Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150) - Republic of Moldova (Ratification: 2006)

Article 4 of the Convention. Organization and functioning of the labour administration system. The Committee notes with interest that the several areas of competence (employment-related skills and social partnership, wage policy, human resource development, demography and labour migration) passed from the authority of the Ministry of Economy to the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family (Act No. 21-XVI of 18 September 2009, Government Decision No. 597 of 21 October 2009 and Government Decision No. 691 of 17 November 2009). Thus, the General Directorate of Human Resources, Labour and Wage Policy, the National Employment Agency, the Labour Inspectorate and the Secretariat of the National Commission for Consultation and Collective Negotiation, are acting now as components of the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family. The Ministry’s departments involved in the labour administration process are currently the following: labour relations and social partnership; salary policy; human resources development and occupational policies; migration policy. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide an organigram of the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family both at central and local levels, and provide details on arrangements made to ensure the effective operation and coordination of the system of labour administration in practice. Please also indicate whether any departments of the Ministry like, for instance, the National Employment Agency, are parastatal bodies.

Article 5. Impact of tripartism. The Committee notes that the National Commission for Consultation and Collective Negotiations endorsed during the reporting period the draft law on ratification of Convention No. 187 which was subsequently adopted by Parliament as Act No. 72-XVIII of 26 November 2009. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information on the activities of the National Commission, notably the issues examined at national, branch and territorial levels, as well as the results achieved. Please also forward copies of any relevant documentation.

Article 6(2)(c) and (d). Services and technical advice offered to employers and workers and their organizations. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate whether the new bodies which have been brought within the labour administration system (the General Directorate of Human Resources, Labour and Wage Policy, the National Employment Agency, the Labour Inspectorate and the Secretariat of the National Commission for Consultation and Collective Negotiation) provide, among other things, services and technical advice to employers and workers, and their respective organizations, and provide examples of such activities.

Article 7. Extension of the functions of the labour administration system. The Committee notes with interest the gender–disaggregated statistical information provided by the Government on workers in the informal economy. According to the Government, enterprises and workers operating in the informal economy fall within the scope of Act No. 140-XV of 10 May 2001 on Labour Inspection and Act No. 102-XV of 13 March 2003 on employment and social protection of persons seeking employment, even though controlling and tracking this activity is difficult in practice. The labour inspectorate has in this framework tracked and helped legalize informal employment in enterprises functioning in the formal sector.

The Committee recalls from its previous comments that according to the document entitled “National employment strategy of Moldova for 2007–15”, published by the Ministry of Economy and Trade, with the support of the International Labour Office, the fight against informality would include, in the framework of the National Employment Strategy, incentives to enterprises to become formal, measures to promote small and medium-sized enterprise development and regulation of those economic sectors more exposed to informality. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information on measures taken or under consideration for the gradual extension of the functions of the labour administration system to cover workers in the informal economy, as well as their impact.

Articles 8 and 9. Control of activities carried out by certain bodies. The Committee recalls from paragraphs 138 to 139 of its 1997 General Survey on labour administration that, pursuant to the growing number of bilateral and multilateral contacts at the international and regional levels and the resulting agreements on labour matters, including technical assistance, national bodies are set up to be responsible for international labour affairs. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the bodies within the system of labour administration which exercise the functions provided in Article 8, and describe their activities in practice.

The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would give details on any parastatal or regional and local agencies which may be entrusted with labour administration activities and describe the way in which they are supervised by the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family in conformity with Article 9.

Article 10. Human resources and material means of the labour administration. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the training and professional development of civil servants under section 37 of Act No. 158-XVI of 4 July 2008. The Committee is not clear as to the amount allocated to the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family under the State Budget Law which amounts according to the Government to 345,7719 thousand lei. The Committee recalls that in paragraphs 160–166 of its abovementioned General Survey, the Committee stressed the important role the means placed at the disposal of the State have in the effectiveness of a labour administration system. According to paragraph 166, “[t]he budget situation of labour administrations in the developing countries has direct repercussions on the conditions of work and qualifications of their staff, but especially on the services provided and hence on the conditions in which the population at large live and work”. In light of the aforesaid, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would specify the proportion of the budget of the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family in the national budget as well as the composition, status and conditions of service of the staff of the labour administration system.

Parts III to V of the report form. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government on the individual disputes brought to the courts with regard to illegal dismissal claims. The Committee also notes with interest the information supplied by the Government on the activities of the National Agency for Employment (NEA) including performance indicators on the action plan on promoting labour market policies in 2009. It notes that the baselines related to the number of beneficiaries of unemployment benefits and the number of persons applying to NEA services were met and exceeded by a wide margin, while no results were obtained in relation to encouraging employers to employ graduates. Finally, the Committee notes the information on the implementation of a project on “Employment vocational training opportunities and migration policy measures to prevent and reduce trafficking in women in Albania, Moldova and Ukraine, Phase II, Moldova”. It also notes however, that information on several other projects is not provided despite the indication to the contrary in the Government’s report. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information on court cases including those concerning illegal dismissal disputes and other terms and conditions of employment, like wages, working time, freedom of association, etc. It would also appreciate further information on the activities of the National Agency for Employment as well as other labour administration agencies like the labour inspectorate, the General Directorate of Human Resources and the National Bureau of Statistics. Finally, please continue to provide information on the impact at national level of technical cooperation projects carried out in areas such as trafficking, child labour, HIV/AIDS policies, social dialogue, labour inspection and occupational safety and health.