Trade Unions request implication of IMF representatives in settlement of country’s social-economic problems

Republic of Moldova faces a crucial period, the greatest danger for the country’s future being the emigration of young people abroad because of the low salaries and the lack of job places, declared Friday, September 27, 2013, Oleg Budza, President of the National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova (NCTUM) within the meeting with the representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

Budza afirms that, in order to avoid this phenomenon, the trade unions insist upon the increase of the minimum wage, step-by-step, till the value of the minimum subsistence level – 1600 lei.

„If we compare the situation with that of many European countries, the minimum wage is equal to 50-60% of the average economy salary. While in Republic of Moldova, the minimum wage constitutes only 15% of the average economy salary. With so low salaries, the majority of young people will leave for abroad to find a place of job and the country’s population will get older. That is why, we request the IMF representatives to discuss the respective matter with Prime-Minister Iurie Leancă”, the trade union leader declared.

According to the NCTUM’s President, the Government elaborated together with the trade unions an Action Plan in order to reduce the practice of paying salaries „in envelopes” and the „clandestine employment”. So, it was modified the Labour Code in order to oblige the employers to approve the personnel list and to produce them to the territorial labour inspectorates.

„The informal sector deprives the national public budget of about 15 billion lei. The formalization of at least 1% of this sector would bring t over 150 million lei to the budget. The trade unions insist upon acceleration of adoption of all the implementation instruments of the respective Plan and intensification of the activity of the control bodies and, namely, the adjustment of the regulatory acts in order to eliminate the informal activities, like the registration of individual labour contracts at the State Labour Inspection”, Budza declared.

The trade union leader informed the IMF mission that NCTUM is against the privatization of strategic enterprises from energy, transport, communications and other fields.

„Many of the enterprises proposed for privatization, though they are less profitable, have a strategic function for Republic of Moldova and its population. Their alienation may lead to the increase of prices/goods tariffs/services offered to population, which is unacceptable. At the same time, the employees risk to remain jobless, without social safeguard, being applied the practice of „envelopes” salaries”, Budza affirmed.

In the privatization context, Oleg Budza also discussed the situation of the Savings Bank, mentioning that it is important for investors not to collapse the bank and to further offer the population preferential credits. At the same time, the bank’s employees should not remain jobless and be remunerated in due time.

In its turn, Max Alier, Head of IMF Mission, specified that the said mission differs from the previous ones and is a post-program supervision one. The goal of the IMF mission is to analyse the economic situation of Republic of Moldova, as well as, to examine the cooperation necessities in order to work out the insurance politics of the macroeconomic stability of our country.

“The IMF supports the formalization of employments, not of the state’s necessity  to collect taxes, but because in the formal economy the labour productivity is bigger. At the same time, the privatization can bring benefit to the state enterprises and the work could become more efficient, the salaries – bigger and new places of job to be offered”, Alier affirms.

Head of the IMF mission added that the Savings’ Bank stability is very important for the country’s image and its activity must be supervised by the National Bank of Moldova.

Trade Unions Informational Centre