Romania
Romanian harvest workers in Germany strike for promised wages
By Marianne Arens, 26 May 2020
The workers ’ protests and a demonstration on May 18 shed further light on the unspeakable working conditions facing e astern European seasonal workers.
Romanian harvest worker in Germany dies of COVID-19
By Anna Rombach and Marianne Arens, 27 April 2020
The death of the 57-year-old Nicolae Bahan has cast a grim light on the terrible conditions confronting harvest workers coming from Eastern Europe to toil in Germany ’ s fields.
Pro- and anti-government rallies, street clashes mark political crisis in Romania
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 20 August 2018
The conflict between different factions of Romania’s ruling class is increasingly taking place outside the traditional channels of bourgeois democracy.
Romanian prime minister resigns amid rising social tensions
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 17 January 2018
There is an increasing mood of militancy among Romanian workers, with autoworkers at Ford locked in a struggle against management, the union and the government.
German Ford workers express solidarity with their Romanian co-workers
By Marianne Arens, 12 January 2018
The comments of German Ford workers make clear that a growing number of autoworkers understand the necessity of uniting internationally to combat the global corporations.
Romanian Ford workers defiant as company seeks to impose blackmail contract
By Jerry White and Eric London, 4 January 2018
Workers returned from their holiday break in a rebellious mood with sporadic work stoppages and a growing determination for collective resistance.
US Ford worker supports autoworker strike in Romania: “They need to hook up with us”
By Tim Rivers, 29 December 2017
The worker welcomed the rebellion against the Romanian union bureaucrats, stating, “I am sure that up and down the line, the whole union chain of command was bought and paid for.”
Romanian Ford workers must make international appeal!
World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter, 29 December 2017
The success of the Craiova workers’ struggle will be determined by their ability to retain their independence from the trade unions and the bourgeois parties, and by their ability to break the isolation of their strike and link up with their fellow Ford workers internationally.
Romanian Ford worker speaks to WSWS about wildcat strike at Craiova plant
By Eric London, 27 December 2017
“We have a corrupt union that works for the company.”
Wildcat strike stops production as workers eject union leaders at Ford Romania
By Eric London, 23 December 2017
The spontaneous walkout took place the day after Ford and the union agreed to a sellout contract with similar terms as those imposed on workers in the US and Canada.
Protests continue against corruption in Romania
By Peter Schwarz, 4 February 2017
Behind the protests lies a power struggle within the ruling elite that has been raging for years over foreign policy orientation and the allocation of plum positions.
Social Democratic Party wins Romanian elections
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 16 December 2016
The vote represented broad rejection of the technocratic government headed by former EU Commissioner Dacian Ciolos.
Making the case for war in Eastern Europe
Robert D. Kaplan’s In Europe’s Shadow
By Clara Weiss, 26 October 2016
The latest book by Robert D. Kaplan advocates transforming Romania into a military staging ground for US imperialism and preparing for all-out war against Russia.
NATO build-up in Romania and Moldova directed against Russia
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 17 May 2016
The recent activation in Romania of the first land-based element of the NATO missile defense system has provoked a harsh reaction from Moscow.
Pro-EU technocratic government installed in Romania
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 17 November 2015
Romania’s Social Democratic Prime Minister Victor Ponta resigned on November 4, following right-wing demonstrations against his government.
German, Romanian officials plan further escalation against Russia
By Markus Salzmann, 5 March 2015
In a visit to Berlin, the Romanian president demanded a stronger NATO presence in Romania and the entire Black Sea region in response to the Ukraine crisis.
Romania joins imperialist war drive against Russia
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 11 October 2014
The imperialist drive to the east poses big dangers for the working class of Moldova and Romania.
Romanian teachers protest austerity policies
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 12 November 2013
WSWS reporters spoke to education workers at a November 6 protest against austerity in the Romanian capital of Bucharest.
Romanian trade unions support destruction of health care
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 1 November 2013
The union bureaucracy, non-governmental organizations and pseudo-left parties are supporting reactionary plans to privatize and rip up health care in Romania.
Romanian government and unions carve up the health system
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 23 October 2013
Romanian unions are playing a key role in dismantling the public health system in Romania.
Eastern European migrant workers face slave labour in Germany
By Anna Rombach, 30 August 2013
Many workers from Bulgaria and Romania seeking work in Germany as a result of the austerity measures of the EU are denied minimal social rights.
Police detain students, teachers suspected of cheating in Romanian school
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 1 August 2013
Police held students and teachers at Dimitrie Bolintineanu High School in Bucharest during the national baccalaureate exams and detained them on suspicion of cheating.
Romanian pseudo-lefts praise Hungary’s right-wing government
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 10 May 2013
At a recent conference in Romania, pseudo-left forces praised the right-wing Hungarian government led by Victor Orban.
Romanian auto workers face wage cuts and layoffs
By Markus Salzmann, 16 February 2013
Major auto companies have moved their production to Eastern Europe in order to profit from low wages and poor working conditions.
Social Democratic-led alliance wins Romanian election
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 13 December 2012
With 58.6 percent of the votes in the Chamber of Deputies and 60.1 percent in the Senate, Romania’s Social Liberal Union will enjoy a comfortable majority to form the new government.
IMF steps up pressure on Romanian government prior to election
By Diana Toma and Markus Salzmann, 23 November 2012
In their latest report the International Monetary Fund and European Union call upon the Romanian government to continue its brutal “structural reforms.”
Romania: 3,500 jobs threatened at Oltchim chemical plant
By our correspondents, 25 October 2012
The situation of 3,500 workers at Romania’s Oltchim chemical works remains uncertain following the failure of the Social Democratic government led by Victor Ponta to reopen the plant and provide funds for unpaid salaries.
Romanian workers protest privatization, demand resignation of union leaders
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 20 September 2012
Hundreds of workers have protested in Romania this month against the government’s plans to privatize state-owned companies as part of a deal agreed with the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission.
Discrimination of Roma in Europe intensifies
By Diana Toma, 18 September 2012
In Romania itself and throughout Europe, Roma confront increasing discrimination.
Referendum fails to oust Romanian president
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 7 August 2012
The number of voters in the referendum fell short of the 50 percent+1 required for the referendum to be considered valid.
Mass opposition to austerity deepens power struggle in Romanian ruling elite
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 25 July 2012
The Romanian ruling class faces a fierce political crisis, after mass protests at the start of the year brought down the conservative government of Emil Boc.
Romanian elite erupts in sordid infighting
By Andrei Tudora and Tina Zamfir, 14 July 2012
The Romanian ruling elite is struggling to form a stable government that can impose the austerity measures dictated by the IMF and the European Union.
Former Romanian PM suffers gunshot wound hours after prison sentencing
By Diana Toma and Markus Salzmann, 29 June 2012
The jail sentence of former premier Adrian Nastase on charges of corruption must be considered in relation to the ongoing political crisis in Romania.
The appalling situation of Romania’s institutionalized children: From Ceausescu to today
By Diana Toma, 23 May 2012
Cases in Romania of the inhumane treatment of children left abandoned in hospitals or simply thrown in the trash by their own parents are becoming increasingly frequent.
Death toll rises to 600 in European cold snap
By Markus Salzmann, 14 February 2012
The spate of cold weather that has lasted for weeks in many parts of Europe has now claimed at least 600 lives.
Mass protests bring down Romanian government
By Peter Schwarz, 7 February 2012
The Romanian government resigned on Monday following weeks of protests against its austerity measures.
Protests in Romania enter their second week
By a correspondent in Bucharest, 23 January 2012
As protests in Romania enter their second week, workers are facing increased pressure and threats from the ruling elite.
Demonstrations spread in Romania against austerity policies
By Diana Toma and Stefan Steinberg, 18 January 2012
Last weekend Romania witnessed some of the biggest and most violent confrontations between demonstrators and the state since the overthrow of the country’s Stalinist regime over two decades ago.
Romanian unemployment climbs as companies move abroad
By Diana Toma, 6 January 2012
Unemployment is rising in Romania following the decision by a number of major companies to shift their operations abroad.
CIA prison exposed in Romania
By Sybille Fuchs, 12 December 2011
German journalists have uncovered the location of one of the notorious “black site” torture prisons run in Europe by the CIA.
900 miners sacked in Romania
By Diana Toma, 15 November 2011
The sacking of 900 miners in Romania is the beginning of a new offensive by the right-wing government led Premier Emil Boc.
Romania: Nokia trade unions in the pocket of management
By Diana Toma, 20 October 2011
While the rights of workers are ignored, the contract agreed by Romanian trade unions provides considerable favors for the union bureaucracy.
Romania: Closure of Nokia plant leaves 2,200 jobless
By Diana Toma and Markus Salzmann, 7 October 2011
Nokia, which closed down a plant in Bochum, Germany, in 2008 and switched production to a Romanian location, has just announced it is closing the Romanian factory.
The interests behind Romania’s Roşia Montana project
By Diana Toma and Marc Wells, 16 September 2011
The Roşia Montana gold mining project marks a new stage in the process of privatization of a substantial economic sector, which subordinates workers and the environment to harsher conditions of exploitation.
The plight of the Roma in Romania
By Diana Toma, 15 June 2011
Especially hard hit in Romania is the Roma minority, which already faces discriminatory treatment and suffers from extreme poverty.
Border scandal exposes Romanian union corruption
By Diana Toma, 20 May 2011
A series of scandals in Romania have revealed the union leaders’ immense wealth and their connections to the ruling class.
The consequences of privatization for the Romanian working class
By Diana Toma, 11 March 2011
During the past 20 years almost all major industries in Romania, including factories, research centers and coalmines, have been closed down.
Man attempts suicide in Romanian parliament
By Diana Toma, 10 January 2011
On December 23, a session of the Romanian parliament was forced to recess when a 40-year-old man tried to commit suicide by jumping from the balcony.
Romania 2010: A year filled with social unrest and unprecedented cuts
By Diana Toma, 23 December 2010
The year 2010 was marked by social unrest, protests and demonstrations against the Romanian government of Emil Boc and its “laws of misery”.
Strikes erupt over public worker pay cut in Romania
15 October 2010
A spontaneous strike by employees of the finance ministry has turned into a major crisis for the government.
Thousands demonstrate in Bucharest against social cuts
By Diana Toma and Markus Salzmann, 25 September 2010
Over 10,000 demonstrators took to the streets of the capital Bucharest on Wednesday to protest against the Romanian government’s austerity policies.
Austerity measures intensify social crisis in Romania
By Diana Toma, 17 August 2010
The latest austerity measures introduced by the Romanian government will invariably intensify the social crisis in a country already ranked as one of the poorest in Europe.
IMF, European Union increase pressure on Romania
By Andrei Tudora, 11 August 2010
International financial circles are demanding that the Romanian government of Emil Boc prosecute deeper attacks on the working class, in the form of austerity measures.
Romania’s health service on brink of collapse
By Diana Toma, 18 June 2010
Cuts prepared by Prime Minister Emil Boc and the IMF will have a disastrous impact on Romania’s already devastated health care system.
Public sector strike against austerity in Romania
By our correspondents, 9 June 2010
A strike of public sector workers in Romania took place on 31 May to protest the government’s IMF-imposed austerity program.
40,000 rally against government austerity programme
Largest protest in Romania in 20 years
By our correspondent, 1 June 2010
On May 19, some 40,000 workers took to the street in Victory Square, Bucharest, in the largest demonstration in Romania since the downfall of the Stalinist regime in 1989.
IMF dictates shock program to Romania
By Andrei Tudora, 18 May 2010
The scale of the new IMF dictated attacks to be imposed on Romania is unprecedented even by the country’s past standards.
Protests grow in Romania
By Diana Toma, 8 May 2010
The austerity program agreed by the Romanian government led by Prime Minister Emil Boc is meeting with increasing resistance on the part of the Romanian people.
IMF head dictates terms to Romania
By Andrei Tudora, 13 April 2010
During his recent visit to Romania the director of the IMF stressed the importance of austerity programs and urged the political establishment to take responsibility for such programs, despite public opposition.
Romania: Education system on the verge of collapse
By Diana Toma, 25 January 2010
The introduction of free-market relations into the states of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe 20 years ago has led to an unparalleled social and cultural decline.
New Romanian government prepares massive social attacks
By Diana Toma and Markus Salzmann, 13 January 2010
Romania’s newly elected government, led by the right-wing Democratic Liberal Party, has made clear that it intends to fulfill the demands laid down by the International Monetary Fund, European Union and national big business interests.
Romania: Twenty years after the overthrow of Ceausescu
By Diana Toma and Markus Salzmann, 24 December 2009
In Romania, the character of the transformation that occurred in Eastern Europe 20 years ago was more transparent than elsewhere. The Stalinist elite exploited the protests by the population to secure its power and privileges on a capitalist basis.
Election result intensifies Romania’s domestic crisis
By Markus Salzmann, 12 December 2009
The very narrow victory for the current office holder, Traian Basescu, in the second round of the presidential elections in Romania will only deepen the country’s two-month-long government crisis.
Abstention and fraud mark first round of Romanian elections
By Diana Toma and Markus Salzmann, 28 November 2009
The presidential elections which took place last Sunday in Romania reveal that 20 years after the fall of the despised Stalinist Ceauşescu regime the country is far removed from any sort of stability or genuine democracy.
Romania: Presidential elections at a time of crisis
By Diana Toma and Markus Salzmann, 19 November 2009
The ongoing political crisis in Romania has reached a new high point just days before the presidential elections scheduled for November 22. What is taking place is a bitter struggle between rival cliques within the ruling elite over power, influence and money.
Romania: Boc government resigns after no-confidence vote
By Marcus Salzmann, 27 October 2009
Five weeks prior to scheduled presidential elections, the Romanian government led by the Democratic Liberal Party prime minister, Emil Boc, has collapsed following a vote of no-confidence in parliament.
Romania: General strike intensifies political crisis
By Markus Salzman, 12 October 2009
The Romanian government has collapsed as strikes and protests expand.
Balkan governments introduce harsh austerity measures
By Markus Salzmann, 19 August 2009
Irrespective of the political composition of the various Balkan state governments, they are uniformly reacting to the economic crisis by shifting the entire burden onto the backs of the broad masses of the population.
Romanian government agrees to drastic austerity package
By Markus Salzmann, 14 February 2009
Romania’s grand coalition government is determined to shift the burden of the economic crisis onto the backs of the country’s working people through harsh austerity measures.
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