ILO project organized a Validation Workshop of the Measures to support formalization of workers and enterprises in the Construction Sector

The event was attended by members of the Tripartite Committee in the construction sector, representatives of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (MLSP), Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization (MDED), Ministry of Finance, National Bureau of Statistics, ODA, ILO specialists and the representatives of other relevant national organizations and authorities.

The main findings of the diagnosis of informality in the construction sector were shared, and the potential measures to tackle it and encourage transition to formality of workers and enterprises were discussed.

In 2022, the proportion of informal employment relative to total employment in the construction sector of Moldova stood at 66.3%, three times higher than that of the national economy. Notably, informality in the construction sector exhibits structural differences compared to the overall economy. While nationally, the share of informal employment in informal enterprises was 74.6% in 2022, it surged significantly higher to 98.2% within the construction sector. Consequently, nearly all informal employment within the construction sector occurs outside of formal agreements, with no involvement of paid domestic workers in this domain.

Examining informality from a segment perspective reveals that the highest rate is observed in rural areas, where approximately 3 out of 4 employees (74.1%) operate outside of formal arrangements. Additionally, the informality rate among men working in construction (69.0%) is nearly double that of women (35.3%).

The diagnosis, recently carried out using the methodological recommendations of the ILO, included a mapping of relevant actors involved in informality in the construction sector. Based on the quantitative and qualitative data gathered, eleven formalization topics were identified.

The workshop participants noted that the results of the analysis provide a better understanding of the situation and a possibility to discuss the measures to support transition to formality of workers and enterprises.

According to Ms Corina Ajder, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the the workshop aims at facilitating the validation  of the results by the tripartite committee in the construction sector, which will also explore the next steps, including some recommendations for a sectoral formalization strategy and a road map. 

"The ILO has been engaged in an effort of carrying out a systemic analysis and designing practical initiatives, aimed at encouraging formalization of workers an enterprises. Finally, the analysis will support the development of short-term interventions that will be piloted with the support of the ILO", stated Corina Ajder.

The ILO Project, with the financial support of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) will continue to provide technical advice to the tripartite partners to build consensus to design and implement measures to tackle the undeclared work, envelope wages and help micro- and small enterprises, and workers in the formalization process.

For more details, please contact: Violeta Vrabie, ILO project coordinator, email: vrabie@ilo.org, tel.: + (373) 78 11 33 90