LabMin Alexandru: We must check documents Romanian employers submit with IGI for work permits

We must check the contractual conditions stipulated in the documents that the Romanian employers submit with the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI), including in such cases when the work relations are cut off earlier, the Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Violeta Andrei, wrote on Facebook, on Monday.

"In the past couple of weeks, we have been dealing with a series of extreme situations that involved foreign citizens coming from the extra-community area and their Romanian employers. I am speaking now of citizens from Sri-Lanka, Vietnam, people who came to Romania to work and whose labour agreements were terminated earlier than initially established (which impacts the cost of their accommodation in Romania, if they decide to stay here until their work permits expires, and also on their repatriation transport, which was supposed to be paid by the employer, but not if the agreement is terminated earlier). These are agreements concluded during the pandemic, but similar situations happened before too. However, what is clear is that this is a new topic that we need to deal with and that nobody considered for years and years (....) In respect to the companies that worked as intermediaries for the people who wanted a job in Romania (contingents, as we call these workers from the extra-community area), nobody said a word. But things did change at the Ministry of Labour because we react when we receive such notifications," said Alexandru.

In this context, the Minister highlighted the solution proposed to the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI), which is the institution that keeps record of these persons on the Romanian territory and knows their situation at any time, as they are notified by the employers both when the workers are taken over and when their agreements terminate.

Thus, when the employers from Romania submit the documents with the IGI to obtain the work permits, the institution must verify the contractual conditions carefully, including in such situations where the work relations are cut off earlier.

The official said the pandemic was a tough time for all Romania, and also for the foreign citizens who do not speak Romanian.

"I understand this very well, but things must return to normal, in institutional terms, and we must be prepared for any situations that could come our way in the future. And not last, and I say this very clearly, not all citizens who work in Romania face such difficult situations, and I was even called by some who were concerned that the "trouble employee" label could generate problems for all. These are people who work peacefully but are afraid of a generalized rejection of all foreigners," said Alexandru.