Romania is not built only with parties and entrepreneurs, an honest Romania is built together - employers, employees, parties, civil society, the National Trade Union Bloc conveys in an open letter sent to Romania's President Nicusor Dan.

The trade union organization announces that the social dialogue with representatives of the employees is missing from the president's agenda, given that the trade union structures were not invited to the initial consultations at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace.

'Dear Mr. President, the National Trade Union Bloc congratulates you on your inauguration as President of Romania. It is a difficult but essential mission for the democratic and balanced future of this country. We wish you success and strength in fulfilling this mandate! However, we note with regret that, in just a few days since taking office, you have chosen to follow the same path taken by your predecessors - whether we are talking about former interim president Ilie Bolojan or former president Klaus Iohannis - a path that has alienated them from the social realities of Romania and from an important part of the citizens of this country: the workforce and their representative structures. We note that on your agenda of consultations, although intense and well organized in terms of discussions with parliamentary parties and the business environment, an essential component of democracy is completely missing: social dialogue with employee representatives,' the document states.

According to the letter, the exclusion of trade unions from public consultations contravenes not only international commitments, but also the jurisprudence of the ILO Committee of Experts, which constantly emphasises that a genuine social dialogue requires the participation of both sides - employees and employers - in the formulation of socio-economic policies.

In this context, BNS draws attention to the fact that there can be no coherent and balanced reforms without the voices that represent millions of employees in Romania and if the discussions are held exclusively with the business environment, it is obvious that the proposals will be tailored in the interests of capital. Moreover, the organization argues that, although Romania has today one of the highest tax burdens on labour in the European Union, the new government's intention to increase this burden is already emerging in the public space.

'We hereby take the liberty of reminding you that in 2017, when the Government exempted employers from assuming the burden of financing public health and pension systems, which were transferred almost entirely to employees, employers' associations did not protest. Since January 2018, the tax burden on labour is entirely borne by the employee. The risk of increased taxation on labour is today entirely borne by workers. Romania today has one of the highest tax burdens on labour in the European Union, yet the new government's intent to increase this burden is already emerging in the public space. Employers will not be the ones to bear the effects of the increase in labour taxation, in most cases employees will be left alone to manage their loss of net income,' emphasizes the letter addressed to president Nicusor Dan.

The trade unionists accuse, at the same time, of hypocrisy some of the employers' associations who, although they deplore the increase in taxes, use any legislative loophole for tax optimization or more, use illegal work and pay under-declared wages. BNS also points out that, if there is political will and good faith on the part of the authorities, the number of employees in Romania would increase by more than 30%, thus contributing to a significant reduction in the budget deficit.

'We have not heard any proposals from the business environment to penalise managers or shareholders who have turned insolvency into a national sport. Companies are set up, debts are incurred, insolvency is declare and then a new company is started from scratch. A harmful practice that affects the state budget and the healthy economy. No one proposes real sanctions for this destructive behavior! The VAT gap has already become chronic and of significant dimensions, more than 2% of GDP annually (for every 10 RON of VAT to be collected, the tax authorities collect less than 7 RON), and this indicator is strongly correlated with underemployment. The two indicators are correlated and self-sustaining: the higher VAT GAP favours undeclared work. And vice versa: undeclared work, having among its causes the excessive taxation of labour in Romania, contributes to tax fraud. However, employers are silent on this issue because they are fully responsible for this situation,' write the BNS representatives..

They consider that the president must ensure that the burden of the deficit is distributed fairly and emphasise that the analysis must be conducted with concrete data and not with declarations.

'Tax policy measures such as VAT or labour tax increases, in the current economic model will only affect employers to a small extent. They will recoup their losses by increasing prices at the expense of the population's purchasing power and will leave employees in most cases to bear the consequences of the increased tax burden on their own. The boat is tilted too much in favour of capital and against labour. This can't go on!,' notes BNS.

The trade unionists also point out that employers complain about the lack of labour force and the poor quality of human resources, but in most cases do nothing to invest in the professional training of their employees.

'Employees in Romania have accepted to work to the point of physical and mental exhaustion, and burn-out has become a very present phenomenon with a negative impact on the public health system. It is no wonder that by the time Romanians reach retirement, their number of years of healthy life is getting shorter and shorter, less than half the European Union average. I have not heard any concern here either from those with whom you are consulting exclusively today,' reads the document.

Finally, the National Trade Union Bloc calls on the president Nicusor Dan to assume the role of mediator between the authorities and society.

'Mr. President, given that you claim to be a pro-European leader, we remind you that in the Pact for European Social Dialogue has recently been signed in Brussels between the European Commission, the European Trade Union Confederation and European employers' organisations precisely to strengthen the role of social partners in shaping the labour market, employment and social policies. Europe is not just about free market and profit! Europe also means balance, social protection and cohesion. We sincerely hope that this one-sided approach is not the expression of a deliberate vision, but only the result of a lack of institutional experience and, perhaps, the zeal of some close advisors. We are convinced that you will quickly return to a democratic normality and you will understand that the role of a president is to be a mediator between the powers of the state and society. We trust, as you promised during the election campaign, that you will do so that the value of work will be respected and rewarded!,' the letter sent by the National Trade Union Bloc to president Nicusor Dan concludes. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Andreea Marinescu; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)