Construction workers ask for 700-euro wages to come back home

Romanians employed in the constructions sector in Italy say they would come back home if they were paid 600 to 800 euros per month, three times higher than the official average wage on the Romanian market. “The requested wages ranged between 600 and 800 euros, but there were some people who said they would take as little as 450 euros a month to be able to come back home. There were also those who asked for more than 1,000 euros,” reveals a report from the Labour Ministry, after the construction job fair organised for Romanians working in Italy in February. “These wages can be earned in Romania, all the more so since many companies offer a variable and sizable financial component that complements the fixed income,” says Laurentiu Plosceanu, chairman of the Romanian Association of Construction Contractors (ARACO). The average net wage in the constructions sector was 263 euros last year, an increase of 30% on 2006, when the average wage was 202 euros a month. However, constructions is the sector that is most affected by black market employment and illegal payment, so that salaries could be much higher. “There is a so-called elite of construction workers with incomes in excess of 600 euros. In Romania, very skilled workers in the constructions sector earn close to 1,000 euros in wages,” says Adriana Ifteme, chief executive of the Association of Construction Companies (PSC).