The employees of the State Labor Inspectorate will be equipped with portable video cameras to document the inspections they carry out. Also, drones will be used on building sites to more effectively monitor the number of people present there and their level of equipment. It is planned to unionize certain areas, such as the hospitality industry, so that the workers in these sectors can better organize themselves and demand appropriate working conditions. These measures, which are meant to contribute to reducing undeclared work, were pointed out by Minister of Labor and Social Protection Alexei Buzu at a press club meeting, IPN reports.
The minister noted that the envelope wage is a complex issue as both the employee and the employer have a tacit agreement. In order to persuade them to abandon this practice, it is necessary to provide them with appropriate tools. “With the National Employment Agency, we design local profiles of the labor market. We look at employers, their needs. We look at the workforce that is present there and we make effort to have employment plans,” said Alexei Buzu.
The minister also said that work is currently underway on a project that helps identify undeclared jobs with the use of artificial intelligence. “We build a database with a lot of information and the artificial intelligence model helps us understand where there is a risk of undeclared work at an institution. And there, data are provided, for example, on excise duty, VAT, sales, data from the CNAS and we can compare them. For instance, if it’s a construction company that declares particular sales, we can compare with the sales of other companies, how many materials were imported, declared and we look at how many people declared and the logical model would say that one should have more people working, compared to other entities in the same sector,” exemplified the minister.
The authorities will carry out information campaigns to help the young people who became employed for the first time to understand if they really are within the framework of legality, if they are fully protected. In particular, those who work in the construction sector do not know the safety rules, do not have an employment contract, and if they have an accident at work, no one can be held accountable. That’s why it is important for the people who apply for a job to ask for an employment contract, said the minister.
In another connection, Alexei Buzu noted that labor mobility in Moldova is limited due to the road and transport networks.” In any European country, it is natural for a person to find a job 80-120 km away from home, if the road and transport networks are good. In the Republic of Moldova, we are used to having the workplace a few kilometers from home. As a result, labor mobility is limited,” stated the minister.
It is estimated that 23% of the persons who are partially or fully employed receive envelope wages.
