The salary arrears currently total over 20 million lei. These were accumulated at a number of national enterprises and institutions during the last few years, says representatives of the National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova, who consider that the delayed payment of salaries seriously affects the rights of salary earners, IPN reports.

The subject was discussed in the first meeting of the national commission for collective consultations and negotiations held this year. The representatives of trade unions said besides the fact that hundreds or even thousands of salary earners do not get the deserved pays, the employees also do not receive social insurance contributions and this negatively influences the stability of pensions.

The non-observance of the salary payment time limits or the partial payment of salaries leads to forces labor that is banned by the Convention Concerning Forced or Compulsory Labor that was ratified by the Republic of Moldova. Under the Labor Code, if the salary is retained through the employers’ fault, the employee is additionally paid 0.3% of the overdue amount for each day of delay.

The National Confederation of Trade Unions considers the legal framework should be mandatorily improved so as to protect the salary earners and their pays if the employer goes insolvent. The trade unionists formulated proposals in the form of a bill on the creation of a salary arrears payment guarantee fund that could be used when the employers go insolvent. The Confederation’s representatives underlined the necessity of immediately identifying solutions that would help clear the accumulated salary arrears.