Ethics in the digital workplace
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
On 14 April 2005, the Romanian Government adopted Decision no. 300, on collective redundancies that are to be made during 2005 in companies under the authority and coordination of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (Ministerul Economiei şi Comerţului, MEC).
The decision stipulates that 150 miners from the company Băiţa, located in Ştei (North Western region, Bihor county) will be made redundant in 2005.
In January 2006, new redundancy figures were approved by the Government Decision no. 78 of 19 January 2006.
Collective redundancies at Băiţa will total 200 people,(150 people in 2005 and another 50 employees in 2006).
According to the website of the Office of State Ownership and Privatisation in Industry (Oficiul Participaţiilor Statului şi Privatizării în Industrie, OPSPI), the company had 490 employees in 2004 and in the first half of 2004 registered a turnover of about €2.4 million. Băiţa extracts and processes non ferrous and rare ores (excluding radioactive ores), especially gold, silver and molybdenum.
The redundancy programme is set to continue in the years to come, as part of the strategy to invigorate the company, as all subsidies for non ferrous metals will have ceased by 1 January 2007.
Eurofound (2005), Băiţa, Internal restructuring in Romania, factsheet number 61857, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/61857.