A-Z AUTO

BUCHAREST (Reuters) — Workers ended a 19-day pay strike at Renault’s Dacia plant in Romania today after management decided to raise employees’ wages by around 23 percent, on average, in 2008, the company said today.

“We signed the agreement … work at the plant resumed at 11:00 CET. We hope to reach normal output levels on Monday,” Liviu Ion, Dacia communication manager, told Reuters by telephone.

Ion said management will raise monthly wages by around 435 lei ($191) before tax this year. Dacia workers, who produce the low-cost Logan model, on average earn 1,900 lei a month.

Renault declined to give a figure for the cost of the strike but denied a Reuters report on Thursday that it was 50 million euros ($79 million).

“The figure is below that,” a company spokeswoman said, adding the strike lasted 14 working days because the plant is usually closed at the weekend. Renault had included wage rises at Dacia in its financial planning, she added.

At the Mioveni plant in south Romania, Renault produces around 1,300 cars a day.

About 6,000 workers attended a protest rally in the city of Pitesti on Thursday, part of the action called by their union last month, after demands for a 65 percent wage rise were branded unrealistic by the plant’s management.

Western carmakers, including U.S. giant Ford, have been attracted to the new European Union member by its cheap labor and low taxes. However, mounting wage pressure is seen as a risk to the emerging country’s economic stability.

Average net wages in Romania jumped 30.7 percent year on year to 1,200 lei in nominal terms in January, boosted mainly by bonuses in the health and education sectors.

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