Following the closing of two Nokia factories in Germany which was widely covered in the media and brought harsh criticism, a new factory was built just 10 km away from the city of Cluj-Napoca (Klausenburg) Romania.

Employees there are paid a small monthly salary of around $350 USD. Now the workers demand a salary renegotiation and improvement of the work environment. A syndicate is being established to represent employees in the confrontation to come with Nokia officials.

“There is no syndicate at Nokia, only now we organize to choose our representatives” said a worker at Nokia factory Romania. The syndicate which was named Cartel Alfa will try to bring Nokia officials to the negotiating table. Workers feel they are underpaid and want a salary of around $900 USD, meaning a Nokia may have to triple their payments. In addition they want an equal treatment for Romanian and foreign workers.  

Today there are only 750 people working at the Nokia factory in Romania, but by 2009 at maximum capacity it will host a workforce of around 3500 employees. Workers manage to ensemble approximately 5 mobile phones per second.

Vlad Jecan
vladjecan@worldnews.com