CNSM leadership in dialogue with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Austria to the Republic of Moldova

The series of meetings of the CNSM leadership with ambassadors, representatives of foreign embassies accredited in the Republic of Moldova continue. Today, April 20, Oleg Budza, CNSM president, Mihail Hîncu and Sergiu Sainciuc, vice-presidents of the CNSM, met with H.E. Christine Freilinger, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Austria to the Republic of Moldova, and Gero Stuller, Counsellor and Special Attaché for Labour, Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection of the Republic of Austria in the Republic of Moldova.

On this occasion, Oleg Budza emphasized that the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova consistently advocates a policy of openness in the relations with the foreign embassies operating on the territory of our country. In his view, this trend aims to establish bilateral relations between the CNSM and embassies in the Republic of Moldova to provide comprehensive information from a direct source on the activity of the trade unions of Moldova.

Making a short presentation of CNSM, Oleg Budza noted that the CNSM is a full member of the ITUC, which has 207 million union members. In addition, the CNSM actively collaborates with partners in Europe and CIS countries. However, he stressed that he was able to establish fruitful relations with counterparts from the Austrian Confederation of Trade Unions (OGB). On this occasion, Oleg Budza said that the experience of the Austrian trade unions had a beneficial impact on the CNSM.

Speaking about the most serious challenges that Moldovan trade unions face in their work, the president of the CNSM has pointed out the safety and health at work, the workplaces, the wages and the qualification of the labour force. In particular, for the country and for trade unions, the most burning problem is, according to Oleg Budza, the massive exodus of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. That is why, at the level of meetings with the representatives of the international financial organizations, with the Moldovan Government, the leadership of the CNSM insists on the creation of jobs, in order to attract foreign investments for this purpose.

In turn, H.E. Christine Freilinger, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Austria to the Republic of Moldova, described the role of the social partnership in Austria, in the sense that social issues are solved concurrently with economic ones. Before a cardinal decision is adopted, there is a lot of discussion between the social partners. Usually, in Austria, conflict situations are avoided because they are not accepted by citizens, which are of particular importance for social dialogue, to benefit from concrete, beneficial results.

Gero Stuller, Counsellor and Special Attaché for Labour, Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection of the Republic of Austria in the Republic of Moldova, said that due to the collaboration between the Austrian and Moldovan trade unions, many good things were done in terms of vocational rehabilitation, trade union, exchange of experience on certain areas. He expressed his wish to perpetuate the Moldovan-Austrian collaboration at the level of trade unions and to make new projects in order to solve the problems affecting the trade union members in our country.

Sergiu Sainciuc, vice-president of the CNSM, advocated closer cooperation with Austrian counterparts especially on issues related to the development of social dialogue, the labour market, the establishment of sectorial committees and the application of labour law in the context of the implementation of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement. In this regard, Austria’s experience, he stressed, is extremely important for the CNSM.

Department of mass media and international relations of CNSM