The decrees go on for 5-10 years in a pension that no one has to pay anymore due to the decrease in the active population, the exodus of the labor force and the birth desert, writes the director of Terapia Cluj, Dragoș Damian. The Antwerp declaration is an additional alarm signal.
Romania's construction sites are full of emigrants and Romanians who are over 55 years old. PHOTO: Inquam Photos
The director of the Terapia drug factory in Cluj, Dragoș Damian, invites us to observe the reality on construction sites, factories and Romanian farms – Romanian employees are over 50 years old.
“It's good that, at least in the election campaign, the candidates go out to the construction sites to see with their own eyes the progress of public projects funded in the vast majority by taxes and fees paid by the taxpayers. Soon, you will see, the candidates will go to processing factories and agricultural farms, preferably those where there are many employees instead. And there are some excellent pictures out there, helmets, vests, gowns, assembly lines, milking lines, etc. Romanian employees in processing factories, construction sites and agricultural farms belong to the vast majority of the Decree generation (those born between 1966 and 1989-nr) – Romania's Baby Boomers“, writes the director.
In contrast, very few of the younger generations of Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996 – no) and Zoomers (people born between 1997 and 2012 – no) choose physical work, says Damian.
He claims that many of them choose to be NEET (“Not in Education, Employment, or Training” – “Without education, employment or training”, is a person who is unemployed and does not receive education or training – ed.)
Damian claims that the disproportionate share of decrees in physical work in factories, construction and agriculture has extremely serious consequences:
1) The decrees go on for 5-10 years in a pension that no one has to pay anymore due to the decrease of the active population, the exodus of the labor force and the birth desert.
2) The arrival of hundreds of thousands of Asians to work in processing plants, on construction sites or on agricultural farms represents an unknown sea, with an evolution that is difficult to estimate in the next 10 years – including from a demographic point of view. In fact, it is difficult to estimate the impact of imported labor even in the immediate term, after Romania fully enters Schengen and the Arabs start construction at Neom.
3) And, last but not least, we say it, artificial intelligence, digitization, automation and technology will not be able to replace physical work completely and in any case in the next 10 years, when Romania has to build its infrastructure and in no case in the factories processing, construction sites and agricultural farms.“
Dragoș Damian, CEO Terapia. PHOTO: Personal archive
“Specialists in human resources, consulting, mindfulness are in abundance”
The native of Cluj claims that Romania needs workers in processing factories, construction sites and agricultural farms: “Human Resources professionals are plentiful. In consulting, in mindfulness, in legal advice, in compliance, in recruitment, in dismissal, in memorable experiences, in coaching, in training, in conversion, in remote work and close work, in intra and extra-salary benefits, in insurance of life – everyone is selling you something, and you, because you are in a panic and don't know or can't retain or attract employees, buy. But what we don't have are workers in processing plants, construction sites and agricultural farms“.
Dragoș Damian urges us to do the following exercise when we pass by a construction site: to look carefully at those working there. It is about people who are mostly over 50 years old. The same happens in processing plants and agricultural farms. “No one comes behind to take their place”he warns.
Damian claims that we cannot talk about sustainable economic growth in Romania without factories, construction sites and agricultural farms: “It is desirable that after the elections are over, future leaders of Romania will leave it softer with the pillar in the forums, conferences, debates and seminars about how we are going to do and direct in research and development, artificial intelligence, digitization, technology, automation and other such “priorities” and to accept that without the added value brought by processing factories, construction sites and agricultural farms, Romania has no chance for sustainable economic growth. Industrial policies and strategies on food, chemical, energy and defense and human resource development for these fields.“
The Antwerp Declaration
Dragoș Damian claims that these are the priorities also requested by the European industrialists who signed the Antwerp Declaration, which no one spoke about in Romania, except for Ștefan Vuza (businessman from Cluj with business in industry – no).
Antwerp (Belgium) hosted the European Industry Summit on February 20, 2024, held at BASF, the world's largest chemical company.
Industrialists from nearly 20 industrial sectors, representing 7.8 million workers in Europe, joined forces with European trade unions and European leaders to address pressing concerns about the critical situation European industry has found itself in.
The Antwerp Declaration is an urgent call for the revitalization of European industry, the consolidation of basic industrial sectors, ensuring their competitiveness and resilience in the context of geopolitical changes.
