BRIEF HISTORY

The National Union of Romanian Employers (UNPR) was established as a private, non-political charity involving companies with domestic, joint and foreign capital. It was founded on 1991 with the purpose of protecting the interests of small and medium-sized business in the services, commerce or production area.

UNPR is a union of employers’ federations, set up as a juridical entity with its own patrimony. Apart from its county branches, UNPR also comprises professional associations from various activity fields that represent branches and sub-branches of the national economy.

The mission of the Union is to represent the legitimate interests of the small and medium-sized companies in the most important activity fields.

Among the UNPR objectives, some of the most important are:

Protecting and encouraging the legitimate interests of its adherent members;
Proposing the administrative measures necessary for the maintenance and development of small and medium-sized companies;
Solving the economic and societal problems, by equally taking into consideration the employers’ and the employees’ interests.
The founding members include members of honour, active members and corresponding members from the field of science, industry, economy and services.

The first president of UNPR between 1991-2002, Mr. Stefan Chelariu, now its president of honour, together with Mr. Florea Mitroi and Mr. Ion Mante, vice presidents since 1991, are among the noteworthy founding members of the Union due to the way they protected its interests and raised its prestige.

UNPR was founded and carries out its activity as the element driving the effervescence of the Romanian private entrepreneur.

1992 meant for UNPR the beginning of its collaboration with the Government, Theodor Stolojan, prime minister at the time, representing a receptive partner of discussion. In the same period, on March 17, 1992, UNPR entered the World Association of Small and Medium-Sized Entrepreneurs. One of the notable initiatives of UNPR from 1992 was its attempt to create a bank, PATRON BANK, designed pre-eminently for the Romanian entrepreneur, an initiative that unfortunately remained unfinished. On the same year UNPR set the ground for a close collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania and of the City of Bucharest.

1993 initiated UNPR’s relationship with the unions by means of signing a collaboration protocol and setting forth a series of measures to support it. Moreover, UNPR stood out through its active presence in the economic field and within the civil society.

Its attendance and initiative of numerous congresses and conferences, specialty seminars and government-organized events, chambers of commerce, embassies, and international organizations helped define UNPR’s part in supporting and developing the Romanian business environment and, implicitly, the status of Romanian employership.

The period between 1991-2002 represented a time of search and heterogeneous societal and economic expression, when the employers institution could not manifest as a leader of opinion and a hope for Romanian employers. The reason for such a situation lies in the lack of funds, but also in the impossibility at the time of finding competent individuals to approach this national problem in a professional manner.

Starting with June 8, 2002, UNPR sets out on a new road, with new management and objectives far more important and self-committing that up to then; this opens the way to better self-knowledge and to a horizon that will halo its image as the sole employers’ institution truly designed to protect the interests of all those who work and contribute to the country’s welfare.