Business Environment of the Republic of Moldova, as well as to:
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova,
State Labor Inspectorate,
General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Moldova,
National Center for Combating Corruption,
Ministry of Economy and Digitalization,
Ministry of Justice,
as well as other competent authorities exercising control over the observance of labor legislation
compliance with labor legislation
We, employees of Topaz A.O., who have worked at this enterprise for 5 to 35 years, are writing an open letter in connection with the critical situation that has developed in recent months. Over the years of our work, the company has repeatedly gone through different stages: there were periods of growth, when the level of income, wages, bonuses, material assistance were paid in full, and everything was exclusively “in the white”, strictly in accordance with the law.
We have never experienced unfair treatment by the previous management and were aware of the difficulties faced by the enterprise both externally and domestically. Thus, in 2020-2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team managed to maintain production, to ship products to counterparties, while obtaining 11 permits from the state authorities of the Republic of Moldova for each shipment. And this despite the fact that the enterprise suffered a serious loss – the chief accountant of the plant died from complications after the coronavirus infection.
In 2022, during the state of emergency in Moldova, the situation for the plant became much more complicated: blocking and closing of bank accounts began, restrictions were imposed by the state registration authorities. In 2023, the President of Ukraine imposed sanctions against the company and its general director, Linnik Inna, despite the fact that all activities of the company were carried out strictly in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Moldova.
The management and owners of the plant, despite the difficulties, continued to fulfill their obligations to pay taxes, utility bills and, as far as possible, labor payments. The production activity was suspended, but the contracts were maintained until the end of 2023. Unfortunately, uncertainty about the timing of the resumption of production accompanied everyone – employees and management alike.
We note that the staff of the “Topaz” enterprise are qualified specialists, the “golden fund” of the whole Moldovan industry.
For more than a year the employees have not been paid their salaries for objective reasons beyond the control of the employees. These reasons were recorded in the framework of legal proceedings and reviews by the tax authorities both in 2023 and 2024. Despite this, at the initiative of a number of unscrupulous individuals, the enterprise and its management received numerous complaints to law enforcement agencies, which created an atmosphere of constant pressure, psychological tension and stress.
In July 2023, the annual meeting of shareholders was held, during which a new shareholder – an individual Vitaliy Bokan arrived at the enterprise. He was provided with all the necessary materials on the results of the extremely difficult year of 2022 for the enterprise – it was during this period that the main wage arrears to employees were formed.
The General Director of the enterprise Inna Linnik personally held a meeting with the shareholder, provided a full package of documents and explanations on each issue. She asked for support – even in the form of advice, emphasizing the importance of any assistance. However, the result was an appeal to the General Prosecutor’s Office with accusations of unjustified wage arrears, initiation of criminal proceedings, numerous summonses for interrogations, searches, and seizure of documents. All of this happened after the debts to employees had been fully repaid, and many of us thankfully left the company and continued our professional activities in other companies.
Throughout the years we were honestly informed about the possible sale of the plant. We hoped that such a process would take into account and protect the interests of conscientious employees. Even if it meant dismissal – but with respect and with payment of all due.
In the spring of 2025, new management came to the company, introducing themselves as the new owners, saying that from now on they would make all decisions. None of us had any right or desire to prevent them from reviewing documentation or communicating information necessary for the transition. Moreover, we met them with hope: that litigation with creditors would end, debts would be repaid, production would resume, the premises would be repaired, elevators would be restored, leased space would be expanded, etc. Many of us sincerely believed that we would be able to finish our careers at this enterprise with honor and a decent pension.
But everything happened the other way around.
The new management – rude, aggressive and unprofessional – for a month systematically insulted us, humiliated us, threatened us with criminal cases, explicitly stating that “nobody needs us”, that we “had better leave amicably”, otherwise “it will be bad for everyone”.
During the period when about 140 employees had been without salaries for almost 1.5 years, we had monthly team meetings, reporting on the work done. The lawyer who is now with the new owners was present with the former management. At that time she urged us to be patient, showed her participation in court proceedings, and now she accuses us of having been paid “for nothing”.
When the wage debts were closed in 2023, the 70 employees who were financially responsible agreed to transfer about $20 million worth of assets to the new responsible parties. To accomplish this, the director decided to provide compensation in the form of bonuses – as a moral reward and incentive. We all signed the agreements, all property was transferred in integrity.
But the first measure of the new owners was a demand to refuse these payments under the threat: “If you don’t refuse, you won’t have enough property, you will sell apartments and personal belongings to avoid going to jail.
Key employees were simply thrown out of the enterprise. Neither requests, nor documents, nor explanations were heard. The payments stipulated by the Labor Code have not been made to date. A month has already passed.
Our attempts to get to the territory of the enterprise, to meet with the management, to find out who is now responsible for the plant, how to get our earnings and what to feed our families – ended in nothing. No one came out to us, no one explained anything. Moreover, one of the new managers publicly showed an insulting gesture through the glass of the main entrance of the plant, to which we had devoted decades of our lives.
Appeals to state bodies remain unanswered so far. In the State Labor Inspectorate we were told: “Wait a month, then we will see”. It is unclear what to do next.
We, the materially responsible employees of Topaz SA, who still have the property of the company in their custody, to which we now have no access, and at the same time we are left without means of subsistence, officially appeal to all authorized bodies of the Republic of Moldova with a request:
- to carry out a comprehensive inspection of the actions of the new owners and management of A.O. “Topaz”;
- to ensure the observance of the norms of the Labor Code and the guaranteed labor rights of the employees;
- to restore justice and prevent the destruction of one of the largest and strategic enterprises of the country;
- not to allow decades of honest labor to end in humiliation and impunity of the new owners.
Respectfully,
The materially responsible employees of Topaz Ltd.
who are still responsible for the company’s assets,
deprived of access to workplaces and salaries
(names may be provided additionally upon request of the competent authorities)
