Dear Mr. Director General,

ladies and gentlemen,

Honored delegates,

It is a great honor and  privilege to address you at the 112th International Labor Conference as President of the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova.

I strongly believe that ensuring decent work is the number one priority of the trade union movement worldwide. Decent minimum wages which cover the needs of employees and their families are imperative and increasing them remains on the agenda of social partners in the Republic of Moldova. Through social dialogue, we have achieved an unprecedented 25% increase in the minimum wage in 2024.

In the forthcoming future, we intend not only to transpose but also to implement the EU Directive 2022/2024 on adequate minimum wages in the EU, so that the minimum wage will be 50% of the average wage in the economy.

In the same context, we are to develop, together with the social partners, an action plan to ensure that 80% of employees are covered by collective bargaining. At present, this rate is around 40%.

A major achievement obtained at the insistence of trade unions at the end of 2023, is the ratification of an important labor standard – ILO Convention No. 190 on violence and harassment in the world of work. This year, with ILO support, trade unions have started actions to build the capacity of trade union members to combat workplace violence and harassment, including trainings at the local level.

I consider it important to inform you that recently, at the Youth Forum, organized by the CNSM, the challenges faced by young people were addressed, including their desire to be heard, to be promoted, to have decent wages, secure jobs promoting innovation and personal development, as well as to ensure a work-life balance and guarantee them rights and fair working conditions.

For this reason, it is necessary to promote gender equality and equal opportunities in the process of integration into the labor market and career development, which will also contribute to reducing the wage gap in the labor market, which amounted to 15.5% in 2022 in the Republic of Moldova.

Dear delegates, states must focus not only on creating conditions for reconciling work and family life, but also on ensuring decent work for people in the care economy, who make a significant contribution to economic development, but are often disadvantaged on the labor market.

We, the trade unions, insist on the ratification of ILO Convention No. 156 on Equal Treatment and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women Workers: Employees with Family Responsibilities and stimulation of investments for the creation of care services to support workers.

In the context of the topics addressed at this year’s Conference, we firmly believe that safe working conditions, free from exposure to biological hazards or other factors that could affect their health, must be guaranteed for all workers. Safety and health at work is an investment not only for today’s workers but also for future generations. The labor inspectorate has an important role to play here.

Starting from the fact that the Minister of Labor and Social Protection, Mr. Alexei Buzu, is the president of the International Labor Conference, an important achievement for which I congratulate him and which demonstrates the firm commitment of the Government of the Republic of Moldova to a genuine social dialogue and the promotion of decent work principles, we express our conviction that the Republic of Moldova will bring its national legal framework in the field of labor inspection in line with the international standards ratified by the Republic of Moldova – ILO Conventions No. 81 and 129  in the near future.

At the same time, I would like to express my gratitude to the ILO for the constant support it has provided to the Republic of Moldova for the development and improvement of social dialogue and the labor market. We are constantly making considerable efforts to strengthen social dialogue and we condemn any attempt to interfere in the work of trade union organizations, especially on the part of employers and public authorities, which is unacceptable for a state on the path of European integration, which has committed itself to bringing its legislation and practices into line with international and European labour standards.

Finally, I want to emphasize that a skilled and protected workforce is the key pillar for progress and prosperity, the strength of our economies and societies is based on the hard work and dedication of workers.

Dear delegates, I want to urge you to work together to ensure a brighter future for work, where the rights and aspirations of every worker are honored and supported.

Thank you for your attention.

The video speech is available on the CNSM Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sindicate.md