39 persons died in accidents at work last year

Thirty-nine persons lost their lives in accidents at the workplace last year, a slight decrease compared with 2010. The data were presented in the annual conference of the National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova and the Labor Inspectorate on Wednesday, Info-Prim Neo reports. General State Labor Inspector Dumitru Stavila said that compared with 2010, the number of fatal accidents decreased by five cases. The number of persons injured at the workplace also diminished slightly. The areas of activity where the employees are most often hurt are agriculture, the construction sector, and the processing industry. The most frequent cause of accidents in agriculture is the faulty production equipment or the incorrect use of this equipment. Dumitru Stavila said the phenomenon of illegal labor persists. In 2011, there were identified over 1 150 cases when persons worked illegally. In 2012, the two institutions aim to identify as many mechanisms for combating this phenomenon as possible. The head of the National Confederation of Trade Unions Oleg Budza said that owing to the imperfect legislation, the salary earners are exposed to risks at the workplace, while the employers do not take sufficient measures to avoid accidents at work. “The trade unions demand toughening up the penalties imposed on the employers who do not ensure appropriate conditions for the salary earners to work in a safe environment,” said Oleg Budza. He also said that the Parliament in March is to adopt amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, which will increase the fines imposed on employers who use illegal labor by 80-100%.