Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Republic of Moldova (Ratification: 2000)

Article 4(2) and (3) of the Convention. Full consultation and direct participation of employers’ and workers’ representatives. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to section 3(4) of Act No. 1432-XVI of 28 December 2000 on the establishment and readjustment of the minimum wage, which provides that the national minimum wage is determined by Government decision after consultations with trade unions and employers’ representatives, taking into account indicators such as the consumer price index, the average wage, the gross domestic product, labour productivity, and the minimum subsistence level.

The Government also refers to a new procedure for the annual review of the guaranteed minimum wage according to which, upon examining the evolution of the consumer price index and labour productivity, the National Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family calculate the new minimum wage level and transmit a draft government decision on the revision of the minimum wage to the National Confederation of Trade Unions and the National Confederation of Employers for comments.

The Committee recalls, in this respect, that the Convention requires that the social partners must be given a genuine opportunity to express their views and influence the relevant government decisions, otherwise consultation or participation would risk to become a mere formality devoid of any real significance. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide additional explanations as to whether the current practice of informing the social partners and inviting their comments after the Government has completed the process of revision of the minimum wage can be deemed consistent with the letter and the spirit of the Convention. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether any consideration has been given to the possibility of setting up a permanent tripartite consultative body for the purposes of, among others, fixing and revising the national minimum wage.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. Enforcement measures. Application in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to the new Contravention Code (Act No. 218-XVI of 24 October 2008), in particular section 55 which provides for monetary fines ranging from 1,000 to 9,600 lei (MDL) (approximately US$280 to $2,700) in case of infringement of the labour legislation in general, and section 57 which sets out specific fines for failure to comply with the terms of wages, pensions and allowances. The Committee also notes that by virtue of Government Decision No. 260 of 25 April 2012, the guaranteed minimum wage is fixed at MDL1,300 (approximately $365) per month. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide all available information on the application of the Convention in practice, including the approximate number of workers covered by the Convention, copies of collective agreements establishing minimum wages for specific branches, statistics on the evolution of the minimum wages in recent years as compared to the evolution of economic indicators, such as the inflation rate, in the same period, inspection results showing the number of visits carried out, violations of the minimum wage legislation observed and sanctions imposed, and copies of official reports or studies addressing issues of minimum wage policy.