The Employers' Association of Labour Importers (PIFM) has warned the authorities that the draft emergency ordinance targeting the registration and obligations of employers hiring workers from third countries, as well as the authorisation and operation of placement agencies mediating foreign labour on the Romanian labour market, introduces a set of restrictions that disproportionately affect small entrepreneurs and SMEs.
According to a PIFM press release, the Prime Minister's Chancellery organised, on Thursday and Friday at Victoria Palace of Government, a series of public debates on the draft government emergency ordinance concerning the registration and obligations of employers of foreign workers, as well as the authorisation and operation of placement agencies mediating external labour in Romania.
"During this session, the Employers' Association of Labour Importers (PIFM) presented the common position of its members, highlighting the main issues identified and offering the authorities concrete solutions to address them. PIFM appreciates the openness shown by the Romanian authorities towards dialogue with the business community and considers that this session represented an important step in clarifying the real impact of the draft normative act," the press release states.
Labour importers argue, first and foremost, that the provision regarding the actual responsibilities of recruitment agencies must be corrected, as the draft introduces, unjustifiably, an extended form of liability for placement agencies, effectively turning them into financially liable parties for actions attributable to third parties over whom they have no legal control.
Agencies are sanctioned for the conduct of foreign workers after employment, for violations committed by beneficiary employers, or even for administrative decisions of the Romanian state, such as visa refusals or the termination of residence rights, PIFM warns.
"This approach runs counter to the fundamental principle of Romanian law whereby liability is personal and proportionate to fault, forcing private intermediaries to bear legal and financial risks that far exceed their real role as mere providers of labour market mediation services," the employers' association says.
A serious concern expressed by PIFM members relates to the transfer of control and verification responsibilities from state institutions to private recruitment agencies. From the association's perspective, this measure must be removed, as agencies are contractual partners of employers, not control bodies. The checks and inspections provided for in the draft represent, in fact, an unjustified delegation of state authority to the private sector. Monitoring compliance with labour legislation and the legal regime applicable to foreigners is an exclusive responsibility of the competent institutions, such as the General Inspectorate for Immigration and the Labour Inspectorate, and cannot be transferred to economic operators, PIFM maintains.
Members of PIFM have also expressed reservations regarding the obligation imposed on recruitment agencies to carry out checks at workplaces and at the accommodation facilities of foreign workers. This creates conflicts of interest, exposes agencies to major legal and financial risks, and seriously affects their contractual relationship with employers.
During the debate, PIFM informed the authorities that the draft emergency ordinance introduces a cumulative set of restrictions that disproportionately affect small entrepreneurs and SMEs. Limiting the hiring of foreign workers based on CAEN codes, annual quotas, length of business activity and the shortage occupations list does not facilitate access to labour, but rather imposes additional constraints.
At the same time, the employers' association voiced concern over the requirement to provide a financial guarantee of EUR 200,000, which it considers excessive and almost impossible to sustain for most SMEs.
PIFM also drew the authorities' attention to the need to identify viable solutions and proposed alternative guarantee mechanisms aligned with practices in other economic sectors, such as the use of flexible financial instruments that would allow real access for small and medium-sized enterprises to the market.
"PIFM representatives underlined that they appreciate the authorities' willingness to analyse the proposals and consider it essential for the old and new legislation to operate in parallel during a transition period, so that the implementation of the new system does not generate administrative blockages or economic losses. The Employers' Association of Labour Importers reaffirms its readiness to continue dialogue with the relevant authorities and to contribute, through the expertise of its members, to building a balanced, functional and predictable legislative framework that protects both foreign workers and Romanian employers," the press release adds.
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