Members of the Women’s Commission of the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova (CNSM) and of the Platform of Women Deputies, with the participation of the CNSM leadership, trade union leaders from the national-trade union centres, discussed on Monday, March 11, a number of issues regarding the social-economic protection of women in the Republic of Moldova at the meeting entitled “We plead for a decent living at home”.

The parties stressed the importance of developing dialogue and cooperation to promote equity and equal rights for women, developing cooperation on improving legislative initiatives, preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, promoting policies that focus on social and economic issues, as well as contributing to the elimination of obstacles and inequalities faced by women in society and labour relations.

The agenda of the discussions included the following topics: legislative progress: initiatives to increase gender equality and social equity; women and family friendly policies; how to ensure equal pay for equal work and work of equal value; trade union visions on increasing women’s social and economic protection; promoting gender equality and combating violence against women; ratification of ILO Convention 190 for the safety of women at work, trade union visions on promoting gender equality and combating violence against women.

The President of the Women’s Commission of CNSM, Angela Otean, expressed her hope that this meeting will lay the foundations for a fruitful inter-institutional collaboration, so that the rights and interests of women employees are respected and women in our country and their families benefit from adequate social-economic protection.

Present at the activity, Igor Zubcu, President of the CNSM, welcomed the launch of this platform for dialogue between women trade unionists and members of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, saying that it represents an opportunity to join efforts in terms of equal opportunities and gender policies, ensuring a decent living and work, combating violence against women in society and at work, combating discrimination in the field of wages and pensions.

The trade union leader reiterated that trade unions are open to contribute to the achievement of the objectives set in the process of European integration of the Republic of Moldova.

The Vice-President of the Parliament, Doina Gherman, appreciated the openness of the Women’s Committee of the National Trade Union Cinfederation of Moldova to initiate dialogue and establish partnership for the benefit of women in our country. “What unites us is a woman’s right to a life lived with dignity and safety. We can say with confidence that more women in the decision-making process leads to better quality of life in all aspects. To provide

In order to provide continuity to the actions undertaken so far, we need reliable partners to support us, including in identifying mechanisms to implement the law in areas such as social, medical, education and justice”, said Doina Gherman.

At the same time, Doina Gherman, Vice-President of the Parliament, praised the involvement of the trade union movement, especially women trade unionists, in ratifying the International Labour Organisation Convention No 190 on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment at Work, which is a reference instrument in the world of work.

For her part, Lilia Franț, CNSM vice-president, mentioned the importance of developing the dialogue between the Platform of Women Deputies and the Women’s Commission of the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova, and that today’s meeting should be a good starting point for organising joint activities, discussing legislative projects in the field of social protection and implementing projects aimed at improving the social and economic situation of women in the Republic of Moldova.

The participants of the meeting reviewed the main achievements and initiatives of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova in the field of promoting gender equality and equal opportunities, combating the informal economy, removing inequalities faced by women, protection of women and their participation in decision-making processes, implementation of friendly social policies for the integration of women into society, and the promotion of gender equality.

The women trade unionists referred to the imbalances that still exist in the labour market, the inequalities faced by women in terms of pay, retirement age, the need to develop programmes targeting health issues and the health of women employees, training activities and awareness-raising and information campaigns for women in the country.

It should be noted that the representatives of the Platform of Women Deputies and the Women’s Commission of the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova have proposed to hold regular meetings to address the problems faced by women in Moldova and to promote the issues on the list of priorities of women trade unionists.

Also today, women trade unionists saw the photo exhibition “Women, exponent of the transformation of society over time”, which the Parliament hosts, and were familiarised with the work of the institution by visiting the Museum and the Sitting Room of the Moldovan Parliament.   

The Women’s Commission is a structure of the CNSM, which aims to protect the professional, economic and social rights of women trade union members by: monitoring compliance with the legislation in force for the protection of women’s social and labour rights; actively participating in the implementation of trade union policies; collaborating with state structures and civil society, by joining efforts, in order to strengthening the environment for democratic change, building a society with equal rights and opportunities for women and men.

The Platform of Women Deputies of the 11th Parliament is a framework for cooperation and dialogue to strengthen and promote women’s rights in the country. The Platform of Women Deputies is supported by UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and UNICEF Moldova.