Members of the National Commission for Consultations and Collective Bargaining met in a session

During the session, on December 2, of the National Commission for Consultations and Collective Bargaining (NCCCB), social partners have examined several issues. One of these refers to the regulation of the activity of individual entrepreneurs.

Svetlana Țurcanu, head of the Directorate for development policies of small and medium enterprises and trade in the MEC, presented information on the entrepreneur patent system and the content of the reform agenda.

She noted that although the entrepreneur patent has certain advantages – low cost registration and conduct of business, including low cost of patent, compared to all the taxes a company pays, they are overshadowed by numerous disadvantages – unfair competition of products and services on the market, violation of consumer’s rights, under the provision that patent holders are exempted from the use of cash registers with fiscal memory, they do not have to give receipts and tax evasion.

“Transition from trade activity based on a patent to the new regime of taxation of individuals who practice self-commerce will allow promoting a fair policy to operators through the consumer protection,” said Țurcanu.

Being identified the need to impose an adaptation period, the Ministry of Economy has prepared a draft law amending the patent, which provides several elements that will work in parallel with the new mechanism of independent economic activity.

Therefore, it is proposed setting an adaptation period of one year, during which there will not be issued new patents and patent holders will be entitled to trade only on licensed markets within local authorities. In addition, it is going to be increased the cost of commercial patent: for municipalities – 3 times, for other settlements – 2 times.

The draft will be subject to consultation with the National Confederation of Employers of Moldova, associations of small and medium business and the initiative group of patent holders.

At the same meeting, the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova (CNSM) requested the amendment of several legislative acts aimed at establishing penalties for failure to pay wages on time.

Thus, trade unionists requested changes in the Code of Administrative Offences and the Criminal Code to tighten penalties for persons guilty of admission of salary arrears and the introduction of criminal liability for violation of terms of salary payment or partial payment, as defining criterion of forced labour. At the same time, they considered necessary to amend the Labour Code in order to increase the penalty paid by the employer for each additional day of delay in payment of wages, and amending Law no. 131 on state control over business activity, to exclude the State Labour Inspectorate from its scope.

According to information on debts to pay wages in sectors of national economy, presented by Sergiu Sainciuc, vice president of CNSM, in August 2016 the arrears on salaries of employees in the national economy amounted to 195.3 mil. lei, increasing with 38.4 mil. lei or 24.5%, compared to December 2015. Meanwhile, the biggest salary arrears are registered in railway transport, the SE “Railway of Moldova”, where about 10 thousand people work. As to October 2016, the arrears amounted over 127 million. lei.

“The problem is very complicated, thousands of employees do not receive their salaries on time, which, for most of them, are the sole source of living. It is a shame for our country,” said Sainciuc.

In turn, Octavian Calmac, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy (MEC) and Chairman of NCCCB, ordered that proposals of trade unions to be submitted for consideration to the working group responsible for modifying the Labour Code and to the Ministry of Justice, in what concerns amendment of the Code of Administrative Offences and the Criminal Code, to identify how they can be found in these documents.

Also at the meeting, at the request of CNSM President Oleg Budza, was presented the position of trade unions on pension system reform, following this issue to be subject to debate at the next meeting of NCCCB.

Department of mass media and international relations