Day workers’ law adopted by Chamber of Deputies

The day workers’ law, adopted on Tuesday by the Chamber of Deputies, can be challenged in the next five days, after which the document will reach the President for promulgation.

The Government insisted the regulations should be urgently discussed by congressmen, as they consider them important tools in fighting undeclared work, whose proportions is determined by the Minister of Labour to about 1.5 million people.

Besides, Minister Ioan Botiş stated that the day workers’ law will reveal up to 200,000 work places. Payment by day will be taxed 16 percent, which would be transferred to the state in the following month by the employer, in this case named the beneficiary.

He is also the one who has to keep a record of day workers where working days and signature when receiving the money should appear, according to Kerekes Karoly, Secretary of the Labour and Social Protection Commission at the Chamber of Deputies.

"The beneficiary – the legal person, has a register, authorized by the regional labour inspectors, where he will record all the personal data of the day worker, the type of work done, how many hours he has worked and the wage for the day", stated Kerekes Karoly.

The beneficiary will pay at the end of the day, and the confirmation from the day worker will be made through his signature.

If they want to, day workers can willingly get health insurance at health insurance houses or pensions.

The law provides from 2 lei to 10 lei per hour, but Kerekes Karoly stated that "the Ministry wanted us to implement this, but does not exclude the fact that we would change the law".

The day workers law will only be applied in a few areas: agriculture, fishing, horticulture, or animal husbandry and household activities, namely maintenance and cleaning.

At the same time, one cannot be employed as a day worker for more than 90 days a year.

Translated by: Manuela Stancu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University