The National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova (CNSM) is concerned about the uncertainty about the payment of the annual award for results achieved in activity in 2020. In a letter to acting Prime Minister Aureliu Ciocoi, which was signed by the Confederation‘s administration and by the heads of five trade union federations, CNSM asks for his involvement for dealing with the problem announced for hastening the amendment of the 2021 state budget law so as to allocate the funds needed for paying the annual award for results in 2020 and 2021 to public sector employees, IPN reports.

In a press release, the trade unionists remind that under the law on pay grades in the public sector, the personnel of public sector units can benefit from an annual award for the results obtained during the year. However, in 2020 the annual award was paid for results achieved in 2019, while for 2020 the award wasn’t paid.

On April 19, CNSM sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance, asking this to provide relevant explanations to the members of trade unions working in the public sector. The Ministry responded that under Law No. 257/2020, the normative documents concerning the salary policy for 2021, including Article 211 of Law No. 270 on pay grades in the public sector, were amended and these now do not envision the payment of the annual award for 2020.

But the new conditions concerning the payment of the annual award, which are stipulated by Government Decision No. 984/2020, will start to be applied on January 1, 2021. Earlier, the trade unions proposed amending the regulations on the method of paying the annual award to public sector employee so that the award for 2020 is paid in February 2021, while the award for 2021 and the next awards in December.

The received response said that when the 2021 state budget was being drafted, the financial resources needed for paying the annual award for could not be identified.