A new law on social dialogue has recently been adopted in Romania, Law No 367/2022 on social dialogue 1 (“Law No. 367/2022“), repealing the previous regulation, Law No. 62/2011.
The new law on social dialogue is a true game changer and brings four significant reforms, respectively:
- the obligation to perform collective bargaining at both the unit (if it has at least 10 employees) and at the bargaining sector level;
- the possibility to perform collective bargaining at the national level;
- new obligations for employers to inform and consult employees’ representatives/trade union representatives;
- extension of the range of cases triggering collective labour disputes.
We expect a relaunch of social dialogue in Romania and an increase of the coverage of employees by collective labour agreements. Our question is whether the new “collective umbrella” will be able to successfully combine the current needs of employers with those of employees, or whether it will only become an instrument of coercion against employers.
