On January 31, 2025, in Chișinău, at the Trade Union House, a roundtable event was held to present the draft Action Plan for promoting collective bargaining and increasing the coverage rate of employees under collective agreements for the years 2025-2030. This plan was developed by the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova (CNSM) with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The event was attended by the leadership of CNSM, presidents of national and sectoral trade union centers, representatives of the International Labour Organization in the Republic of Moldova, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, and the National Confederation of Employers of the Republic of Moldova.

In his welcoming address, Igor Zubcu, President of CNSM, emphasized that promoting collective bargaining and increasing the coverage of employees under collective agreements is an important issue not only for trade unions but also for the labor market and the future of work in the Republic of Moldova.

“We note with concern that, in some branches of the economy and sectors of activity (construction, agriculture, transport, HoReCa, IT sector), employee coverage with collective agreements is far below our expectations, as well as an alarming trend of declining coverage rates. This represents a challenge that cannot be ignored, and our response must be proactive, with solutions to support the promotion and development of social dialogue and collective bargaining,” emphasized the CNSM President.

“The outcome we desire is to create a conducive environment for collective bargaining, revitalizing collective bargaining across all sectors of the economy and activity, as well as at the territorial level, increasing the number of collective agreements and labor contracts, and, consequently, significantly increasing the rate of employee coverage with collective bargaining,” stated Igor Zubcu.

Leonid Cerescu, President of the National Confederation of Employers of the Republic of Moldova, and Violeta Vrabie, National Project Coordinator of the International Labour Organization in the Republic of Moldova, also participated with welcoming messages.

During the roundtable, the measures proposed by CNSM were analyzed, including: modifying the regulatory framework, strengthening the institutional framework, training activities, conducting studies that generate data on social partnership and collective bargaining, carrying out media and information campaigns for both employees and employers, establishing tax and/or financial incentives for employers with active collective labor agreements, and introducing liability for violations of trade union legislation and the rights guaranteed by trade union laws and statutes, etc.

Sergiu Sainciuc, Vice President of the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova (CNSM), presented details about the content and objectives of the Action Plan for promoting collective bargaining and increasing the coverage rate of employees with collective agreements for the years 2025-2030. The Action Plan is based on a thorough analysis of the national context and the proposals/recommendations made by the national and sectoral trade union centers.

The goals of the Plan include: transposing Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and Council of October 19, 2022, on adequate minimum wages in the European Union; developing social partnership and strengthening the role and importance of collective bargaining in regulating labor relations, ensuring decent working conditions, and protecting the rights and interests of employees; and increasing the rate of employee coverage with collective bargaining agreements. The overall objective of the Plan is to establish a favorable regulatory and institutional framework for collective bargaining and to increase the rate of employee coverage with collective agreements to 80% by 2030.

This overall objective will be achieved through approximately 30 actions between 2025 and 2030, including: modifying the regulatory framework, strengthening the institutional framework, conducting training activities, carrying out studies that generate data on social partnership and collective bargaining, organizing media and information campaigns for both employees and employers, providing fiscal and/or financial incentives for employers with active collective labor agreements, establishing accountability for violations of trade union legislation and the rights guaranteed by law and trade union statutes, and other actions.

The main existing issues in the social partnership domain include: the absence of employers’ representatives at the territorial level; frequent changes in the leadership of local public administration authorities; lack of territorial consultation and collective bargaining commissions in some districts and municipalities; lack of consolidated employer structures in certain sectors; the absence of specialized public administration structures as partners for collective bargaining in some sectors; frequent changes in the leadership of specialized central public administration authorities; the limited capacity of the CNCNC and its Secretariat in reviewing and endorsing labor and socio-economic legislation; inactivity of the CNCNC specialized councils; instances of non-recognition of collective labor contracts and collective agreements by state control bodies; and a lack of knowledge about social partnership and collective bargaining.

The monitoring of the Plan’s implementation will be entrusted to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, and its progress will also be reviewed annually within the National Commission for Consultations and Collective Bargaining.

During the roundtable, Torsten Müller, Senior Researcher at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), intervened online to inform attendees about the implementation of the EU Directive 2022/2041 regarding adequate minimum wages in the European Union and to provide information about collective bargaining coverage in EU member states.

According to the information presented, at the national level, from 2004 to 2024, 21 collective agreements were concluded, including one bipartite collective agreement; at the sectoral level, 18 collective agreements are in force; at the territorial level, 12 collective agreements are in force; and at the unit level, at the beginning of 2024, 4,275 collective contracts were in force. Currently, the coverage rate of collective bargaining stands at 38.5%.