The trap in the employment contract that many Romanians fall into. Consultant Doru Şupeala analyzes the wave of layoffs
The increasingly frequent layoffs in the economy are no longer just a signal of crisis, but also a mirror of the vulnerabilities on the labor market in Romania. In an interview with “Adevărul”, consultant Doru Șupeăla explains why professional security no longer depends on a single job, how employees make mistakes from the moment of employment and why the lack of contractual education, functional unions and a national economic strategy leaves many without real protection in the face of redundancies.
Occupational safety no longer depends on a single job. Freepik photo
The truth: Lately we see more and more layoffsnot just in IT. What is happening in the job market and how should people prepare?
Doru Supeala: We are in a difficult situation. The problem starts at the time of hiring, when there are a lot of documents in one place and most of us don't read them.
Most people accept job offers or applications without checking the seriousness, credibility, honesty of some employers. And when they end up in situations of being kicked out, they wonder what happened to them.
So, first of all, let's not hire employers who we know have had problems before, who have abused their employees, who have committed illegalities, who have used the law to the limit or overreached.
Because if you go to a company with a toxic culture that sees you strictly as a human resource, not as a value you can bring to the company, you will suffer. And at some point, when it has the interest, the company will make decisions that can directly affect you.
Most of us don't read the employment contract. They have no idea what rights they have and what duties they have. And especially I don't know what happens to them when the company makes layoffs.
Beyond the individual employment contract, most people in Romania have no idea what is written in the collective employment contract, where it exists. Companies with more than 50 employees, as far as I know, must have a collective labor agreement.
We should be interested in what is written in the collective labor agreement, what we get if the company decides to throw people out, to restrict its activity.
Let's find out who the employee representatives are and how they were elected. Let's go talk to them and ask them what the collective agreement says and what we can negotiate to protect ourselves.
Should employees also be wary of unions?
Of course, when we go somewhere as employees, the ideal would be to choose an employer that also has a union. Because the union is not a communist or socialist thing or with other derogatory attributes. The union, when it is made professional and there are professional unions in Romania, has the essential role of protecting people's interests, especially in difficult situations, but not only.
The union also negotiates bonuses when the company achieves good results, that is to receive some bonuses, to share the profit with you. And of course, the union can negotiate a collective bargaining agreement and represent your interests when companies fall on hard times.
For example, the union may require that if there are two people from the same family, they will not both be fired. It can impose protective measures for those in difficult medical situations, for the elderly or for those at the beginning of their careers who need material resources. There are many things the union can do.
Unfortunately, people in Romania are waiting for something to be done to them, for someone to do them good, for the state to help them. No one does anything ex officio, we have to do it.
So is it important for people to negotiate their contracts?
That's a problem, because we don't know how to handle ourselves, how to read our contracts, how to negotiate our rights correctly. Most people sign the contract on the fly because they are told it is a standard one. It is not true. No employment contract is standard.
The employment contract is the expression of the will of both parties. That you want certain provisions to be included in your employment contract, for example you don't accept 20 days of leave and you want 26 days, all this is required during the negotiation. These are general principles that people should know and always keep in mind.
Coming back to the individual situation: the golden rule is that you will not be fired if you are absolutely necessary to that employer. That is, if the value you offer is significant for that employer.
Do you mean experience?
It's not necessarily experience. It is the actual contribution you have. There are people who do not have a lot of experience, but who are essential to an employer in a certain context.
For example, a very skilled driver, whom you really need because he can manage and knows two or three foreign languages. It's not just experience, it's a dynamic part. It is very flexible.
So, in principle, you have to be very careful that your value-added proposition, the sum of the things you bring to the collaboration with the employer, is very valuable. More valuable than others.
This does not mean that you have to sabotage your colleagues, but on the contrary, you have to be the best collaborator. You must be seen by your colleagues as a very valuable person, to whom they come and ask: “How are we doing here?”, “How do you approach this situation?”. Or even be the one who, informally, ensures the leadership of the team: mitigates conflicts, communicates a lot, takes care of people.
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In healthy companies, the people who bring team cohesion are essential and sometimes more valuable than technical experts who lack collaboration. You have to deal, depending on your profession and the field in which you work, to be among the most valuable, if not the most valuable employee for that employer.
You certainly won't be the one eliminated, unless the company completely shuts down or your area of expertise disappears.
In case of layoffs, what can employees do?
I recommend to anyone, when they hear that the company is in trouble, to always have a few escape options, a few alternatives. This means: maybe you have an extra-professional occupation that can bring you an income for a while. Maybe you have the ability to do other activities from which you can earn.
Maybe it's good to be in constant discussions with one or two potential employers, not necessarily to accept their offers, but to have connections in the field. Let people know you, confirm that you can be a valuable asset and have a “safe exit” if difficulties arise.
You must not have any faith in state institutions and their intervention. Do not wait for the intervention of the territorial labor inspectorates, which are absolutely non-functional institutions, ticked and generally politically controlled by people who use them for personal interest.
We have seen numerous cases where ITM bosses have protected abusive employers and ignored signals from employees or unions, including for reasons of corruption.
The degree of trust in these institutions is very low because they do not work.
In the automotive industry, we see that Dacia has stopped its investments and there is a reorganization plan. What does that look like from your perspective?
There, at Dacia, there is a positive example, they have a staff reduction plan, but the company and the union negotiated a benefits package for those who leave, from an organization that is very generous. That is a positive example, that is an exception, not a rule.
We see that the IT industry is laying off massively, although it was one of the essential sources of income for the country's budget, and no one has any kind of plan for this industry. We are on our own.
The Romanian state does not work. People no longer trust any state institution because there is no longer professionalism, there are no standards, there are no guarantees, there is no trust that if you turn to a state institution, your problem will be solved.
Of course, there are exceptions, of course there are still very good quality people in the state institutions, but they are not at the decision-making buttons. They are pushed aside, and the decision belongs to absolutely incompetent and mostly corrupt people.
Returning to the middle-aged employees, to the “decrees”, who are approaching retirement. Many can be fired when they have little left in their careers. What advice would you give them?
These people, the “decreets”, people over 50-55 years old, grew up in an extremely competitive generation, where there were many in one place (at exams – n. ed.). We are used to prove, to make efforts to get a result, a reward. It's our mentality.
But we must understand that we are on our own. There is no national plan and, unfortunately, there is no favorable mentality for this generation at the level of employers either.
This is wrong and it is very bad. There is this preconception that people, after a certain age, become less flexible, less able to learn or less efficient. It is a cliché and a very wrong preconception.
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We must fight it, both in the area of opinion and in the area of leadership.
I urge any organization leader to discover the real value that a person over 50 can bring, primarily through mindset. It is a generation used to making efforts, making sacrifices, learning enormously.
These people entered the labor market when the regime changed in Romania and learned everything from scratch. The huge progress that Romania has made in 35 years is due to this generation.
We have moved from a rudimentary, analog economy to a competitive and sophisticated, highly digital economy. Not digital enough to be global leaders, but people of this generation, where they have had access to relevant professional experiences, are digital.
So we can't say that they don't adapt or that they don't learn. It is a generation that learns a lot and adapts easily, with little reluctance.
But there are many of us, and professional opportunities are increasingly limited. The economy is in recession in many sectors or restructuring in others. It profoundly changes the way of working and it is a great instability.
In general, hiring is done with people who are already inside the organizations, not specialists from outside.
That is why, not only for those over 50, but for all professionals in Romania, the solution is at the individual level.
We're on our own, unfortunately, and the only thing you can do to keep yourself safe is education: learn new things, discover areas in which you can become skilled, by learning from YouTube, from a craftsman you can stick with as an apprentice or helper, from friends in other fields.
Another solution is entrepreneurship: doing small but necessary things. You don't have to become an expert overnight, but you can start with a tradesman and learn.
Unfortunately, emigration remains a frequent solution in Romania. Many people, once laid off, choose to go to work abroad, because manual labor is still well paid in Europe. It's a short-term compromise that often becomes a long-term one.
