More than 400 former employees of a shoe factory in Szászrégen (Reghin) managed to prove in court that they were forced to work in a toxic environment. The former employees claim that although none of them were smokers, many retired with asthma because they worked every day under poor conditions. The lawsuits of another 600 former employees are still in process, Romanian news portal ziare.com reports.
Viorica Grama, a former employee of the shoe factory, started the legal procedure in 2016 after she established an association for her former colleagues. She decided to take action after the precedent created in the case of the Clujana factory in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca).
“The shoe factory did not allow the expert committee to enter. It was a five-year-long lawsuit, but we won in the end. We managed for the court to recognize that we have worked in a toxic environment, despite this being a light industry. Through the court decision, our pensions will increase by 50 to 380 lei (10 to 75 euro). We have also achieved that the working years for those in work group II will be recalculated [work groups I and II include jobs with special working conditions – ed. note] and added to their initial total working years,” Viorica Grama told ziare.com. She also noted that these sums are important, because the pensions for these employees are not high, as the footwear industry is a light industry.
“In the first phase, we have won the case of 400 former employees, but the case of another 200 employees are in an advanced stage and another 400 announced that they are starting legal procedures,” Viorica Grama told ziare.com.
The former employee claims that although they were not smokers, many retired with asthma because they worked every day in a toxic environment.
“It wasn’t easy, but people are happy about these increases. As of now, 900 people have asked to prove that they worked in a toxic, dusty and noxious environment […] The people who have taken these steps will win and will be satisfied,” Vian Bont, a former employee told ziare.com.
Title image (illustration): The factory did not allow the expert committee to enter. Photo: iStock
