Occupational safety and health of workers, the primary objective of trade unions

“The occupational safety and health of the trade union member is a pressing issue globally,” said Oleg Budza, president of the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova (CNSM), at the beginning of the regional meeting of NIS representatives of the OSH network of the Pan-European Regional Council, held for 2 days, 12-13 December, at the CNSM Labour Institute.

Operating with the International Labour Organization’s data, Oleg Budza said that 6400 people die every day from the traumas and illnesses caused by poor working conditions. In the Republic of Moldova, also, there is a worrying situation from this point of view. Annually, 450 workers get sick or injured, and 40 people lose their lives due to harmful working conditions.

On this occasion, the President of the CNSM invoked the warning, from 6 years ago, of the representatives of the countries that are part of the European Commission, when the Republic of Moldova negotiated the Association Agreement with the EU: “If the problems of the health and safety of the workers will not be a primordial issue, then there is no place for you in the EU! “.

Moldovan trade unions deal with employees’ health and safety issues with great care, especially after Moldova signed the Association Agreement with the EU. They have been actively involved in the harmonization of national labour law with the European, workplace attestation, in order to meet the safety and hygiene standards of work.

Probably the highest performance of the CNSM in terms of ensuring the occupational safety and health of workers, trade union members, is the creation of the Labour Inspectorate of the Trade Unions. Elena Carchilan, head of the Trade Union Labour Inspectorate (IMS), informed those present that her institution was founded by the decision of the CNSM Confederal Committee on 1 October 2012. She informed that the IMS exercises control over the observance of labour law and other normative acts in this field within enterprises, institutions and organizations, irrespective of the type of ownership and the legal, organizational form in which the trade union organizations operate. Only in the first nine months of this year, according to Elena Carchilan, IMS performed 367 checks on compliance with labour law and other normative acts, resulting in over 6,000 violations and deviations from the law.

Wim van Veelen, expert in occupational safety and health of the Trade Union Confederation from the Netherlands, also expressed his delight regarding the work of the Labour Inspectorate of the Trade Unions of the CNSM. He also made it clear that even trade unions from developed countries in the EU, such as the Netherlands, lack such structures to monitor the issues of health and safety of workers, trade union members.

Addressing EU countries’ experience in this area, Wim van Veelen mentioned that employers, trade unions and the government have long discussions on issues that affect the health and safety of workers, trade union workers, until a unanimous solution is reached. That is why the trade union expert from the Netherlands recommended that the New Independent States trade unions should not take action to protest, such as strikes, rallies, before staying at the negotiation table. “All issues must be resolved through social dialogue. Only when it does not work, you can proceed to other actions,” that was the Dutch trade union expert’s message.

Department of mass-media and international relations of CNSM