A report published by the European Committee for Social Rights, for the year 2025, shows the problems and the lack of progress that Romania shows regarding the way in which the social rights of employees are respected.
The European Committee for Social Rights (ECSR) published, in January 2026, the report for the year 2025 on how Romania complies with European standards in the field of social and labor rights.
Deficiencies in labor law
The document concerns the application of the regulations of the European Social Charter (revised), a treaty of the Council of Europe, adopted in 1996, which guarantees fundamental economic and social human rights.
According to the analysis carried out during 2025, based on the official reports sent by the Romanian authorities and on additional information requested by the ECSR, the institution’s officials show that the Romanian state has not made significant progress in respecting the social rights guaranteed by the European Social Charter. Non-conformities were reported regarding working conditions, health and safety of employees, respect for workers’ rights, as well as equal opportunities and gender.
One of the report’s conclusions shows that the Romanian state has not demonstrated the existence of national policies regarding psychosocial risks for the following types of work: the gig economy (based on short contracts or one-off tasks) and the economy of digital platforms; jobs that require intense attention or high performance; as well as jobs associated with stress or traumatic situations.
The way of working overtime, complained by ECSR observers
Other non-conformities concern the right to safe and healthy working conditions.
ECSR investigated whether employers provide mechanisms to limit or discourage working outside normal working hours, including the right to disconnect, but also how the right of workers not to be penalized or discriminated against for refusing to perform work outside normal working hours is guaranteed.
“Based on the report, it appears that Romania does not have regulations regarding the right to disconnect. However, the Labor Code provides for strict rules regarding working time, including overtime and rest periods,” the report shows.
The authors also note that self-employed workers and domestic workers have not been shown to be protected by occupational safety and health regulations.
Unions, weakened by legal provisions
The authors of the report show that the Romanian state has not demonstrated that measures have been adopted to encourage or strengthen the positive freedom of association of workers, especially in sectors that traditionally have a low degree of unionization or in new sectors.
“The requirement that a union, to be representative, cover at least 35 percent of the total number of employees or workers in a legal employment relationship at the unit level is excessive,” it is also shown in the report.
Romania also registers deficiencies in respect of the right to collective bargaining.
“The committee concludes that the situation in Romania does not comply with the regulations of the Charter, due to the suspension, by decree, of some collective labor contracts already negotiated with the employees of state companies”the document states.
Non-conformities related to the right to collective action are also reported. “Policemen are denied the right to strike, and members of the armed forces are denied the right to strike, without any other effective mechanisms being demonstrated through which they can negotiate working and employment conditions, including pay. It has also not been demonstrated that members of the armed forces are guaranteed the right to organize.”ECSR shows.
Romania, criticized for the low employment rate of women
The Romanian state also registers deficiencies regarding the right to equal opportunities and treatment in employment and occupation, without discrimination based on gender.
“The employment rate of women remains low, measurable progress in promoting effective parity in decision-making positions is insufficient, and there has been no progress in the representation of women on the boards of the largest listed companies,” the report concludes.
The right to fair working conditions and the right to joint consultation are the only chapters where Romania respects the provisions of the European Social Charter.
Another chapter in which Romania registers non-conformities concerns the non-discrimination between women and men in terms of remuneration.
“The parameters for establishing the equal value of work are not defined either in legislation or in jurisprudence, gender-neutral job classification systems are not implemented in either the public or private sector, and the existence of measurable progress in reducing the wage gap between women and men in the labor market has not been demonstrated”, show the conclusions of the report.
