Trade unionists protested in Parliament. They demanded that the minimum wage should be 6000 lei, 500 lei more than the amount approved by the government, and also asked for a 35% increase in the reference values used to calculate salaries in education, culture, social assistance and public security. This was the second demonstration by trade unionists in front of parliament, who are dissatisfied with the lack of a response from the authorities, reports IPN.
For next year, the government has planned the amount of the average monthly salary in the economy at 16,100 lei, compared to 13,700 lei in 2024, but the teachers present at the protest claim that the increase is insignificant.
IPN correspondent spoke with the protesting teachers. Sergei Bulgac from the village of Salcia has been working as a pedagogue for 39 years, but he has had to keep animals in order to provide for his family and raise children at home. "All my life I have had to work outside my role as a teacher. I kept a household of over 100 goats and sheep, two cows, four horses and seven pigs. Can you imagine how much work I had to do in addition to school to feed and educate my children?".
"The salary of a teacher should be at least the average salary in the economy, because teachers who have higher salaries also have longer hours, and are exposed to burnout. Teachers are overworked, they have a lot of children in classrooms, especially in cities. Many reforms are being made in education, but they do not contribute to salary increases, and this is an emergency", Vilena Bodiu, chairwoman of the Soldanesti branch of the Soldanesti branch trade union center, told IPN.
The National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova (CNSM), representing the interests of more than 284 thousand members, has addressed to the authorities a number of demands to improve the social-economic situation of Moldovan employees.
"We demand to set the minimum wage in the economy at 6000 lei starting January 1, 2025. We believe that this measure is necessary to reflect the true value of the work rendered on a daily basis and to ensure a decent living for employees", CNSM representatives said.
Another request is to increase the reference values used to calculate salaries by 35%. "It is essential that employees in education, culture, social assistance, public security and other areas receive salaries that allow them to cover their basic expenses", the unionists say.
The CNSM is also calling for 50 million lei to be allocated for balneosanatoriale treatments for insured people: "The reduced working capacity requires real support for recovery, and cutting the budget for this right is not acceptable".
Trade unionists emphasized that the current minimum wage does not cover the minimum subsistence level, estimated at 5900 lei for a child and an adult: "The hardest hit are the low-wage employees, who, even with the compensation offered, cannot survive and cover their family's basic expenses."
The CNSM also criticized the gap between the minimum wage and the average wage in the economy: "Currently, the minimum wage is only 36.5% of the average monthly wage forecast. If the minimum wage will be raised to only 5500 lei in 2025, the ratio will drop to 34.2%, contrary to the commitments undertaken by the Republic of Moldova in relation to the European Union standards".
Referring to the legislation, the trade unionists pointed out that according to Article 2 of the Salary Law, "the minimum monthly salary cannot be lower than the subsistence minimum calculated for the last management period; in this regard, the reference value for calculating salaries in the budgetary sector should be at least equal to the subsistence minimum", CNSM says.
As for balneosanatorial treatments, the trade unionists criticized the intention to reduce the allocations from 30 million to 20 million in 2025. "Reducing the budget will drastically reduce the number of beneficiaries, which has halved in the last 10 years anyway, due to the increase in the average cost of a ticket. This amount must not only be maintained but even increased", insists the CNSM.
The Confederation of Trade Unions reaffirmed its commitment to continue to defend workers' rights and called on the authorities to take urgent action to avoid deepening the social and economic crisis.
