Over 100 employees of the Petromidia Navodari Refinery staged a spontaneous protest

Over 100 employees of the Petromidia Navodari Refinery staged a spontaneous protest on Friday in front of the company's administrative headquarters, dissatisfied that their salaries will not increase in 2026. Citing excessive and unpredictable taxation, Rompetrol KazMunayGas International's management says it cannot grant salary increases this year without jeopardizing the company's stability and is willing to offer employees only two bonuses.

A report by Sorin Cealera:
"There are many risks and no bonuses are given, so the whole basis is in the salary. This is not a refinery salary. Everyone is dissatisfied and we simply want a salary increase, in principle by 1.500 lei net.

Negotiations began in December, but the company's management did not accept the salary increase for 2026. Instead, it proposes a Petrochemical Worker's Day bonus of 500 lei net and a performance bonus of 5.000 lei net per year on average, in two installments, for the more than 2.200 employees of the five companies represented by the Free Petrochemical Workers' Union. Petre Tancau, president of the Free Petrochemical Workers' Union, appealed to management to defuse the situation.

Petre Tancau: The refinery's capacity has been operating at 110%. The prices of our products are rising on the market. People's salaries do not reflect this, and because of this, people are angry and do not agree with bonuses.

Has this affected the refinery's activity?

Petre Tancau: So far, the refinery's activity has not been affected because people have talked to each other and stayed, some working 12 hours, 16 hours, and they will end up working 24 hours, which means that the Labor Inspectorate will come to see and check on them. I hope that they will eventually realize that people are dissatisfied because they have no means to support their families in the current situation.

Translated by: Radu Matei