The National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova said it is now inadmissible, following the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission’s decision to suspend the educational process, for the salary earners to go on unpaid leave. According to the Confederation, this way they lose the source of livelihood for maintaining the families or the leave planned for summer, when the children are on vacation, IPN reports.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Ion Chicu on March 12, the Confederation says that definite measures should be adopted to maintain the salary revenues in the created epidemiological situation, including in cases when the educational process is suspended.

The trade unions suggest that one of the parents with children who need to be supervised should be mandatorily offered paid nonworking days or, given the epidemiological situation, leave for preventing infection by paying a quarantine allowance from the state social insurance budget to them.

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Research issued a letter to the managers of educational institutions and local public authorities of the first and second levels in connection with the suspension of the educational process. It notes that the employees of all the educational institutions continue to fulfill their professional duties in accordance with the agreed work program, with the salaries being paid by the employers.