 Sârbu was born into a family of workers in Herepeia, Transylvania.His father, a railway worker, was sacked in 1926 for his participation in the strikes of the early 1920s, and the family had to move to Constanţa by 1930.Due to lack of material means, the young Sârbu was forced to abandon school after completing primary education, and in October 1930 he started as an apprentice lathe operator at the Workshops of the Directorate of Maritime Ports in Constanţa.