Mihai-Gabriel Ciobanu
Mihai-Gabriel Ciobanu, State Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, believes that low wages are not the main economic vulnerability of citizens.
“But most often we see that the most economically vulnerable people are those who are unemployed and not active on the labor market, or people who have a higher or average income, say 10,000-15,000 lei, but they are raising children, taking care of an elderly person, a person with special needs in the family. These people are also economically vulnerable,” Ciobanu told public television.
According to him, the minimum wage instrument is not the only one in the ministry’s policy. Access to various services and additional financial support for the population are added to it.
At the same time, he admits that the minimum wage in Moldova is low. In the closest comparable EU country, Bulgaria, the minimum wage is about 600 euros, which is almost twice as high.
“In recent years, the direction of the political approach is the right one, as we have a 114% increase in the minimum wage from 2021. Even compared to the inflation of these years, this is a real increase. Inflation was 70-80% while the wage has increased by 114%.”,- the Secretary of State said.
He assured that the minimum wage will continue to grow annually, although he noted that “in the more developed economies of Europe, the state plays a secondary role in setting the minimum wage”.
Recall that the minimum wage from January 1, 2026 is 6,300 lei (about 315 euros), which is 15% higher than in 2025 (5,500 lei). Earlier, Logos Press conducted a comparative analysis of minimum wages in the countries of the region. The level of the “minimum wage” in Moldova is almost the same as in Belarus, higher than in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, but significantly lower than in the nearest euro zone countries.
