Collective Layoffs at Mina Băița Amid Unpaid Wages Crisis

Mina Băița mine is facing a severe crisis, initiating collective layoffs for 56 employees, which represents over a third of its total staff. This decision comes amid a backdrop of significant financial distress, with some workers not having received their salaries for up to eight months. Negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement have also been stalled for over three years.

The Mina Băița Union has accused the company of choosing layoffs instead of engaging in social dialogue. They are calling for urgent intervention from authorities. According to the union, the 56 positions targeted for layoffs are part of the 151 existing roles at the mining operation. The timing of these layoffs is particularly sensitive, as the company is currently in insolvency, and the financial situation for employees has worsened considerably in recent months.

Union representatives highlight that workers who have continued to ensure essential operations and the safety of the mine are now facing job losses without receiving all their owed wages. Those on technical unemployment have accumulated approximately eight months of unpaid wages, while employees maintaining the mine's operations and safety are owed about three months. This uncertainty amplifies the precariousness for dozens of families dependent on the mine's activity.

The union argues that workers have borne the consequences of the company's financial difficulties without bearing responsibility for the situation leading to insolvency. They consider the dismissal of employees who have not been paid for months a major social issue for the local community, not merely an administrative restructuring measure. The lack of a valid collective bargaining agreement, which expired over three years ago, further exacerbates tensions, with negotiations for a new contract having officially begun in October 2025 but remaining unfinished.