The Senate adopted, on Monday, in plenary session, two draft laws of the Government amending the current legislation on combating harassment and violence at work.
The first draft aims to amend the Labor Code, defining the concepts of violence and harassment in the field of employment relations.
According to the normative act, the scope of application of employee protection measures is extended to other spaces associated with the workplace: public and private spaces, when these constitute a workplace; places where the employee is paid, rests, eats or uses the sanitary facilities, washing facilities and changing rooms, made available by the employer; business trips, periods of training, education, events or social activities related to work; online communications related to work.
Another Government bill, amended by the Senate, supplements Law 108/1999 for the establishment and organization of the Labor Inspectorate.
"By way of exception, (...) in the event that acts of harassment are reported at the workplace, in order to carry out the necessary checks to ascertain the situation at the workplace of the person reporting that he or she is the victim of such acts, labor inspectors may notify the employer that they are carrying out the control, respecting the obligation to protect the identity of the person who filed the notification," reads the Senate amendment.
However, the legislative body rejected another Government bill amending Law 319/2006 on occupational safety and health. The draft law, with an organic character, received 66 votes "for", one "against" and 28 abstentions, missing only one vote to be adopted.
In the Government's form, the draft establishes that the employer has the obligation to take several measures to prevent violence and harassment in the workplace, and establishes contravention sanctions from 3,500 lei to 7,000 lei for violating these obligations. In the report of the Senate Labor Committee, the fine limits have been increased.
The three draft laws will be debated by the Chamber of Deputies, as the decision-making forum.
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