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International crisis gets closer

69 pc of Romanians are afraid that they might lose their jobs. They are scared that they might be replaced by foreigners, study shows.

An opinion poll made by NetJobs.ro reveals the Romanians' perception on their jobs and the effects of the international recession on their lives. Thus, although they were not affected by the global crisis initially, the Romanians started to doubt that they would escape it unaffected and 69.5 of them fear their jobs, Antena 3 TV informs, quoting a study issued by British Council and Romanian Immigrations Office.

The most afraid are young people aged from 18 to 25, but also persons working in agriculture, real estate, telecommunications, finances and public administration. At the opposite poll is the category aged 51-65, of whom 62 per cent do not expect such a possibility. IT specialists think they will survive the crisis easier, and only 33 per cent of them are worried.

Analyzing the statistics, one must conclude that the Romanians are afraid that they might lose their jobs to foreigners; a study issued by British Council and the Romanian Immigrations Office (ORI) shows.

When questioned on foreigners, Romanians initially answer, "They are coming to work here," that "they wish for a better life," and that "they are humans, just like us, with qualities and shortcomings." Only 1 per cent answered, "They are coming to take our jobs" and 0.9 per cent considered "They represent a burden for the state." Generally, Romanians have no opinion on the foreigners that moved here. More precisely, 47 per cent have a neutral opinion, 33.3 per cent have a good opinion and 9.9 per cent have a bad opinion. As for their contribution to the development of the country, half of them think that they have no effect, and 25 per cent think that Romanians have a good effect. Anyhow, the interviewees expressed their preferences regarding nationalities: South Americans are most enjoyed, as 53.4 Romanians like them. They are followed by Asians (51.4 per cent), Africans (49.4 per cent) and Arabs (46.4 per cent).

Crisis effects in the IT: delayed projects and companies available for merely EUR 1

The crisis deeply affects the Romanian IT and further complications were announced for the two years to come. Several projects were delayed, payments are postponed, several companies would gladly be purchased for EUR 1 and IT experts no longer have negotiating force at the moment of employment, the representatives of the Software and Services Industry Employers Association (ANIS) declared, as quoted by Hotnews.ro. The Romanian IT will no longer have the 25 per cent increases it registered throughout the previous years, but it will not decrease either. Its development, though, will be massively diminished, the representatives of ANIS said.

Some of the effects generated by the crisis are the delayed payments among companies, the renegotiated deadlines due either to the lack of cash, or to mere crisis claims by a few business owners. "We are entering a spiral and maybe in six months, all of us will be indebted to all of us," Radu Georgescu, President of GeCad and Vice-President of ANIS declared.

Nearly 500 Nitramonia Fagaras workers to be laid off

Nearly 500 employees of Nitramonia SRL, the former Nitramonia Fagaras in Brasov County, will be laid off at the beginning of 2009, plus another 6,000 from the Interagro Group, the leaders of the Nitramonia-Rompiro Free Trade Union informed yesterday.

‘Our biggest concern is about the loss of jobs on the Nitramonia Fagaras platform, as well as at the other fertilisers plants of the Interagro Group in the country. There are a total of 6,600 employees of this group who will be made redundant in 2009,' the leader of the Nitramonia-Rompiro Free Trade Union, Lucian Cupu, told a press conference on Tuesday, according to Mediafax.

About 500 of the 600 people now working on the former Nitramonia Fagaras platform will start receiving notice. In the first few months next year they will become technically unemployed and afterwards they will receive three salaries in compensation.

‘Gloomy times will come for us and for Fagaras City. After Viromet Victoria had taken over Nitramonia, EUR 30 M has been invested here and we were preparing to re-launch production. Now we are in the exact same situation as a year ago when the company was offered for privatisation,' Cupu added.

The rate of unemployment exceeded 4 pc

The rate of unemployment at national level reached 4.1 per cent during November, compared to 4 per cent in October, Agerpres informs, quoting data presented by the National Agency for Labour Force Employment (ANOFM).

Therefore, 376,000 unemployed persons, 180,000 of whom are women, are included in the records of the County agencies for labour force employment. Yet, the rate of unemployment decreased to November 2007 when it had reached 4.2 pc.

The highest rate of unemployment was registered in the Counties Mehedinti (8.7 per cent), Vaslui (8.4 per cent), Teleorman (7.8 per cent), Dolj (7.6 per cent), Dolj (7.6 per cent), Gorj (7.1 per cent), Covasna (6.4 per cent), Alba and Galati (6.2 per cent), Hunedoara (6.1 per cent). The counties that registered a rate of unemployment lower than the national average are Ilfov and Timis (1.4 per cent), Bucharest (1.7 per cent), Bistrita and Satu Mare (2.4 per cent), Constanta (2.6 per cent), Arad (2.7 per cent), Bihor and Cluj (2.8 per cent), Sibiu (3 per cent), Botosani (3.1 per cent), Tulcea (3.7 per cent), Prahova (3.8 per cent), Maramures and Neamt (3.9 per cent) and Vrancea (4 per cent). Of the total number of unemployed registered at national level, 118,713 are entitled to allowances and 258,258 are not.

COFACE: The crisis delays the payment of the debts

The last two months have brought an increasing number of signals of financial crisis in Romania. The lack of liquidity of the companies and the difficulty to access the banking credits have doubled in November the number of delayed payments by the companies, reads a press release of Coface Romania. The first signal of a relative financial blockage existed since June-July, when the process of collection of the overdue sums reported by the insured from Coface Romania portfolio was rather difficult, because of some problems of liquidity of the debtors and, also, of the difficulty to obtain funds from the banks.

Thus, around 60 per cent of these incidents come from the sector of constructions, sectors like the distribution of consumer goods or IT coming at a great distance. According to the data published by the Insolvents Bulletin, almost 2,000 new insolvency procedures were opened only in October and November. And this does not seem to stop here.

"We have not yet seen the bottom of the crisis, we are only at the beginning. 2009 will be a sacrificial year, in which all the sectors and companies will suffer. Able to resist will be the companies which will implement correctly restructuring and risk management programmes, and whose management will anticipate and counter the main dangers which will have an impact on the company in the next 12 months," said Cristian Ionescu, general manager Coface Romania. The same also foreshadowed the bankruptcies that will affect the economic environment in Romania in 2009.

Therefore, the National Confederation of the Romanian Employers' Associations - CNPR has launched publicly a firm appeal to the Government to adopt vital measures for the creation of minimum conditions to save some jobs in the industrial sector, Agerpres informs. CNPR requested it to issue an emergency ordinance through which the companies which decide to pay 75 per cent of the salary of the workers affected by the reduction or even interruption of the operations for up to six months, would be exempted from the payment of the taxes and dues owed by the employer and employee for the support allowances paid in that period.

 

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