Moldova Railway to Send Hundreds of Employees on Compulsory Leave to Cut Costs

Thus, employees will receive only 55% of their wages. Hundreds of employees of the state-owned company Moldovan Railways (MR) will be sent on compulsory leave. This information was confirmed by the company'’ director, Sergiu Cotelnic, who said that the technical leave will last from 22 December to 12 January, according to moldova1.md. The measure was taken due to a significant decrease in transport volumes during the winter period. Thus, employees who are not directly involved in train operations and transport organization will be forced to take leave. The purpose of this measure is to avoid accumulating additional debt and maintain the financial stability of the railway, Cotelnic clarified. Technical leave will affect about 30% of the state-owned enterprise’s 3,500 employees, i.e. between 700 and 1,000 people. It should be noted that wage arrears owed to Moldova Railway’s employees have been reduced. Employees have not received their salaries for the last three months, whereas a year ago the debt amounted to nine months. Currently, the total debt of the state-owned enterprise amounts to 500 million lei, of which 140 million lei is wage arrears. The financial problems of Moldova Railway began in 2009, when freight volumes fell by more than half. The decline continued in 2016, and in 2022 the situation worsened after a sharp reduction in rail transit from Ukraine amid the resumption of operations at the port of Odessa. These changes led to a decline in Moldova Railway’s revenues and, as a result, to increasing delays in the payment of wages, leaving employees facing months of unpaid salaries. In an attempt to reduce its financial burden and partially repay its wage debts, last year Moldova Railway auctioned off old carriages and spare parts.