Trade unions announce a picket outside the Moldovan parliament, demanding urgent measures to protect employees. The main demands include raising the minimum wage to 6,000 lei, increasing salaries in the budgetary sector and allocating funds for balneosanatorium treatment. The action is scheduled for Friday, December 13, starting at 10:00, IPN reports.

The unions are drawing attention to the worsening social-economic situation of salaried workers and call on the authorities to take urgent measures to protect workers' rights.

"The current wages do not reflect the true value of the work done and do not even cover the subsistence minimum of 5 900.8 lei for a child and an adult. The increase in gas tariffs will affect the entire population and will generate chain prices, deepening poverty for low-income earners", say union representatives.

The National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova (CNSM) calls for: setting the minimum wage in the country at 6,000 lei, starting January 1, 2025, increasing by 35% the reference values for calculating salaries in the budgetary sector and allocating 50 million lei for the balneosanatorial treatment of insured persons.

"In our European integration aspirations, we need to transpose the EU Directive 2022/2041, which requires the minimum wage to be 50% of the average wage. At present, this ratio is only 36.5% and risks falling to 34.2% in 2025, which is contrary to the law on pay and dignity at work", the unions point out.

Trade union representatives also condemn the proposal to reduce the expenses for balneosanatorium treatment by 10 million lei, which would limit employees' access to rehabilitation and rest. "The decrease in the amount allocated will reduce the number of beneficiaries, given that over the last ten years the number of beneficiaries has halved," they warn.

The picket is a call for solidarity to protect the fundamental rights of employees and to ensure a dignified life in the Republic of Moldova, says the CNSM.