The National Trade Union Confederation  of Moldova (CNSM) calls for amending Law No. 270/2018 on the unitary system of salaries in the budgetary sector in order to increase the salaries of education and research employees so that they reflect the true value and importance of teachers in society and encourage young moldovans to choose a teaching career. An appeal in this regard, signed by Igor Zubcu, president of the CNSM, was sent to Prime Minister Dorin Recean on Tuesday, October 1.

“The CNSM is concerned about the level of motivation of teachers and staff in education and research. It is certain that education is the foundation of a healthy society and teachers play a crucial role in the formation of human capital. In fact, one of the objectives of the National Development Strategy “European Moldova 2030” refers to “Ensuring relevant and quality education for all throughout life”, but due to the acute shortage of staff in the field of education, the realization of this objective could be different from the planned one”, the statement says.

The confederation emphasizes that despite the fact that over the past years the Government has promoted and adopted several measures to support education employees and attract young specialists in this field, the salary of the staff in this field, according to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, in the quarter. II of 2024, amounted to 10709.9 lei or 76.1% of the average monthly salary in the economy.

“In the current socio-economic conditions, these salaries are insufficient to ensure a decent living and attract young specialists to educational institutions, which is why the education system continues to face a shortage of teachers, thus affecting the quality of education provided to students,” the unionists emphasized.

According to paragraph 115 of Chapter X of the 1966 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and ILO (International Labour Organization) Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, teachers’ salaries should be comparable to salaries paid in other occupations requiring similar or equivalent qualifications, and should provide teachers with the means to ensure a decent standard of living for themselves and their families.

According to the information published by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, the number of vacant teaching posts in general educational institutions in the Republic of Moldova in recent years remains quite high, in 2023 this figure will be 2041 vacant posts.