Decent work for young people, the premise of economic, social progress

“The state, the trade unions must strive to create decent working conditions for young people in our country,” Oleg Budza, president of CNSM, declared at the VI Forum organized by the Youth Commission of the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova, at the Labour Institute of the CNSM. The event was attended by Oleg Budza, CNSM President, Andrei Chistol, State Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova, Ala Lipciu, representative of the International Labour Organization in Moldova, Leonid Cerescu, President of the National Confederation of Employers of the Republic of Moldova, as well as almost 70 young unionists from the country.

Tatiana Marian, president of the CNSM Youth Commission, advocated in her intervention that decent work should become the basic benchmark for economic growth. From this perspective, she mentioned, the Youth Commission’s priorities are aimed at ensuring the right to decent work, the organization, cooperation and employment of young people in the context of sustainable mobility and development. Tatiana Marian informed those present at the event that the objectives of creating favourable conditions for a decent living for young people in Moldova are provided in the Youth Strategy of the CNSM for the years 2017-2022.

In this context, the president of Youth Commission reported that CNSM ensures appropriate socio-economic protection for youth of our country, help to the adjustment of the national legal framework to the community rigors aimed at protecting the rights and interests of young people to create normal working conditions, providing opportunities for sustainable development for young people and their integration into trade union structures.

At the same time, Tatiana Marian mentioned in the given context how important is the direct role of young people in solving the problems they are facing. She was also supported by Oleg Budza, who urged young people in the country to be more active in defending their own interests and rights, to be part of the structures of public administration, in the trade union committees, to become trade union leaders .

Andrei Chistol, state secretary of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova, remarked that the organization of such events as today’s Forum, is necessary, because we need more discussion platforms for young people in our country, and state institutions should take care of creating the normal working conditions for young people to benefit from decent pay, to be part of the decision-making process. He mentioned that these priorities are contained in the National Youth Development Strategy of the Government of Moldova.

Ala Lipciu, representative of the International Labour Organization in Moldova (ILO), said that the international institution she represents is involved in the process of solving the most current problems faced by Moldovan youth through country programs. Lately, she has been studying, analysing the challenges that affect the lives of young people in Moldova, the causes that lead them to go abroad, to identify policies that would make it easier to overcome these obstacles. In this respect, a study on the transition from school to the first place of work was carried out, which addressed some aspects regarding the presence of young people on the labour market of the country.

Leonid Cerescu, president of the National Confederation of Employers of the Republic of Moldova, informed young trade unionists that the employers participate in the social dialogue, through which they have the possibility to negotiate and defend the interests, the rights of the economic agents, in order to create more favourable conditions for their activity. At the same time, he said, the employers’ organization have taken care that employers also comply with certain social commitments, such as the health and safety of workers, to pay social and budgetary contributions. Leonid Cerescu said that employers’ organization support many trade union initiatives, such as employee training. In this context, he assured that employers’ organization is advocating for the implementation of the dual training system for workers.

Nearly 70 young trade unionists participated in a discussion panel on “Decent Work for Young People. Employment of young people on the labour market. Rights of young people in labour relations”, where Olga Gagauz, Deputy Director of INCE of the ASM, PhD, presented a report on the situation of young people on the labour market and Raisa Dogaru, the director of the National Agency for Employment, informed present on promoting the employment of young people on the labour market. Also, Ana Îndoitu, president of INVENTO, spoke about programs and projects for a sustainable future for young people in the country. Eugen Covrig, head of the CNSM legal department, explained how the protection of youth rights in labour relations can be ensured.

The young unionists from the Republic of Moldova, who participated in the VI Forum, adopted a resolution through which they addressed the public authorities, the social partners to identify solutions and take measures to improve the situation of young people on the labour market of the Republic of Moldova.

Department of mass media and international relations