Can foreign workers fix Romania's labor shortage? | Focus on Europe

Romania desperately needs skilled workers, whether in the service sector, construction or care industry. Since Romania joined the EU in 2007, hundreds of thousands have left the country. Businesses are looking to Asia to fill the gap.

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[GarbyIGP]

As a Romanian, I can answer the question very easily. The owners of these hotels pay next to nothing, that's why they can't attract Romanian workers. Because the workers are not treated fairly, they get cheated with money, underpaid, and overworked, while the owner practices higher rates for rooms and food than in Spain or France. This is nothing new, the owners were exploiting employees in this industry for tens of years, the only difference is that the Romanian employees finally woke up and saw that there are better opportunities for them than being slaves to a hotel owner in Constanta.

[TheEndofZombieShakespeare]

"I don't know what would convince a Romanian worker in France to come back."

More money.

[iftwjir]

I'm really happy that Romanians are stepping up and saying no to underpaid jobs. Romania is a part of the Eu, with a cost of living similar to Western countries. As of that, Romanians should ask for a payment that allows living", not just existing.

[ursucodrutza]

As a Romanian, I feel sick to see these business owners saying that Romanians don't want to work for them and see that they bring foreigners on a low salary and take advantage of them. It breaks my heart and angers me so much to hear that as a foreigner, he is forced to stay with so many other people in the same room. If I were in their place, I would use Romania as a bridge to get something better, never settle for less, guys!

[Rasytojas]

We have same problem in Lithuania - no one wants to do summer job for 800€ when they can earn 3000€ in Denmark. Also we see employers driving Porsche and their daughters Range Rovers. Work for 800€? Thanks, no!

[ifrimvictor]

those seaside hotel owners are notoriously underpay their employees and make them work long hours. nobody in his right mind would want to work for them

[constantin]

I am from Romania. I worked 12 years in construction and other areas. My payment was about 500€ while Polish people 1200€, Norway workers 2300€ for the same job. Even from India, Africa got 600€, and hotel accommodations, 3 meals a day free transport etc. For Romanian 500€ and nothing more. I left the country in 2016 and I don't plan to return.

[Mark-morv]

Treat your employees fairly and they will love and loyal to you. A business will not grow without employees.

[pychonaut]

Big hug to Romania from Poland. Gotta visit you one day.

[ares]

Can't believe I would ever see the day when Romania needs more workers.

[MariaBelenSeyssInquart]

NO NO, don´t bring foreign workers unless they are other Pure Europeans. That is how it started in France "we need more workers, France is growing". NO NO. Only from your own culture: other Pure Europeans, like Polish, Hungarians, Greek, etc etc. I am from Argentina, and we have followed the same policies and we are an example of a United country with One culture.

[Jorjgasm]

When they say foreign workers, they mean Africans and poor Asians. But there are plenty of workers... in the EU. This is not a labor issue, it is a wage issue. Romania is part of a labor market of 450 million people, and it also has Ukraine, the Western Balkans and the R of Moldova nearby. The problem is that labor importers are catering to people who can't or won't pay the required wages to clear the market and get labor. Example: I live in Bucharest. The tourist trap restaurants in the center have more and more Sri Lankan and other staff, but my perfectly adequate neighborhood restaurants near the center have Romanian staff who are just as competent. How can a hugely busy and profitable restaurant not find workers but my more affordable neighborhood one can and why doesn't that restaurant steal the workers from this one, by offering the higher wages it can definitely afford? The answer is cost minimization and the government aids them in this. It is all a con. And it is not just the hospitality industry. All areas complaining of lack of workers are suffering from low capital investment into automation, from low efficiency or from deceptive cost minimization presented as labor shortage. I don't fault these companies, but I fault the government for not following the interest of Romanian workers, who need labor scarcity to increase their bargaining power and capital investment to increase productivity.

[llamaboss]

Drive down wages forever until the world is reduced to poverty.

[bruceleez]

There is no labor shortage anywhere. There is a shortage of decent business owners that got this wild idea of capitalism and greed grandfathered in there heads. Look at the wealth gap not in the rich and poor, but the ladder of earned wages from top to bottom. It's astounding..

[alexandruirimescu]

Hello!
I am a Romanian living and working in Romania for an American company.
The are a few issues with the average romanian employers:
- they lack of entreprenurial education and culture;
- they have no respect for honest work and honest workers; they usually behave like medieval landowners, entitled to decide life and death;
- they always thinks that employees earn much more than they deserve; in their mind, five hundred euros a month is enough to have a decent living...
From my experience, a salary of at least a thousand euros a month could be enough to have a decent life in Romania, IF you have a smaller rent (let's say 150 euros per month), you don't smoke or you don't generally indulge in any unreasonable spending, and you don't need to go on vacation.
Those poor fellars from Nepal are more than happy to work their a** off for five hundred euros a month. I use to be like that twenty years ago. But now I can't. I am married, I have rent to pay and generally more obligations that require a bigger salary.
So, if the romanian employers want romanian employees to work for them, they should start to pump more money in the salary department.

[RobinTorrekensTravelVlog]

Romania is a wonderful country. As a Belgian citizen I visited it for the first time in 1997. A lot has changed since the '90 and for the better. Also the average salaries have gone up but not at the same rate as the living costs and not like in other eastern European countries. I do not understand why. It is simple, make the salaries at the same rate versus the living cost like it is in other European countries and people will not move around in Europe that much anymore because why should they? This change is long overdue and the discrepancies should be fix as soon as possible.

[XYZ-pztf]

Unfortunately, they did not ask Nicolai what the prices were at his hotel. I can guarantee you that they are the same and maybe even higher than in western countries, but the salaries are 3-4 times lower.

[Habits]

500 euro for 7day shift😅... And that old guy doesn't know why he cand find workers? Ridiculous

[dvsls]

there no labor shortage in Romania, there's an acute living wage shortage here.
paying 500 euros when the minumum rent is probably 3-350€ is not desirable, you'll be eating scraps using the small amount left after paying your bills.
the hotel owner in this video is already complaining and finding reasons why immigrants are already bad, not prepared and probably planning in his head how reduce the amount paid or extend their work hours, absolutely gutted by his attitude.

[antalito]

We recently visited Bucharest and this was very noticeable, you see a lot of workers from Asia doing the deliveries or cleaning the rooms of apartments.