​More than half of Carrefour employees receive a net salary of about 2,000 lei, to which is added about 700 lei in meal vouchers, union members say, in the context of a recent protest by Carrefour workers in Romania and the company’s response.

7,000 employees of the French retailer Carrefour protested in the country. 200 of them picketed the headquarters of the capital enterprise for 2 hours as a sign of protest against the management’s decision not to raise their salaries.

The company’s reaction

Below is the official position of the retailer in the context of the strike:

“We understand and respect the right of employees to freely communicate their wishes and initiatives. Our primary concern is the well-being of our employees, and we make every effort to provide them with a safe and stable work environment and to support their personal and professional development.

We have consistently demonstrated our support for union initiatives, and over the past 3 years we have been able to increase the total income of our employees, improve our benefits and compensation package. We are now offering our employees an expanded package of benefits in accordance with the collective labor agreements that are valid until July 2024.

Meal vouchers in the amount of 35 lei/day, which exceeds the usual practice in the market, as well as a number of additional benefits are added to the monthly income – loyalty bonus for those who have experience working in the company, night and weekend bonuses, bonus for national holidays worked

In addition, our colleagues receive private health insurance, a bonus for holidays, Easter, Christmas, as well as a bonus for important life events such as marriage or the birth of a child. In addition, we have already launched an invitation to start negotiations on a new collective agreement in advance, immediately after the Easter holidays. We are open to dialogue and will continue discussions with union representatives, believing that together we will find the best solution for our workers,” Carrefour said in a statement.

What workers demand from trade unions:

Union members from the Carrefour Romania group protested yesterday, demanding the provision of meal vouchers at the maximum franchise value (an additional 5 lei/meal voucher) and a transport bonus for employees. The protest, which took place on Monday, was also supported by shop workers wearing white armbands, which did not affect the activity.

The allowance for working on a Saturday or Sunday is only 17 lei net per day worked, which is an extremely small amount in the context of the efforts made by the workers and the current cost of living. Loyalty bonus for length of service in the company is given once every five years, not every month. This is in a situation where Carrefour considers itself the best employer.

The increase in workers’ incomes is largely driven by increases in the economy’s minimum wage, and this increase is not enough to offset the excessive taxation of wages and food stamps, which particularly affects the economy’s minimum wage workers.

Also, with regard to the post-Easter talks invitation, the unions are pushing for these “extra benefits” because workers need support now, not months down the road. The Easter holidays are approaching, and the employees have a very large amount of work to do. It is necessary to ensure that they also have an Easter celebration worthy of such a name.

While the government hasn’t come up with solutions to offset excessive payroll taxes and food stamps for the economy’s minimum wage earners, we expect at least companies that say “employee welfare is our number one concern” to do something about it .

Carrefour Romania employees remain determined to continue fighting for their rights and decent wages, and hope that company representatives will take these aspects into account in future discussions, the unions also say.