How Will the Future Be? The Transformation of Romanian Labour Legislation in a Global Context

Over the past two decades, it has become increasingly common to hear the verdict that labour law is in crisis, finding it increasingly difficult to fulfil its main task of protecting workers. This is happening first and foremost because since classical labour law rules were established, society as a whole has undergone a profound change, with the labour market shifting towards production and the economy, globalisation, digitalisation and flexible work. Following the 4.0 industrial revolution, the aim is to achieve a 5.0 society, and this is the direction artificial intelligence, digitalisation and robotisation point to as well. In our short study, we ask to what extent labour law is ready for this, and what are the main problems and obstacles that may arise. We do this by taking the example of Romania’s legal development, and starting from the premise that the labour law measures introduced in the wake of the current pandemic are a valuable experience, as they have acted as a catalyst to bring to the fore dilemmas that labour law has been struggling with for some time. We can therefore experiment with the effects of some of the measures introduced in the context of the pandemic on the labour market and the situation of workers, and it would be wise to learn from these experiences.