SPECIAL REPORT: Post communism Labor unions in Romania and Bulgaria in comparison to Canada

Written by Richard Ziemianski

Organizers Forum International Dialogue in Romania and Bulgaria

In August of 2025, I had a privilege to join the Organizers Forum delegation for a week-long journey to Romania and Bulgaria, which gave me a great insight of the current state of affairs of the Labor movement in both countries.

Being a labor activist with BCGEU, the British Columbia General Employees Union, one of the largest trade unions in Western Canada and also coming from a Central European background, it was an interesting experience for me to see how the independent labor movement has progressed in the post-communist era in this region, where up to1989 all unions in both countries were state controlled.

Before taking the trip, I did some research about the legal framework of trade unions in Romania and got the following information:

• trade unions rights are protected by the Romanian Constitution and the Labor Code

• workers have the right to form and join unions without prior authorization

• collective bargaining is mandatory in firms with at least 10 employees

• strikes are legal but regulated, essential services face stricter conditions

Our real understanding of labor movement in Romania started with a meeting with Dimitri Costin , the president of one of the largest trade unions in Romania- the Blocul National Sindical or National Trade Union Bloc. Dimitri gave us an account of the Romanian post communism trade union history, stating that since 1990 union density in Romania has declined due to privatization, labor market flexibility reforms, and an expanding service sector. Current estimates place unionized workforce at around 20-25% and the public sector unions (education, transport and health care) remain the most influential, especially in wage negotiations.

Besides Blocul National Sindcal, CNSLR-Fratia, Cartel Alfa, and Confederatia Sindicatelor Democratice in Romania are the largest national trade union confederations, and they represent workers across sectors such as manufacturing, public administration, transport, education and healthcare.  It is interesting to point out, that the confederations are competing against each other and on top of it, they are representing workers in the same sectors. This fragmentation doesn’t make the unions strong and, according to Dimitri, there is no will at this time for cooperation between all involved.

To make it more complicated, the membership in private industries is declining and the government is not supporting unions growth at all.  To the contrary- legislative changes have weakened collective bargaining since 2011.

 Bulgarian labor unions are similarly structured to Romania, obviously with some differences. After arriving in Sofia, we met with several social justice groups and the highlight from my perspective was meeting with Kalina Drenska from LevFem - a left wing-feminist organization, that addresses issues related to the socio-economic inequalities produced in a capitalist economy. Kalina gave us a detailed summary of the labor movement situation in Bulgaria. As in the case of Romania I did my own research and found this information:

• in terms of Legal Framework trade unions in Bulgaria are defined by the Bulgarian Constitution and the Labor Code

• workers have the right to unionize, bargain collectively and strike

• collective bargaining typically occurs at sectoral and company levels

In Kalina’ view, unions in Bulgaria are very effective. Employment legislation is quite strong but the severe underfunding in case of health care sector creates problems. Bulgaria is regarded as a major donor of workers to the European Union, which creates a huge challenge for the domestic environment, which in combination with inadequate funding makes it very hard to offer care for the local population. Women are bearing the brunt of taking care of not only children but aging parents as well.  “The care system in Bulgaria is on the shoulders of older women” according to Kalina, as state-funded facilities are very limited.

Unlike Romania there are only two major national-level union confederations:

• Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB/KNSB), which is the largest and historically connected to the old state union.

• Confederation of Labor “Podkrepa” -- formed in the late 1980s as an independent, more reformist alternative.

• CITUB and Podkrepa represent workers in almost all sectors including energy, transport, healthcare, public administration, manufacturing and services.

• Union density in Bulgaria has declined since the 1990s and current estimates are between 15-25%, one of the lowest in the EU .The strongest membership is in education, energy and utilities, transport and public administration.

The biggest challenges for the whole union movement are the declining union presence in the private sector, wage stagnation in some industries, emigration reducing the workforce, and pressure from employers for more flexible labor laws.

From my observations I can also say, that an additional barrier for strong unions in both countries is the political climate and much better life opportunities especially for younger, well-educated citizens in other EU countries , where about 20% of the population works  on a permanent or seasonal basis.

How do the trade unions in both countries compare to Canada and North America generally?

Both, Romania and Bulgaria had a high formal union membership historically due to strong presence under socialism (pre-1989), but it was mostly state controlled, and rapidly declined after privatization and deindustrialization.  In addition, both countries experienced fragmentation into many smaller unions, post-1989.

In comparison, Canada and the US have no socialist-era legacy and unions grew through collective bargaining in the private and public sectors . There is a stable union tradition, especially in public sector jobs and institutionalized relationships between unions, employers and government.

Union density in Canada is much higher and is among the highest in the OECD, an international organization that works to establish evidence-based international standards and build better policies for better life opportunities. Both Canada and the US country a very strong public sector unionization.

Meeting the wonderful activists on the frontier of EU gave me an unforgettable glimpse of how the working class is affected for generations when political systems change and there is not enough support for the working class.

Challenges of workers in Romania and Bulgaria like fragmentation of unions, low bargaining coverage, employer resistance in private sector, young workers not joining unions, aging membership base, weak enforcement of labor law, immigration reducing workforce in unionized sectors are definitely different than in Canada. Canada experiences employer pushback in tech and service sector and the inflation and cost of living disputes pushes more strikes.

In conclusion, Romania and Bulgaria share a post-communist legacy, declining membership, weak bargaining systems and a limited political influence. Canada has a far stronger and more stable union movement, with higher density, more effective collective bargaining and greater integration into political and economic decision making.

The future will tell, if the labor movement in the “gateway to the orient countries”, which reminds me of my native country, Poland 20 or so years ago, will grow stronger. The activists I had a pleasure to meet, give me the confidence that it will.

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Richard Ziemianski is a member of the executive board of the BCGEU.  He previously reported on Taiwan (Social Policy 54.4).