Our workers
The majority of our workers come from Romania. Almost all of them are from a few villages near the city of Vaslui in eastern Romania, close to the Moldovan border, a rural area with high unemployment. Without them, our business would not have the results and stability we enjoy today. We have a close relationship with them and visit their home region several times a year.
We are often asked if the reason we hire Romanians is to access cheaper labor. Nothing could be further from the truth. Firstly, we are bound by industry standards to comply with the collective agreements, and we believe no one should earn below that level. The difference compared to Swedish workers is that our Romanian workers find this wage level fair and are willing to work hard for it. For most of those who work with us regularly, the money they earn in Sweden forms the backbone of their entire livelihood.
It’s a great satisfaction to us, when we visit them and are often invited into their homes, to see that the houses owned by “our” workers are often the ones that have been extended or have a higher standard than the surrounding ones.
Meeting and party in Romania
Every January, the permanent employees in Sweden – about 20 of us – travel to Vaslui. Before the season starts and the men (which is usually the case) have left the countries where they work seasonally, we typically invite all the workers who worked for us during the year to a meeting in Vaslui. During this meeting, we review the results from the past year and discuss what’s new for the coming year. We also address various improvements we need to implement.
In the evening, we organize a big party at a hotel in the city of Vaslui, inviting everyone along with their partner. We enjoy a much-appreciated communal dinner, and later, Romanian dancing takes center stage. This party usually attracts around 300 attendees, making it a highly valued tradition and somewhat unusual in the Romanian context.
The close cooperation with our workers is definitely a key factor in our ability to significantly increase our assignments in a relatively short time while maintaining stability in recent years. We feel that our Romanian friends have a strong trust in us, and we truly wish for their time in Sweden to be positive for them and their families.
Party in Vaslui, Januari 2016
