The protesters are former employees of the CNH Petrosani, as they were laid off on October 1 following the company’s restructuring and reorganization process. The 900 employees of the CNH Petrosani, laid off on October 1, 2011, were supposed to cash their severance pay in three tranches, namely, in October, November and December 2011.
Since Romania has yet to get green light for the payment of state aid granted in accordance with the European Union regulations regarding the mine closure program, with the state aid also comprising the severance pay, the program set for the payment of laid off workers was not observed.
The first tranche was paid by CNH from employees’ salary fund, the second tranche was paid by the Labor Ministry as social aid, while the third tranche will be paid, according to Government officials, after February 22, when Romania is expected to get green light for the granting of state aid.
In January this year, the Economy Ministry signed a protocol with the unions representing miners of CNH Petrosani, regarding the payment of a new tranche of severance pay to workers laid off in 2011. The ministry said at the time that the protocol resolved issues regarding the payment of the third tranche of severance to personnel laid off in 2011, the personnel deficit created by departures for retirement in 2012, and created the legal framework to set the delivery price for coal back in relation to the company’s production costs.
Mintia and Paroseni, along with CNH’s profitable mines, will be merged into a new company, called the Hunedoara Energy Complex. As per the Government’s commitments to the International Monetary Fund, this new company will be privatized this year.