Dacia Workers in Romania Accept 6% Pay Rise After Strike
After weeks of industrial action and threatened production moves, Dacia and its Mioveni plant workforce have agreed a pay deal including a 6% salary increase and a higher bonus.
Dacia has reached a pay agreement with workers at its Mioveni plant in Romania, ending a period of strikes and tense negotiations that threatened to disrupt the company’s largest production site. The deal, announced on 16 April 2013, brings a 6% salary increase from May and a €384 bonus for last year’s performance.
The settlement follows 14 rounds of negotiation between Dacia management and union representatives. Workers had initially demanded a €109 monthly pay rise and a €363 bonus, but accepted the company’s offer after management warned that ongoing disputes could see production moved to Morocco, where labour costs are substantially lower.
Industrial action escalated in March, when workers staged a two-day strike to press for a 40% pay increase. Dacia, Romania’s largest exporter, estimated the stoppage cost the company €20 million in lost output. The settlement’s 6% increase falls well short of the original union demand, but the bonus was raised above initial management proposals.
Production threat and wider impact
Dacia’s management made it clear that continued industrial unrest could have serious consequences for the plant’s future. The company highlighted that Moroccan employees earn just over half the salary of their Romanian counterparts, making a shift in production economically attractive if wage demands were not contained.
The agreement secures jobs at the Mioveni facility for now, but the dispute highlighted the pressure on Romanian manufacturing as Dacia expands production capacity in lower-cost countries. The threat to move output to Morocco was not idle: Dacia’s Tangier plant has grown rapidly and is already producing models for export.
What the deal means for Dacia and its workers
For Dacia’s workforce, the outcome is a compromise. The 6% pay rise is less than originally demanded, and there was no extension of the annual holiday period. However, the increased bonus and the avoidance of further production threats provide short-term stability. For Dacia, the deal restores output at a plant that has recently celebrated production milestones, including the 400,000th Duster and 100,000th 0.9 TCe engine.
Dacia’s management will be watching future wage negotiations closely as the company balances cost pressures with the need to keep its Romanian plant competitive against newer facilities abroad. The Mioveni agreement may set a precedent for other manufacturing sites in the region facing similar demands from their workforce.
