Moldova in EU Partnership
Published:
The Education and Science Trade Union of Moldova (ESTU) held their Congress on 5 March 2015 in Chisinau. The Union organises teachers and students from all levels of education. High on the agenda were issues on education reform and better salaries and working conditions for teachers. The salary of a teacher in Moldova is amongst the lowest in Europe; however the union's constant fight resulted in an increase of salary by 20 % last autumn and ESTU continues fighting for a bigger increase. An average teacher earns around 200 to 250 USD per month.
The ESTU Congress was held in the shadow of the nearby conflict in Ukraine, which reminded the people of Moldova about their problems with the brake-away region Transnistria.
Recently, Moldova signed a so-called Partnership Agreement with the European Union, which will bring better possibilities for trade and cooperation. The President of the Moldovan Union, Dimitrui Ivanov, said: "We must be open to new ideas from Europe and ensure that we live up to European standards and values".
European Director Martin Rømer gave a speech in the Congress saying that "Politicians can decide what they want, but the teachers on the ground are those who are not only responsible for implementing the reforms but also crucial for the success of the reforms. The issue is that teachers need to have ownership of the reforms to make them a success and this is never going to happen if teachers and their union are not involved through social dialogue." Martin Rømer promised to support the Moldovan teacher union in implementing the EU Partnership Agreement. This could include a specific Moldovan education project financed by the European Union.
The education and Science Trade Union of Moldova has a little more than 100,000 members. This is an extremely high percentage of education workers in a relative small country with 4 million inhabitants. During the Congress, President Dimitrui Ivanov, was re-elected for the next 5 year term.