Moldovan cabinet sets temporary moratorium on employment of public sector staff on vacant positions

Chisinau, 17 December /MOLDPRES/ - The government has established a moratorium for a one-year period on the employment of the staff from the public authorities/institutions financed from the state budget on the vacant offices registered on 30 November 2019. The number of vacant units for which employment is suspended on that date was of 8,773, of which 2,684 at the Interior Ministry (MAI), 1,482 at the Defence Ministry, with the number of vacant positions being lower at other institutions.   
According to the cabinet decision approved today, the National Social Insurances House (CNAS) had 340 vacant places and the administrative and territorial units – 5,168. The government recommends that CNAS and public authorities suspend the employment of staff on the vacant offices recorded on 30 November 2019.  
The law on the single salary payment system in the public sector, enforced starting from 1 December 2018, has a considerable impact on the national public budget. For 2020, the staff expenses are estimated at 17,013 million lei, up by 1, 956.1 lei against the spending approved for 2019, the Finance Ministry has said. The concerned allocations include additional measures in the salary policy sector dealing with the change of the grades for some categories of staff (about 44,000 units), just as the increase in the reference value used at the calculation of salaries in the public sector by 5.6-10 per cent. The moratorium is proposed to be extended by one year, in order not to create salary debts to the employed personnel.   
The draft’s authors consider that the implementation of the measures stipulated will be possible in the conditions of optimization and establishment of a strict regime of use of public spending.  
At the same time, the moratorium is not applied on the offices for which contest was announced on the date on the decision’s adoption.
Earlier, beginning with 30 November 2018 till 31 December 2019, temporary moratorium was established on the employment of staff in public authorities and institutions financed from the state budget and in the National Social Insurances House, on the vacant positions registered on 30 November 2018.