Salaries in Moldova ought to rise, and the authorities should revise the costs of an hour of work, especially in the public sector. This is long due, and the government should pay increased attention to these matters, says Viorica Antonov, expert with the think-tank IDIS Viitorul.

Speaking in an interview with the RFE/RL's Moldovan service, Viorica Antonov remarked that the average salary doesn't meet the costs of living.

While in 2010 emphasis was on increasing salaries in the justice sector, the expert thinks today attention should shift towards the education sector, which has become very vulnerable, due to young specialists refusing to take low paying jobs in rural areas. Other vulnerable sectors, according to the expert, are health care, agriculture and constructions.

Speaking about the social assistance sector, Viorica Antonov noted that some progress has been achieved here, and salaries will rise in time. “On the other hand, working on the ground is very hard, especially in rural areas and during the cold season. A further problem is the low number of employees compared to the population's needs. I think the Ministry of Labor should come up with a new intervention plan and hire more people, and to achieve this, it's obvious that a competitive salary is needed to attract young specialists”.

Viorica Antonov added that the authorities should also change the pension indexation policy, with many pensioners being discriminated by the current one, in her opinion. “It's important to draw a line and calculate how many people receive a pension lower than 3,000 lei. They should be the ones to enjoy indexation first. Perhaps those who get pensions of 5,000 lei can wait two or three years without any indexation”.

As of October 2014, according to the latest statistics, the average monthly salary in Moldova was 4,309.5 lei. Public employees earned 3,798.6 lei. The highest paying sector was ICT, where the monthly salary averaged 8,246.9 lei.