The history of the labor movement in Romania reaches back to the 19th century, and involves the activities of organized labor, specifically trade unions, their successive strike actions, as well as their links with political groupings, both left-wing and right-wing. It intertwines with the history of Romania, corresponding with the major developments in Romanian society.
The first labor conflict in both Wallachia and modern Romanian history is associated with the strikes at the cloth factory in Pociovalişte (presently part of Bucharest), taking part at various intervals during the 1790s. Sparked by poor relations between the over 240 employees and their state-appointed managers, they were aggravated by the fact that workers were not payed and were instead rewarded with tax exemptions, as well as receiving one week off for each one worked and being allowed additional time off (for sickness, agricultural works, and other reasons).[1] While demanding an additional week off, the employees abandoned their stations and reportedly sent their children to work in their place.[1] This had the potential of harming relations between Wallachia and its suzerain power, the Ottoman Empire, by cutting of the supply of cloth to the Ottoman Army.[1] Prince Alexander Mourousis intervened, and ordered the workers to be brought back, while denying their requests.[1]
Under the Organic Statute government, the various trades in the two Danubian Principalities were each required to elect a staroste, who represented their interests while regulating inner hierarchies.[2]
Printing was the first local branch of modern industry to organize itself, starting in the mid-1860s, when association of compositors was formed in Bucharest.[3] In 1865, it began issuing its own press organ, Tipograful Român, followed in 1869 by Analele Tipografice.[3] The magazine ceased publishing by mid-1871, allegedly in protest for the crushing of the Paris Commune in May.[3] Starting in April 1872, Analele Tipografice was again in print under the new name Uvrierul, claiming to speak for all Romanian industrial wokers, and became relatively close to liberal and radical circles.[3] Later in the year, Uvrierul and the compositors' association, represented by the printer N. Rădulescu, were instrumental in convening a conference of groups from all branches of industry, leading to the creation of Asociaţa generală a tuturor lucrătorilor din România (the General Association of All Romanian Workers), which, alongside specific goals, advocated the endorsement of local capital.[3] The group was no longer in existence after 1873.[3]
In March 1873, riots broke out in the Danube port of Giurgiu, among oxcart drivers loading and unloading ships, who objected to being required to elect and pay for a staroste to supervise their work (although the institution had been abolished during the 1850s).[2] A series of clashes with police forces and pontoneers between March 18 and March 24 led to at least one shooting which ended with a government official being assaulted, as well as beatings and 22 arrests in reprisal.[2] The oxcart drivers' defense was taken up by Alexandru Papiu Ilarian, who criticized General Ion Emanuel Florescu for having decorated soldiers involved in the crackdown and expressed solidarity with the inhabitants of Giurgiu.[2] Consequently, Premier Lascăr Catargiu and Minister of Justice Christian Tell ordered Papiu Ilarian to be arrested and investigated for sedition — the case was ultimately rejected by the Court of Appeal.[2] Papiu Ilarian went on to represent the 22 ox cart drivers in their Turnu Măgurele trial, obtaining their acquittal.[2]
At the time, the Unitary Socialists faced accusations from the PCR of being endorsed by both Siguranţa Statului, the secret police, and Trotskyists, and of opposing the General Confederation of Labor as a means to break up worker unity.[4] In parallel, a short-lived and openly Trotskyist group was formed in April 1935 by David Korner, opposing the PCR, the Social Democrats, as well as the Unitary Socialists (whom it accused of legalism).[4]
- ^ a b c d Neagu Djuvara. Între Orient şi Occident. Ţările române la începutul epocii moderne ("Between Orient and Occident. The Romanian Lands at the Beginning of the Modern Era"), Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995, p.190
- ^ a b c d e f Corneliu Albu, "Al. Papiu Ilarian, avocatul căruţaşilor «bivolari» din Giurgiu" ("Al. Papiu Ilarian, the Advocate of Oxcart-Drivers in Giurgiu"), in Magazin Istoric, March 1973, p.14-16
- ^ a b c d e f N. Copoiu, "100 ani de la crearea Asociaţiei generale a tuturor lucrătorilor din România. «...Sub un stindard care să reprezinte unirea şi înfrăţirea tuturor lucrătorilor» ("100 Years Since the Creation of the General Association of All Romanian Workers. «...Under a Flag that Would Represent the Union and Brotherhood of All Workers»"), in Magazin Istoric, October 1972, p.52-55
- ^ a b How the Bolshevik-Leninist Group of Romania was Founded (with introduction), at the Marxists Internet Archive; retrieved July 19, 2007