The National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova proposes that the minimum salary as from January 1, 2023 should be at least 5,000 lei. The proposal was formulated in the meeting of the national commission for collective consultations and negotiations, IPN reports.

The trade unionists referred to the socioeconomic context, the increasing pressure of the rise in prices, the labor migration’s effects on the economy.

According to the National Bank of Moldova’s forecasts, the rate of inflation for the third quarter of 2022 will be 34.7%, while for the fourth quarter – 34.3%. The data of the National Bureau of Statistics show the average consumer prices in August 2022 were by 22.93% higher than in December 2021.

The Confederation’s chairman Igor Zubcu noted that the minimum salary is an indicator of the quality of life and the labor force should be remunerated correspondingly, in accordance with the European standards, the European Social Charter (Revised) that the Republic of Moldova ratified and that stipulates that the minimum salary should represent 50-60% of the average official salary.

“The minimum monthly salary in the common pay system cannot be lower than the minimum subsistence level calculated for the last period,” the Confederation said in a press release.

The national commission for collective consultations and negotiations is a tripartite, autonomous body of public interest of the social partnership constituted to solve labor and socioeconomic problems and to develop the social partnership nationwide.