Dacia Execs Want Pay Raise, Union Begs to Differ

The increasing success of the Dacia brand on the global markets has made the carmaker's top executives ask themselves a very simple question: shouldn't we get paid extra for this? The question was answered by the same Dacia execs, who decided that's a course of action worth pursuing.

Now, for some obscure reasons, the execs decided to break the news to the plant-floor workers. They, of course, were not so pleased with the decision. We mean, they were, but only if a similar raise will be applied to them as well.

“We met today (Monday) with our union members, in accordance with our rights and after the management was notified of the meeting,” says Ion Iordache, vice president for the Dacia workers' union. "We took note of our members' disapproval of this decision.”

Iordache says that through a pay raise, the workers are being discriminated. According to the official, no pay raise is mentioned in the contract signed in the beginning of the year. In addition, the raise is not for top managers alone, as Dacia leaders say, but for middle management workers as well, like team leaders and engineers. Increasing their wages may cause other workers to feel left aside, Iordache says.

In the union's view, the best course of action would be to wait for the 2011 contract, when the salaries for all workers can be negotiated. Today, according to Ziarul Financiar, a Dacia worker earns EUR393, while team leaders are paid EUR595. In Romania, the average salary for an automotive industry worker is EUR321.