Moldovan prime minister holds consultations with trade unionists, employers

Chisinau, 31 January /MOLDPRES/ - Acting Prime Minister Iurie Leanca today held consultations with representatives of the National Confederation of Trade Unions (CNSM) and the National Confederation of Employers (CNPM), who made proposals on the cabinet’s action programme, the government’s communication and media relations department has reported.

Thus, CNSM's proposals refer to social partnership, wages, taxation of private people, insurance and social protection, health and safety at work, improving the living standards and protecting domestic producers. Unionists rely on developing a simplified formula for calculating pensions, reducing the tax burden for low-income individuals and non-taxation of incomes under the subsistence level, initiating negotiations to implement the provisions of the Platform on Social Dialogue in Moldova and others.

For their part, employers proposed that the future government’s action programme includes reducing the number of permissive acts, demonipolisation of the pharmaceutical markets, insurance markets, oil markets and banking system. Another suggestion regards combating unfair competition and building the capacities of the national authorities in the competition sector.

CNPM representatives recommended the government not to allow reviewing and approving of regulations and draft normative and legislative acts, including legislative initiatives submitted by MPs on the business environment, without the approval of the Working Group on entrepreneurship activity regulation.

CNPM volunteered to participate in drafting a new Tax Code and insisted on its approval by late 2015.

Both sides welcomed the intention of Prime Minister-designate Iurie Leanca to hand down the government’s social dialogue coordination responsibilities to the deputy prime minister holding the economics portfolio. According to representatives of Trade Unions and Employers this would facilitate removing the signaled difficulties.

Iurie Leanca reiterated the need to implement drastic measures to combat corruption and carry out the justice reform.

"We need these consultations. In some areas, we need new approaches. We realised a long time ago that we will not be able to achieve results without a fair justice system. The effects of our efforts to combat corruption and reform the judiciary are robust. That is why, we must radically change many things in the country to have a freer business environment and happy employees," said Iurie Leanca.

The consultations held by incumbent Prime Minister Iurie Leanca, nominated as candidate for the office of premier of the new government, for developing the cabinet's action programme, started on 30 January.