Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/mac/TEXT/HUMANrts/MOLDOVA.TXU

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TITLE:  MOLDOVA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995



Section 5                           Discrimination Based on
                                    Race, Sex, Religion,
                                    Disability, Language, or
                                    Social Status

    Women

The law provides that women shall be equal to men before the
law and public authorities.  They are generally
underrepresented in government and leadership positions,
however, and, according to statistics, have been
disproportionately affected by growing unemployment.

Women who suffer physical abuse by their husbands have the
right to press charges; husbands convicted of such abuse may
receive prison sentences (up to 6 months is not uncommon).
Public awareness of the problem of violence in families
generally is not very high, and no special government programs
exist to combat spouse abuse.  According to knowledgeable
sources, women do not generally appeal to police or the courts
for protection against abusive spouses because they are
embarrassed to do so.  Police generally do not consider spouse
abuse a serious crime, although, when cases do reach a court,
they appear to be treated seriously.  Women and legal
authorities do not identify spouse abuse as a common problem.

    Children

Moldova has extensive legislation designed to protect children,
including extended paid maternity leave and government
supplementary payments for families with many children.  The
health system devotes extensive resources to child care.  No
special problems with child abuse came to light in 1994.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Moldova has a population of about 4.3 million, of which 65
percent are ethnic Romanian Moldovans.  Ukrainians (14 percent)
and Russians (13 percent) are the two largest minorities.  A
Christian Turkic minority, the Gagauz, lives primarily in the
southern regions.  They are largely Russian-speaking and
represent about 3.5 percent of the population.

Moldova's citizenship law, adopted in 1990, offered an equal
opportunity to all persons resident in Moldova at the time of
independence to adopt Moldovan citizenship.  The CSCE's Office
of Democratic Initiatives and Human Rights praised the law as
being very liberal.  The law permits dual citizenship on the
basis of a bilateral agreement, but no such agreements were in
effect in 1994.

Several steps taken in 1994 led to an improvement in the
relations between Romanian/Moldovan and Russian speakers.  In
March citizens participated in a "public opinion survey"
(actually, a referendum) in which they overwhelmingly voted in
favor of Moldovan independence.  This quieted fears expressed
by the Russian-speaking population regarding reunification with
Romania, an alternative which is favored by a small minority of
Moldovan citizens.

The new Parliament voted to delay the implementation of the
language testing foreseen in the language law of 1989 and due
to begin in 1994.  The principle inherent in the language law
is that, in dealing with any official or commercial entity, the
citizen should be able to pick the language to use.  Officials
are therefore obligated to know Russian and Romanian/Moldovan
"to the degree necessary to fulfill their professional
obligations."  Since many Russian-speakers do not speak
Romanian/Moldovan (while all educated Moldovans speak both
languages), they argued for a delay in the implementation of
the law to permit more time to learn the language.  Parliament
also decided to review the procedures for testing and the
categories of individuals to be tested.  The new Constitution
guarantees the rights of parents to choose the language of
instruction for their children.

These changes, combined with increased efforts on the part of
the new Parliament and Government to improve interethnic
relations, led to an easing of tensions in 1994.

In the separatist region, however, discrimination against
Romanian/Moldovan-speakers increased.  The regime continued its
insistence that all Moldovan schools in the region use the
Cyrillic alphabet only.  (The Cyrillic script was used in
Moldova until 1989, since "Moldovan" during the Soviet era was
officially decreed to be a different language than Romanian,
which is written in the Latin alphabet.  The 1989 language law
reinstituted the use of the Latin script.)  Many teachers,
parents, and students have objected to returning to the
Cyrillic script.  They believe it disadvantages the children,
who are less competitive for higher education opportunities in
the rest of Moldova or even Romania.  They further object since
it is a return to one of the more oppressive and despised
policies of the pre-Gorbachev era.  There were several student
strikes against the policy.  Some teachers have reportedly been
threatened, and the regime has applied considerable pressure on
the schools.  In response to actions by parents and teachers,
who blocked railroad tracks in Benderi (Tighina) to protest the
imposition of the Cyrillic alphabet, the separatist leaders
made some concessions on this issue.

    People with Disabilities

While there is no legal discrimination against people with
disabilities, there are no laws providing for accessibility for
them, and there are few government resources devoted to
training people with disabilities.  The Government does provide
tax advantages to charitable groups that assist the disabled.

Section 6                           Worker Rights

    a.   The Right of Association

The 1990 Soviet law on trade unions, which was endorsed by
Moldova's then Supreme Soviet and is still in effect, provides
for independent trade unions.  Moldovan laws passed in 1989 and
1991, which give citizens the right to form all kinds of social
organizations, also provide a legal basis for the formation of
independent unions.  The new Constitution further declares that
any employee may found a union or join a union which defends
his interests.  However, there have been no known attempts to
establish alternate trade union structures independent of the
successor to the previously existing official organizations
which were part of the Soviet trade union system.

The successor organization is the Federation of Independent
Trade Unions (FITU).  FITU's continuing role in managing the
state insurance system and its retention of previously existing
official union headquarters and vacation facilities provide an
inherent advantage over any newcomers who might wish to form a
union outside its structure.  However, its industrial or branch
unions are becoming more independent entities; they maintain
that their membership in FITU is voluntary and that they can
withdraw if they wish.  Virtually all employed adults are
members of a union.

FITU has insisted on the right to have union representatives
involved in the negotiations to set wages.  It opposed
government measures to raise prices before back salaries were
paid.  In the parliamentary elections in February, several high
union officials endorsed the small opposition Social Democratic
Party and ran for Parliament on that ticket.  Some of the
member unions protested this decision, stating that they did
not support the Social Democratic Party and did not believe the
unions should support any party.  These steps indicate that
FITU has begun to play a role independent of the Government and
the governing party.

Government workers do not have the right to strike, nor do
those in essential services such as health care and energy.
Other unions may strike if two-thirds of the members vote for a
strike in a secret ballot.  There were several very small-scale
labor actions in 1994 for payment of back wages, including
brief strikes by teachers at a police academy and employees of
a cement plant.  Very high hidden unemployment and rising open
unemployment made workers concerned primarily about job
security.

Unions may affiliate and maintain contacts with international
organizations.

    b.   The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

Moldovan law, which is still based on former Soviet
legislation, provides for collective bargaining rights.
However, wages are set through a tripartite negotiation process
involving government, management, and unions.  On the national
level, the three parties meet and negotiate national minimum
wages for all categories of workers.  Then, each of the branch
unions representing a particular industry negotiates with
management and the government ministries responsible for that
industry.  They may set wages higher than the minimum set on
the national level and often do, especially if the industry in
question is more profitable than average.  Finally, on the
enterprise level, union and management representatives
negotiate directly on wages.  Again, they may set wages higher
than negotiators on the previous level.  In 1994 bargaining on
the national agreement was not completed until July, since
management insisted on delaying negotiations until the new
Government was in place after the February elections.

There were no reports of actions taken against union members
for union activities.  The 1990 Soviet law on trade unions
provides that union leaders may not be fired from their jobs
while in leadership positions or for a period after they leave
those positions.  This law has not been tested in Moldova.

There are no export processing zones.

    c.   Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

Article 44 of the new Constitution prohibits forced labor.  No
instances of forced labor were reported.

    d.   Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The minimum age for employment under unrestricted conditions is
18 years.  Employment of those aged 16 to 18 is permitted under
special conditions, including shorter workdays, no night
shifts, and longer vacations.  The Ministry of Labor and Social
Protection is primarily responsible for enforcing these
restrictions, and the Ministry of Health also has a role.
Child labor is not used in Moldovan industry, though children
living on farms do sometimes assist in the agricultural sector.

    e.   Acceptable Conditions of Work

The minimum monthly wage of $3.50 (13.5 Moldovan lei) was
raised to $4.50 (18 Moldovan lei) in July 1994.  The average
wage of $20.25 (81 Moldovan lei) does not provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family.  The new
Constitution sets the maximum workweek at 40 hours, and the
Labor Code provides for at least 1 day off per week.  Due to
severe budgetary constraints, the Government and enterprises
often did not meet the payroll for employees in 1994.

The State is required to set and check safety standards in the
workplace.  The unions within FITU also have inspection
personnel who have a right to stop work in the factory or fine
the enterprise if safety standards are not met.  Further,
workers have the right to refuse to work but may continue to
draw their salaries if working conditions represent a serious
threat to their health.  In practice, however, the declining
economic situation has led enterprises to economize on safety
equipment and generally to show less concern for worker safety
issues.  Workers often do not know their rights in this area.