LAW for amending and supplementing Government Ordinance no. 137/2000 on the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discrimination and Law no. 202/2002 on equal opportunities between women and men
Context
Moral harassment is an important issue regarding the workplace and should not be tolerated.
In 2007, Romania had some of the highest levels of incidences of violence or threats of violence in the workplace, according to a study conducted in 2010 by the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work. States such as Turkey, Portugal or Bulgaria were in the same situation. Regarding the incidences of moral harassment in the workplace or bullying, Romania is also in the top, along with Turkey, Portugal and Norway.
A survey conducted in 2009 by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work revealed that stress, violence and moral harassment in the workplace constitute “emerging” risks, with increasing importance in the legal relations of work. Among these, moral harassment at the workplace is the risk that raises the biggest problems in practice, due to the lack of conceptualization and coherent legislation in the Member States of the European Union.
In 2017, the European Parliament emphasized that workplace stress is recognized at the European level as a major obstacle to productivity as well as increasing the incidence of suicide in the workplace.
“Moral harassment in the workplace” is not regulated as such in Romanian law. Despite the fact that it is a phenomenon commonly found in the Romanian labor market, an aspect highlighted by the practice of the national courts regarding the matter, there is no normative act defining the content of such a fact, as well as the legal consequences of its execution, at the moment.
Legislative proposal: moral harassment in the workplace
Together with colleagues from all political groups, I submitted a draft law to amend and supplement the following normative acts:
– Government Ordinance no. 137/2000 regarding the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discrimination, republished in the Official Monitor of Romania, Part I, no. 166 of March 7, 2014;
– Law no. 202/2002 regarding equal opportunities between women and men, republished in the Official Monitor of Romania, Part I, no. 326 of June 5, 2013, as amended and supplemented.