Moldovan PM attends meeting of National Confederation of Trade Unions

Chisinau, 7 June /MOLDPRES/- Prime Minister Pavel Filip today participated in a meeting of the National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova (CNSM), organized on the occasion of unionists' day. In his congratulatory message, the premier underlined the importance of the trade unions in society and their involvement in defending the interests of employees, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.

“I appreciate the constructive approach, even when it comes to criticism from the Confederation of Trade Unions. Meanwhile, we had consistent discussions, concrete proposals and appropriate comments, even when we were discussing more complicated issues,” he said.

The premier said he relies on continuing the good collaboration with the social partners of the Executive - trade unions and employers' organizations, noting that the open and sincere dialogue has led to the successful implementation of important initiatives, including the introduction of meal vouchers. “"The unionists even participated in the drafting of the governance program, which we are currently implementing together. Eventually, we all have one goal - people to live better, to go on better roads, to receive medical services, decent salaries and decent pensions,” he said.

Referring to the measures taken to increase the welfare of the citizens, the prime minister spoke about the reforms promoted by the government in the economy and in the social sphere. Filip said that even thanks to the support of the trade unions, the reform of the pension system aimed at ensuring equity was achieved. At the same time, the social allowances were increased, and the minimum wage increased from 2380 lei to 2610. Increased attention was given to the improvement of the business environment, last year in the Republic of Moldova about 60 thousand jobs were created.

In the context, Filip pointed out that the development model set for the next period is based on three pillars: education, justice and infrastructure, and approaching things in complexity will help identify solutions to all existing problems. “Neither you nor we in government live with illusions. There is only one recipe: not to seek justification, to be honest with each other, and when we understand that we need to be united, I'm sure we can together build the country we want to live in,” he concluded.

For his part, CNSM head Oleg Budza reiterated the support of the trade unions for Moldova’s European integration and the reforms promoted by government. He said that in the future, joint efforts are to be strengthened to increase the quality of the workforce, improve labor law and raise wage levels.

The CNSM consists of 25 trade union centers and has about 400,000 members. The unionists’ day is marked for the eleventh consecutive year since 7 June 2007.