Moldovan trade unionists call for action in order to promote decent work principles in the Republic of Moldova

National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova (NTUCM) launched an appeal to all citizens, authorities and social partners to join their efforts in order to promote decent work principles in the Republic of Moldova. The exhortation was made at the meeting entitled „Stop enrichment through exploitation of workers”, held on October 7 in Chisinau on the occasion of marking the World Day for Decent Work.

According to Petru Chiriac, the vice president of NTUCM the trade unions, in their capacity as representatives of the employees, have campaigned always decent work in all aspects, such as normal working conditions, health insurance and occupational health, wage levels capable of meeting material requirements of the workers and their families.

”Unfortunately, this element is often underestimated, sometimes overlooked, sometimes exploited. Witness of this serve their statistical data on working overtime, accidents at work and occupational diseases, forced labor and inadequate remuneration of labor. It is a shame for our state that the working person is not paid to the extent to which he shall be ensured a decent living”, finds the union leader.

”The citizens are facing serious problems, and we do not always find support from our partners in the tripartite social dialogue for removing them. We ask, however, not without hope that, through cohesion and mutual understanding, we will honor our obligations to the working people who expect an improvement in the standard of living through decent work for a decent wage”, declared Chiriac.

Dumitru Stavila, State Labor Inspectorate Head, believes that the state has a duty to provide its citizens a decent life, primarily by ensuring decent and protected work. ”If we talk in the context of the topic under which action is taken this year, the exploitation of workers occurs when they are allowed to work without being executed their documents of employment, in accordance with the legislation, when working without being insured with protective equipment and without health and safety rules compliance. The employer must make some investments to ensure these conditions, but he does not do this, he exploit his workers, therefore the Inspectorate, together with the trade unions and employers, is designed to counter these illegalities”, he opined.

Annually, the State Labor Inspectorate carries out more than 6,500 inspection visits to businesses and detect violations of labor legislation, examine petitions of citizens and submit prescriptions. Only during April – August of this year there were discovered more than 650 people who were working illegally and there were submitted prescriptions for these people to have their rights restored.

”Employers should be aware that it is less costly to meet the minimum requirements of labor law, of health and safety, than to admit such violations and to be called to account”, concluded Stavila.

In her turn, Catalina Doru, Deputy Head of Labor Relations and Social Partnership Directorate of the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, stressed that only by attaining the objectives of the agenda on decent work and by adopting a development model which will combine economic competitiveness and social equity, the Republic of Moldova will finally become a country where work will be for employees not as a means of survival, but as a possible manifestation and realization of personality in the social field.” This aim cannot be achieved without the involvement of the social partners, and without the contribution of each of us who are in the position of employee or employer”, noted Doru.

In context, this suggested that the social dialogue is not realized only at a tripartite level, but also at a bipartite one through direct negotiations between the trade unions and the employers, which is an additional mechanism that could help the social partners to harmonize their interests.

After more than two hours of talks, the trade union members have formulated a list of demands to be submitted to the decision makers. These are related to the establishment of a single minimum wage for the country equal to the subsistence level, with a further increase of it to 50-60 percent of the average wage, liquidation of arrears on salaries, reducing the gap between the wages of different categories of employees, the development of a strategy to create jobs, intensification of the activities to counter the „undeclared” work and the payment of wages „in envelopes”, easing the tax burden by increasing personal exemptions from the income tax of individuals up to the subsistence level, the unification of the pension system of the Republic of Moldova and preventing the raising of the age limit for retirement, etc.

World Day for Decent Work is marked annually on 7 October by the trade union centers worldwide. The Decent Work was initially promoted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 1999, then defined and accepted by the international community as a productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.

National Trade Union Confederation of the Republic of Moldova, in solidarity with the trade unions around the world has been actively involved in the campaign to promote World Day for Decent Work actions by organizing an annual series of events on this occasion.

Informational Department of NTUCM