Strikes in South-West Oltenia

In April 2016, employees of the Romanian state-owned energy producer Complexul Energetic Oltenia (CE Oltenia) marched some 320 km from Târgu Jiu, in western Romania, to Bucharest, to protest the announced layoff of 800 miners and thermal plant workers. The energy company’s board decided at the end of March that about 800 people working for Minprest Rovinari, a company owned by CE Oltenia, would be laid off by the end of the year. In January 2019, hundreds of employees from the quarries of the CE Oltenia went on strike. They demanded increases in their salaries and expressed dissatisfaction with the management’s offer, which proposed a 12% increase in gross income and the granting of holiday vouchers. Five miners, including a union leader, went on hunger strike.

In February 2021, dozens of employees from the same complex protested in the Prefecture Square in Târgu Jiu. These were mainly employees from the Roșia-Rovinari Mining Quarry and the Motru Mining Basin. The miners requested a reduction in the retirement age for employees in quarries and thermal power plants, to 52 years, with a minimum contribution period of 30 years. Protesters also called for better working conditions and special investments in the Oltenia Complex to reduce pollution.

Further reading