Trade unions support the implementation of meal vouchers

Today, March 6, the French group UP organized an event to launch the project on meal vouchers, attended by international experts, representatives of trade unions, employers’ organizations, public authorities and the business environment of the Republic of Moldova.

Oleg Budza, president of the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova (CNSM), said that the trade unions in our country for ten years insisted and promoted the idea of meal vouchers. On this occasion, he reminded that even at his first meeting with Pavel Filip, still in his position as a candidate for prime minister of the Republic of Moldova, the CNSM leadership specifically addressed the issue of the promotion and approval of the Law on meal vouchers. Until then, no government had succeeded in doing so despite the sustained efforts of the trade unions. Only the current Government, emphasized Oleg Budza, insisted and obtained the law to be adopted.

According to CNSM president, one of the greatest achievements in the process of drafting and approving the Law on meal vouchers, which was voted by the Parliament of the country in September last year, is that the meal vouchers are deductible, ie the amounts of money allocated by the economic agents for the meal vouchers are not taxed. He emphasized that implementing meal vouchers would lead to the diminishing of negative phenomena such as “black work” and wages “in the envelopes”. In this context, Oleg Budza also talked about the importance of concluding individual labour contracts as tools to combat the informal economy, on the basis of which real wages will be paid.

Chiril Gaburici, Minister of Economy and Infrastructure, pointed out that the implementation of meal vouchers in the Republic of Moldova is a unique, transparent experience for the motivation of employees by companies and offers multiple benefits to employees.

We note that meal vouchers are an absolutely new product for our country. The value of a meal voucher amounts to 45 lei. Meal vouchers are granted to employees who have an individual labour contract and benefit both for employers and employees. Employees benefit from exemption from payroll taxes, higher purchasing power, better living standards and improved food quality.

Department of mass media and international relations of CNSM