Large-scale strike at the Post Office in Sibiu. Employees demand higher wages. “No one believes me when I tell them what my salary is” (photo video)

The employees of the Romanian Post Office in Sibiu went on a general strike on Monday. Among the demanded demands are a significant increase in wages and to be respected by the management, in the context where the new uniforms they are about to receive are not suitable for the job of a postman.

On Monday, pensioners and Sibiu residents, who wanted to use the services of the Poșta Română branch in Sibiu, found the doors closed. More than 40 postmen and other employees at the branch on Mitropoliiei Street went on strike. The vice-president of the Free Union of Postmen in Romania, Vasile Herciu, claims that the employees can no longer continue their work under the current conditions, with salaries that slightly exceed the minimum for the economy.

“The general strike started, after months in which the general director did not pay attention to us. We are fed up. Most of us here have almost the minimum on the economy. About 60 percent have the minimum and the rest up to 80 percent we have 2,300 lei. Basically we are protesting for wages and working conditions. We cannot take vacations because there is no one to replace us,” said Vasile Herciu, postman and vice-president of the Free Union of Postmen in Romania.

Marius is one of the oldest employees of the branch in Sibiu. After 43 years of delivering pensions and letters to the people of Sibiu, he receives a salary of 2,200 lei. “After 43 years of work, having the minimum wage in the economy is very serious. It’s incredible. No one believes me when I tell them what my salary is. It’s a shame for those who lead us”, said Marius Muntean, a postman.

Another Sibiu postman, Mircea Stanciu, is outraged because it is impossible to take leave due to the high volume of work and because young people do not want to work for Romanian Post because of the very low salaries. “No young people are employed at the Post Office anymore because the salaries are very low. We have an age… If a colleague goes on leave, regularization is done immediately, but we can’t do it anymore. We put the disease in our bones for what? They prefer to bring in foreigners rather than give us a few salaries. If the Post Office had no money, we would understand, but the bosses get salaries like in the West, 10,000 euros and we, 200 euros. We can’t do this anymore. We carried the letters to the last, all the time”, Stanciu Mircea, postman.

Soon, Romanian Post employees will receive new uniforms with which they are totally dissatisfied. I maintain that they will look like garbage collectors, only that what will differentiate them is that the salaries of postmen are much lower. “We work almost every day of the year. In all seasons we work. We have the office in the open air. If it rains, if it snows, we’re on the road. This is our job. We need good clothes and light leather shoes. The salary is getting lower, but the norm is getting higher”, adds Mircea Stanciu.

The employees of the Romanian Post hope that measures will be taken as soon as possible because the people of Sibiu will be the most affected. Meanwhile, several elderly people read the poster announcing the strike at the post office on Mitropoliei and wonder when they will resume work to receive their pensions. If some pensioners are unhappy with the strike, others are showing their support for the strikers.