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.
Heavy water, heat and power producer Regia Autonomă pentru Activităţi Nucleare (RAAN) (Romanian Authority for Nuclear Activities) is to cut 300 jobs. RAAN is a government business enterprise. The Government approved severance payments to support redundant workers from state-owned companies, including the ones of RAAN. As reported, the measure paves the way for dismissals, though a timeframe for the restructuring is not known yet.
RAAN became insolvent last year, with accumulated debts over 680 million RON (€151 million). RAAN has two main plants, producing heavy water for the nuclear power plant in Cernavoda (Romag Prod) and heat and power (Romag Termo) for its own use and for the use of the municipality of Drobeta Turnu-Severin. They are both undergoing economic difficulties, as their activities are interconnected.
During the year, 2,700 employees fearing of losing their jobs organised several protests on both sites of the company. In addition, another protest of 1,000 people took place in Drobeta Turnu Severin, to draw attention to the difficult economic situation of the company.
Eurofound (2014), Regia Autonoma pentru Activitati Nucleare, Internal restructuring in Romania, factsheet number 77646, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/77646.