
501 to 1,000 workers - four representatives
from 1001 to 2000 employees - five representatives
from 2001 to 3000 employees - six representatives
from 3001 to 4000 employees - seven representatives
over 4,000 workers - eight representatives.
Workers’ training Workers' representatives with specific responsibility on occupational safety and health must follow a training programme on safety and health at work of at least 40 hours. The training of the OSH committees’ members should be carried out during the working hours and on the company’s expenses.
The workers' representatives with specific OSH responsibilities should be consulted and involved in the following activities:
the improvement of the health and safety conditions at work through the collaboration with the employer,
to accompany the team / person conducting the risk assessment in the company,
to help workers getting aware of their needs in terms of safety and health at work,
to notify the employer or the health and safety committee the workers’ proposals for the improvement of the working conditions,
to monitor the implementation of the prevention plan.
In Romania, the health and safety committees as provided by the law, represent the instruments ensuring to the largest extent the worker participation within the organisations of all the activity sectors.
As a general remark, one can mention that the legal framework regulating the health and safety committees makes no distinction between the organisations of the public and private sector respectively. Similarly, with regard to worker participation, the legal provisions in force do not make any distinction between the big-sized enterprises and SMEs, excepting the number of workers’ representatives that depends on the number of the company employees.
Moreover, the employees from the SMEs are significantly less awared on their rights to information and consultation and employees’ participation is rather formal. The absence of trade unions in such companies might be one of the reasons. Additionally, the SMEs employers may also dispose of fewer resources and be less aware of the costs of precarious workplaces in terms of workers’ health and safety.
Programmes have been put in place for the SMEs, in Romania, ever since the pre-adherence period. In the recent years, these initiatives have been implemented mainly through EU Structural Fund (ESF) Projects – Development of Human Resources, but is still much to do in this respect.
However, one can notice an increasing demand from the SMEs employers for councelling and information on OSH, particularly with regard to the compliance with the OSH regulations in force, the improvement of the working conditions, workers’ training, competent services of occupational medicine, in order to get a skilled and more satisfied workforce and thus better outcomes of their organisations. The avoidance of human resources fluctuation and the loss of the investments made with the personnel constitutes a motivation as well.
Surveys and statistics on SMEs and worker participation – A Labour Inspection action at national level In 2010, the Labour Inspection carried out a survey to check the way employers ensure worker consultation and participation on OSH related problems within the entreprises with less than 50 employees.’[15]
In Romania, the Framework Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 [1] on the workers’ safety and health at work was fully transposed into the national legislation through the Law No. 319/2006 [11] on occupational safety and health and the adjacent legislation in the area. The Labour Inspection’s 2010 survey aimed at assessing the way in which the Directives were implemented in practice; how worker consultation and participation in the company decision making process might affect health and safety at work (e.g. the personal protection equipment, working conditions, working environment). The survey also highlighted the way in which the employers observed workers’ right to information and consultation and raised the employers’ and workers’ awareness on their rights and obligations in this respect. [15]
A number of 18,795 employers participated in the survey. Only 69.31% of the employers were aware of the legal provisions on workers’ right to information and consultation, and participation in the decision making process on OSH. The extent to which the Directive’s basic requirements were implemented ranged between 63.35 % and 95.60% (e.g. worker training, election of worker representatives, allocated time for worker meetings) [15].
6000 employers from the SMEs sector implemented effective measures to ensure worker consultation and participation in OSH issues,as compared to an estimated number of 1000 employers that was initially set up as objective. [15]
The Labour Inspection published an Information Sheet on worker consultation and participation in solving OSH related issues within companies with less than 50 employees. It includes data on the basic legal requirements on OSH, examples of good practices, information on working consultation and participation alongside with a questionnaire. The Information Sheet was published on the Labour Inspection official website [16] and forwarded to the participants in the survey.
The trade union organisations defend the rights of their members arising from the labour law, the collective agreements and individual employment contracts, and/or any other specific agreements related to the civil servants in the courts, other institutions or state authorities.
The main legislative regulations on trade unions are included in the Constitution, the Labour Code [8], Law No. 62/2011 on Social Dialogue published in the Official Journal No.322 of May 10, 2011 [10].
In Romania, the trade unions are independent from the public authorities, political parties and employers. Their role is to defend the rights and political interests of their members. The structure, association and management of the trade union organisations are governed through their own statutes, provided that the statutes are adopted through a democratic procedure under the law terms.
Trade unions are professional organisations while their members are free to belong or not to a trade union and/or to withdraw upon their request.
The trade union organisations participate in the negotiation and conclusion of the collective agreements depending on the extent to which they meet the criteria of representation as follows:
In the business sector - the members of the trade union should represent at least one third of the company employees,
At branch level – the trade union federations should be independent from organisational point of view and include trade unions with a number of members representing at least seven percent of the overall number of employees of that particular branch,
At national level – the trade union confederations should have organisational independence and include trade unions from at least half of the overall number of counties in the country, Bucharest included. Concomitantly, these trade union federations should represent at least 25 percent of the industries and encounter a cumulative number of members of at least 5% of the overall number of employees at the national economy level.
The trade union organisations may represent the workers in the court when conflicts of interest occur and bring in legal actions upon their members’ request.
The trade union organisations and / or the employee representatives have the right to be informed and consulted by the employers when it comes to:
Collective dismissal,
On any matters relating to the organisation of work, according to the Labour Code [8] or the applicable collective agreements in force,
The Law No. 62/2011 [10] stipulates that the trade unions should be given all necessary information by the employers in order to enable them to negotiate/conclude the collective agreements, to set up the prevention plan of the company, to provide the necessary funds meant to improve the working conditions, to set up social insurance measures and social protection in general.
At organisation level, the trade union representatives participate in the establishing of the most adequate working equipment and personal protective equipment for the employees on the basis of workers’ consultation and the workplace related risks. They do also negotiate with the employer or his legal representatives a series of additional measures meant to improve the working conditions and workers’ health and safety. Moreover, the trade union representatives foster the adoption of additional socio- economic initiatives by the employer to provide employee wellbeing at work resulting in a healthier and more satisfied workforce.
in Romania, one can emphasize the existence of a steady legislative and institutional framework providing worker participation at all the levels. It has been implemented in parallel with the transition from a state dominated economy to the free market in the attempt to match the deep socio-economic changes induced by this long lasting process. It has begun in the early 90’s and is an ongoing process that encompasses all the actors of the labour market, particularly the social partners, but also the society as a whole (changes in the approach to the work process in general, employment and unemployment, preventive behaviour and culture, social values, etc.).
In terms of worker effective participation, it still embraces a formal way in many cases, especially at SMEs level where worker organisations are barely missing and the employees are less aware of their rights in terms of information and consultation, and participation in the decision making process within the entreprise.
For the time being, the health and safety committees ensure the most effective framework of worker participation at company level. A highly comitted management and the presence of the trade union organisations within the companies constitute good premises for an increase in worker participation with positive results in terms of employees’ health and safety and better outcomes of the company as a whole.
In conclusion, significant efforts should be made to foster the implementation of the legal provisons in the area and to make them much more effective and less formal at all the levels. A variation in terms of worker organisations, less routine and obsolete approaches to worker participation, in general, and well targeted efforts are still necessary to make the existing legal and institutional framework fully effective.
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work. Available at: [1]
↑ 2.0 2.1 Council Directive 2001/86/EC of 8 October 2001 supplementing the Statute for a European company with regard to the involvement of employees, OJ L 294, 10.11.2001, p. 0022 – 0032. Available at: [2]
↑ 3.0 3.1 Directive 2002/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002 establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the European Community - Joint declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on employee representation, OJ L 080 , 23.03.2002, p. 0029 – 0034. Available at: [3]
↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 ILO Convention C87 ‘Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention’, Database of Labour Legislation, 1948. Available at: [4]
↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 ILO Convention C135 ‘Workers' Representatives Convention’, NORMLEX Information System on International Labour Standards, 1971. Available at: [5]
↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 ILO Convention C138 ‘Minimum Age Convention’, NORMLEX Information System on International Labour Standards, 1973. Available at: [6]
↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 ILO Convention C155 ‘Occupational Safety and Health Convention’, NORMLEX Information System on International Labour Standards, 1981. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312300:NO]
↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 The Labour Code (Law No. 53/2003), amended by Law No. 40/2011 and republished in the Official Journal No. 345 of May 18, 2011. Available at: [http://www.dreptonline.ro/legislatie/codul_muncii.php
↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Law No. 467 of 12 December 2006 supplementing the transposition of Directive 2002/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002 establishing a general framework for informing and consulting the employees in the European Community. Available at: [7]
↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Law No. 62/2011 on the Social Dialogue. Available at: [8]
↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Law No. 319/2006 on Safety and Health at Work of 14 July 2006, Romanian Official Journal, Part I No. 646 of 26/07/2006. Available at: [http://www.inspectmun.ro/Legislatie/Legislatie%20SSM%20engleza/Law%20319%20on%202006.pdf http://osha.europa.eu/fop/romania/ro/legislation/legea_securitatii_si_sanatatii_in_munca_nr_319_2006.shtml]
↑ ILO Convention No. 144, Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976. Available at: [9]
↑ 13.0 13.1 Government Decision (GD) No. 1425 of 11 October 2006 on the Methodological Norms for the enforcement of the Law No. 319 on Safety and Health at Work, Available at: [10]
↑ Government Decision No. 955 of 27 September 2010 on the amendment and completion of the Methodological Norms for the enforcement of the Law No. 319 of 14 July 2006 on safety and health of workers at work approved by the Government Decision No. 1425 of 11 October 2006. Available at: [11]
↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Labour Inspection Annual Report 2010. Available at: [12]
↑ Information Sheet on worker consultation and participation in solving OSH related issues within companies with less than 50 employees. Available at: [13]
EU-OSHA – European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER): Managing safety and health at work, European Risk Observatory Report, 2010. Available at: [14]
EU-OSHA – European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Worker representation and consultation on health and safety: An analysis of the findings of the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER), 2012. Available at: [15]
EU-OSHA – European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2012-13 – Working together for risk prevention, 2012. Available at: [16].
Eurofound – European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Health and safety at work in SMEs: Strategies for employee information and consultation, 2010. Available at: [17]
Eurofound – European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Social dialogue and working conditions, 2011. Available at: [18]
Eurofound - European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Workplace employee representation in Europe, 2012. Available at: [19]
Georgiana NICOLESCU, Palmer, Taina Paakkonen
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NACE: Technical and vocational secondary education, Post-secondary non-tertiary education, Activities of business and employers membership organisations, Activities of professional membership organisations, Activities of trade unions, Activities of other membership organisations n.e.c.
This page was last edited on 29 November 2013, at 17:07.