For many people in Moldova, the cost of everyday life is a major concern. A nationwide poll by the International Republican Institute (IRI) last year found that 63 per cent of Moldovans identified the cost of living, low incomes or other financial issues among the country's most important problems.
A more recent survey points in the same direction. The September 2026 Public Opinion Barometer, conducted by Moldova's Institute for Public Policy, found that the cost of living remains at the forefront of people's concerns.
Against this backdrop, the Government of Moldova has adopted a national Action Plan to promote collective bargaining for 2026-2030.
Collective bargaining gives workers and employers a way to negotiate over the issues that directly affect people's working lives, including wages and other terms and conditions of employment. It can help ensure that wages and working conditions are negotiated through dialogue, while giving enterprises a predictable framework for addressing workplace challenges and managing change.
The new Action Plan sets out measures to improve the legal and regulatory framework for collective bargaining, strengthen institutions for social dialogue, build the capacity of workers' and employers' organizations, and increase knowledge and understanding of collective bargaining.
From trade union initiative to national policy
The Action Plan grew out of an initiative developed by the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova in 2025, with technical support from the International Labour Organization (ILO) through a project funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The National Trade Union Confederation subsequently brought its proposal into discussions at national level. A draft Action Plan was developed through tripartite social dialogue involving the Government and representatives of workers' and employers' organizations.
Throughout the process, the ILO provided technical support and comments on successive drafts, helping to bring the Plan into closer alignment with international labour standards and good practices.
The initiative also forms part of Moldova's efforts to implement European Union Directive 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages. The Directive requires EU Member States where collective bargaining coverage is below 80 per cent to establish an action plan, with a clear timeline and concrete measures, to progressively increase collective bargaining coverage.
Supporting international labour standards and EU alignment
The Action Plan also supports Moldova's commitments under international labour standards.
Moldova ratified the ILO Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), in 1996. Article 4 calls for measures to encourage and promote voluntary negotiation between employers or employers' organizations and workers' organizations.
The Plan also supports Moldova's efforts to align its labour legislation with the European Union acquis. The Government has linked its implementation both to the EU Directive on adequate minimum wages and to Moldova's National Accession Programme for 2025-2029.
Its adoption is also a concrete result under the Decent Work Country Programme for the Republic of Moldova 2025-2027, agreed by the Government, workers' and employers' organizations and the ILO. Strengthening social dialogue at all levels is the Programme's first priority.
Implementation of the Action Plan will be monitored annually. Responsible public authorities and institutions will report on progress to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, which will consolidate the information for consideration by the National Commission for Consultations and Collective Bargaining. The Plan may also be revised periodically following consultation with the social partners.
