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Moldova - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Chisinau

 

CLIMATE

Moderate winters, warm summers.

 

LANGUAGES

Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect).

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Moldova’s legal system is based on civil law system. Constitutional Court reviews legality of legislative acts and governmental decisions of resolution. It is unclear if Moldova accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts many UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) documents.

 

CURRENCY

Moldovan Leu (1 USD = 13.4994 MDL as of March 15, 2002).

 

MOLDOVA - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

 

MOLDOVA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U.S. Embassy at Chisinau

103 Mateevic Street

Chisinau, Moldolva 2009

Telephone: [373] (2) 23-37-72

Fax: [373] (2) 23 30 44

http://www.usembassy.md/

 

Embassy of the Republic of Moldova at Washington D.C.

2101 S Street N.W.

Washington D.C. 20008

Telephone: (202) 667-1130

Fax: (202) 667-1204

E-mail: moldova@dgs.dgsys.com

http://www.moldova.org/embassies.html

 

MOLDOVA - HOLIDAYS

 

MOLDOVA - MINIMUM AGE

The minimum age for unrestricted employment is 18 years. Employment of those between the ages of 16 and 18 is permitted under special conditions, including shorter workdays, no night shifts, and longer vacations.

 

(Section 6.d. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Moldova – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

MOLDOVA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The legal minimum monthly wage is 100 Moldovan lei (approximately $9) for those employed by the state and 150 Moldovan lei (approximately $12.75) for those employed by private firms. Neither minimum wage provides a decent standard of living for a worker and family.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Moldova – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

MOLDOVA - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessors are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

 

MOLDOVA - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution states that any employee may found a union or join a union that defends workers' interests. The Trade Union Law passed in 2000 provides for independent trade unions, and other laws give citizens the right to form all kinds of social organizations. However, although some groups of workers have attempted to establish alternate trade unions independent of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU)--the successor to the Soviet trade union system--none of these attempts have succeeded. Virtually all employed adults are members of a union in the GFTU. The GFTU's continuing role in managing the state insurance system and its retention of former official union headquarters and vacation facilities provide an inherent advantage over other groups who might wish to form a union. Dissatisfaction within GFTU has resulted in several splits within the organization; however, the resulting splinter groups have been unsuccessful in forming new independent unions.

 

Neither government workers nor those in essential services such a health care and energy have the right to strike. In practice, other unions may strike if two-thirds of their members vote in a secret ballot to do so. No general or country-wide strikes took place during the year, although local strikes by teachers and doctors occurred in some areas.

 

Unions may affiliate and maintain contacts with international organizations. The GFTU is a member of the International Confederation of Trade Unions.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The law provides for collective bargaining, and the Government generally respects this right in practice. Wages are set through a tripartite negotiation process involving government, management, and unions. The three parties meet and negotiate national minimum wages for all categories of workers. Each branch union representing a particular industry negotiates with management and the government ministries responsible for that industry. They may, and often do, set wages higher than the minimum set on the national level, especially if the industry in question is more profitable than average. At the enterprise level, union and management representatives negotiate directly on wages. In this case also, they may set wages higher than negotiators on the industry level.

 

The law prohibits discrimination against workers for union membership or activities and there were no reports of actions taken against union members for engaging in union activities. The 2000 Trade Union Law provides that union leaders may not be fired from their jobs while in leadership positions without the consent of their superior union, and there were no reports of such firings during the year.

 

Labor disputes typically are settled in the workplace by a workplace arbitration committee. If an arbitration committee fails to settle the dispute, it is taken to the Courts of First Appeals. Court decisions involving the restitution of salary or a position are not implemented in all cases.

 

There were no export processing zones (EPZ's), although legislation passed on July 27 provided for converting former free enterprise zones into EPZ's. By year's end, work had begun to convert the four free enterprise zones in rural areas to EPZ's.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The Constitution prohibits forced and compulsory labor, however trafficking in women was a problem (see Section 6.f.).

 

The Government specifically prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, trafficking in girls for the purpose of prostitution was a very serious problem (see Section 6.f.).

 

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

 

The minimum age for unrestricted employment is 18 years. Employment of those between the ages of 16 and 18 is permitted under special conditions, including shorter workdays, no night shifts, and longer vacations. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection has primary responsibility for enforcing these restrictions but does not do so actively. The Ministry of Health also has a role. However, children often are sent to work in the fields or to find other work in violation of the child labor laws. Children living in rural areas often assist in the agricultural sector. The Government has not ratified International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor.

 

The Government specifically prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however trafficking in girls was a serious problem (see Section 6.f.).

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The legal minimum monthly wage is $9 (100 Moldovan lei) for those employed by the state and $12.75 (150 Moldovan lei) for those employed by private firms. Neither minimum wage provides a decent standard of living for a worker and family. A minimum of $2.50 (18 Moldovan lei) continued to be used as a basis for calculating pensions, scholarships, and fines. The officially reported median salary for the first 11 months was $39 per month (433 Moldovan lei) in the public sector and $57 (738 Moldovan lei) in the private sector. The highest salaries for the same period were in the financial sector, at $183 (2,362 Moldovan lei) and the lowest were in health care and social services, at $26 (331 Moldovan Lei). Due to severe budgetary constraints, the Government and private sectors often do not meet payrolls for employees.

 

The Constitution sets the maximum workweek at 40 hours, with extra compensation for overtime, and the Labor Code provides for at least 1 day off per week.

 

The State is required to set and check safety standards in the workplace. The unions within the GFTU also have inspection personnel who have a right to stop work in a factory or fine an enterprise if safety standards are not met; however, this right is exercised rarely. Workers have the right to refuse to work, and they may continue to draw their salaries if working conditions represent a serious threat to their health. In practice the depressed economy has led enterprises to economize on safety equipment and show little concern for worker safety problems. Workers often do not know their rights in this area. The Ministry of Labor reported 59 serious industrial injuries in 2000, affecting 42 persons, 38 of them resulting in death during the year. The Ministry of Labor announced that it would publish a new statistical report on labor standards in April, but had not done so by year's end.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

Pursuant to July amendments, the law prohibits trafficking in persons; however, trafficking in women and girls was a very serious problem. Although no official statistics are available, the country is a major country of origin for women and girls who are trafficked abroad for prostitution. There have been unsubstantiated reports by local NGO's of involvement by government officials; however, no official charges have been made.

 

Women and girls are trafficked to various locations, including Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Yugoslavia for prostitution. There also were reports that women were trafficked to Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Portugal, France, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Australia. Women and girls reportedly were trafficked to Italy and Greece through Romania, Serbia-Montenegro, and Albania. The IOM reported that more than 50 percent of the women working in prostitution in Kosovo were from Moldova. The Government of Turkey deports approximately 2,500 Moldovan women for prostitution yearly. A prominent women's rights activist and Member of Parliament stated that more than 10,000 Moldovan women were working as prostitutes in other countries.

 

MOLDOVA - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

MOLDOVA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The Constitution sets the maximum workweek at 40 hours, with extra compensation for overtime, and the Labor Code provides for at least 1 day off per week.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Moldova – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)