The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) has published its assessment of the performance of the signatory countries of the European Social Charter relating to Labour Rights.
The European Social Charter is the Council of Europe’s fundamental treaty guaranteeing fundamental social and economic rights, complementing the European Convention on Human Rights, which deals with civil and political rights.
It guarantees a wide range of human rights related to employment, housing, health, education, social protection, and welfare.
The Charter focuses particularly on the protection of vulnerable persons, such as older persons, children, persons with disabilities, and migrants. It stipulates that the exercise of the above-mentioned rights must be guaranteed without discrimination.
The conclusions published by the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) focus on specific provisions relating to fair working conditions, safe and healthy working conditions, fair remuneration, the right to organize and collective bargaining, and equal opportunities for women and men in employment.
The document highlights shortcomings in the guarantee of labor rights in many European countries, according to a press release sent to CaleaEuropeană.ro.
In the framework of the reporting procedure, the ECSR adopted 213 conclusions: 42 conclusions of conformity with the Charter and 171 conclusions of non-conformity concerning: Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands in respect of Curaçao, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
“Despite some signs of progress, the Committee is very concerned by the long way to go in many states parties when it comes to guaranteeing key work-related rights protected by the European Social Charter. The Committee’s 2025 Conclusions make clear that significant ongoing challenges include excessive working hours, barriers to effective collective bargaining, inadequate safeguards for certain types of jobs (those in the gig or platform economy; telework; jobs requiring intense attention or high performance) and ongoing gender pay inequality”, underlined Aoife Nolan, President of the European Committee of Social Rights.
What are the conclusions for Romania?
The European Social Charter (revised) was ratified by Romania on May 7, 1999. The deadline for submitting the 23rd report on the application of this treaty to the Council of Europe was December 31, 2024, and Romania submitted it on January 29, 2025.
On July 9, 2025, a letter was sent to the Government requesting additional information on:
- Article 2 – Right to fair working conditions, Paragraph 1 – Reasonable working hours
- Article 3 – Right to safe and healthy working conditions (Paragraphs 1 and 2 – Safety and health regulations, Paragraph 3 – Enforcement of safety and health rules)
- Article 4 – Right to fair remuneration, Paragraph 3 – Non-discrimination between women and men in terms of remuneration
- Article 6 – Right to collective bargaining, Paragraph 2 – Bargaining procedures
The government submitted its response on August 29, 2025.
The chapter on Romania concerns 10 situations and contains:
A. Two conclusions of conformity:
- Article 2 – Right to fair working conditions, Paragraph 1 – Reasonable working hours
- Article 6 – Right to collective bargaining, Paragraph 1 – Joint consultation
B. Eight conclusions of non-conformity:
- Article 3, Paragraph 1. The Committee concludes that the situation in Romania is not in conformity with Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Charter, as no national policies have been established regarding psychosocial risks or new and emerging risks related to the following types of work: the gig economy or platform economy; jobs requiring intense attention or high performance; jobs involving stress or traumatic situations at work.
- Article 3, Paragraph 2. The Committee concludes that the situation in Romania is not in conformity with Article 3, Paragraph 2 of the Charter, on the grounds that: workers do not have the right to disconnect; it has not been established that self-employed workers are protected by occupational health and safety rules; it has not been established that domestic workers are protected by occupational health and safety rules.
- Article 3, Paragraph 3. In this regard, the European Committee of Social Rights notes that Romania has not demonstrated that it has taken measures to ensure the enforcement of health and safety regulations relating to the following categories of workers: domestic workers; workers on digital platforms; posted workers; subcontracted workers; self-employed workers.
- Article 4, Paragraph 3. The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) shows that Romania has not complied with this article because: the parameters for establishing equal value are not provided for in either legislation or case law; there are no gender-neutral job classification systems in the public or private sector; no measurable progress has been made in reducing the gender pay gap in the labor market.
- Article 5 – Right of organise. The Committee concludes that the situation in Romania is not in conformity with Article 5 of the Charter on the grounds that: it has not been established that measures have been taken to encourage or strengthen the positive freedom of association of workers, particularly in sectors that traditionally have a low rate of unionization or in new sectors; the requirement that a trade union, in order to be representative, must cover at least 35% of the total number of employees/workers in a legal employment relationship at the level of the unit is excessive; it has not been established that members of the armed forces are guaranteed the right to organize.
- Article 6, Paragraph 2. The Committee concludes that the situation in Romania is not in conformity with Article 6, paragraph 2, of the Charter, on the grounds of the suspension by decree of already negotiated collective agreements with workers of state-owned companies.
- Article 6, Paragraph 4. The European Committee of Social Rights points out the reasons for non-compliance: the police are denied the right to strike; members of the armed forces are denied the right to strike and it has not been established that there are other means by which members of the armed forces can effectively negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment, including remuneration.
- Article 20 – Right to equal opportunities and treatment in employment and occupation, without discrimination on grounds of sex. The employment rate among women remains low and no measurable progress has been made, no sufficient measurable progress has been made in promoting effective parity in decision-making positions, and no measurable progress has been made in promoting women’s representation on the boards of the largest publicly listed companies, according to the conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights.
The next report from Romania will be due on 21 December 2026.
What is the overall situation?
The European Committee of Social Rights has identified issues of non-compliance, in particular:
- Excessive Working Hours: In several states, some occupational sectors still allow weekly working times exceeding 60 hours, undermining the health and safety of workers.
- Inadequate Protection for Vulnerable category of workers: Many states have yet to extend adequate health and safety protections to vulnerable categories of workers such as: digital platform workers; teleworkers; posted workers; workers employed through subcontracting; self-employed workers; workers exposed to environmental-related risks such as climate change and pollution.
- Gender Pay Gap and Parity: The persistence of gender-based inequalities in remuneration and decision-making roles was observed in most States, with little measurable progress have been made in reducing the gender pay gap or increasing women’s representation on company boards.
- Barriers to Effective Collective Bargaining: Structural and legal obstacles continue to hinder collective bargaining coverage and the exercise of the right to strike in many states. Important obstacles include blanket prohibitions on civil servants, and more specifically on the police prison services employees, air traffic control and healthcare sector workers. .
- Failures to Address New and Emerging Risks: The lack of comprehensive responses to psychosocial and climate change-related risks in the workplace was observed in many States, particularly affecting vulnerable workers with insufficient legal protections in place, including for the right to disconnect.The ECSR encourages states parties to act promptly on recommendations, strengthen protections for all workers, and promote equality and collective rights as the bedrock of social justice and inclusion across Europe.
The legal assessments underline the crucial role of the European Social Charter as Europe’s safeguard for social rights and the ECSR’s role as the guardian of those rights.
