Moldova proposal would bar officials' salaries from rising faster than teachers' pay

The ex-prime minister's initiative

Ion Ceban... Ion Chicu, leader of the Party of Development and Unification (PDCM) and former prime minister of Moldova, said he had prepared an amendment to the draft law on remuneration. Under the initiative, any pay raise for the president, prime minister and deputies cannot exceed, in percentage terms, the raise given to teachers in the corresponding year. He announced his plan to submit the amendment to parliament, as reported by Gazeta.Ru citing Ziua.md.

The reason was the pay raise for top officials

The initiative came in response to an announcement by Finance Minister Victoria Belous about the parameters of the public-sector pay reform: the base salary of deputies will rise from about 20,000 to 46,000 lei per month, and that of the president from 22,300 to 55,000 lei. The reform is set to begin at the start of 2027.

Criticism and the scale of the reform

Chisinau mayor and MAN party leader Ion Ceban criticized the amendment. He asked why similar care is not shown to other categories of public-sector workers and pensioners: “But what about the salaries of kindergarten teachers, cooks and many other citizens? And the pensions of people who cannot cover their bills?” Gazeta.Ru quoted him as saying.

Who will be affected by the reform

According to the outlet, the recalculation under the reform will affect about 50,000 public-sector workers — nannies, cooks and social workers — whose incomes had remained at the minimum wage level of 6,300 lei. Their salaries will rise by an average of 20–22%. Thus, Chicu's amendment, if adopted, would formally tie the growth of top officials' salaries to the dynamics of teachers' pay, but the fate of the initiative in parliament remains unclear — sources do not report any support for it or a timeline for its consideration.