Today's communication of the President with representatives of the trade union organizations of the republic was planned. The event was organized on the eve of the 31st anniversary of the founding of the Federation of Trade Unions of Pridnestrovie (the organization will celebrate it on the 18th of October). The meeting was of working and discussion nature. It was held in videoconference mode. The heads of the legislative and executive branches of government were invited to the conversation. Alexander Martynov and Alexander Korshunov actively participated in the discussion of the issues raised by the members of the Presidium of the Federation of Trade Unions of Pridnestrovie.
The Federation of Trade Unions of Pridnestrovie includes seven republican branch units, the same number of territorial associations, as well as 36 city (district) and 723 primary trade union organizations. The Head of the structure is Viktor Ivanchenko. He acted as a moderator of the event today. He informed about the current state of affairs, the activities of the Federation of Trade Unions of Pridnestrovie, the tasks being solved.
The heads of the trade union divisions in the dialogue part addressed questions to the President, the Chairman of the Government and the Speaker of the Pridnestrovian Parliament, identified problematic aspects and some proposals. They talked about the digitalization of public services, for example. Trade union organizations were not ready to quickly join this system and are asking to extend the transition period from submitting reports on paper to the exchange of information in electronic form. Vadim Krasnoselsky noted that he supports the government's desire to keep pace with the times, not postponing the introduction of modern methods until tomorrow. At the same time he instructed to prepare information about the needs of trade unions for equipment, the own capabilities of the Federation of Trade Unions of Pridnestrovie and missing resources, realizing that there are technical difficulties. The information will be forwarded to the Government for study and a decision on the possibility of assistance. In general, it was 2021 that was inherently a transitional year in this sphere, noted the Chairman of the Government of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. Alexander Martynov expressed hope that during 2022 the work in this direction will be fully completed.
Another topic of today's conversation is the situation in the sphere of passenger transportation. It was said that transport companies suffered serious losses due to pandemic restrictions. Revenues are not growing yet. There is nothing to cover debts to energy suppliers. It was also noted that the problem is not only the decrease in passenger traffic, but also a large number of privileged passengers. There are two options for solving: reduce the number of preferential categories or cover transportation costs from the country's budget. There is a system of state subsidies now. In addition it was proposed as a support measure to cover at the expense of the state the arrears of the trolleybus administrations for consumed electricity that appeared during the pandemic. The corresponding amount will be included in the draft budget for next year. Another aspect that was mentioned was the growth of wages for employees of trolleybus departments. On behalf of the President, it was gradually increased over three years in order to cope with the turnover of personnel in this sphere. The vehicle fleet is replenished, contact networks are updated. Understanding the relevance of the problem of transport accessibility, the PMR President instructed in due time to develop a corresponding program. The Government carried out this work. Financing is expected from the Capital Investment Fund. It is planned to launch electric buses in addition to replacing worn out networks and expanding the route network. The tariff and preferential policy will remain in use when they are used. Considering that electric buses do not require contact networks, they can be used in areas where trolleybus electrical equipment is most worn out or is absent altogether. Advantage is in mobility that allows you to change the route if necessary, Alexander Martynov emphasized. He noted that the project was developed by the Government together with the heads of state administrations. It is still being positioned as a pilot project. If the first stage confirms the feasibility of introducing such a combined mechanism, then it will be given a larger scale. There are also plans to purchase a dozen minibuses for Bendery. As for suburban routes: the President instructed to audit it in the summer of this year, determining the profitability of each and checking the executive discipline of the organizations that received licenses for passenger transportation. A program of state subsidies for unprofitable but socially significant areas has been launched. The option of creating small municipal enterprises where private companies cannot cope is being discussed.
The adoption of practical decision concluded the discussion of the issue of the prospects for the participation of workers in the sphere of culture, in particular clubs, houses of culture, libraries, in the program of subsidizing housing for young families. Approximately two hundred certificates have been issued, a hundred families have already moved into their own homes at the moment within the framework of this social project. The number of categories of recipients of certificates for subsidies is still limited. The priority is for doctors and teachers. It was planned for the next year to supplement the list of participants in the state program with employees of institutions of additional education. It will be recommended after today's discussion to include in the list of librarians and club workers – at the rate of two dozen certificates. The necessary recalculations are to be carried out. It was about the allocation of about 50 million rubles from the state treasury until now.
They talked in the course of the meeting, about ensuring safety at work. It was noted that30 accidents occurred in the workplace were recorded in 2019, 27 in 2020, 35 in 2021. A noticeable increase is in the sphere of agro-industrial complex. The increase in indicators is largely due to the fact that the number of farms has increased. If a mechanism of trade unions operates on large ones, which monitors compliance with the norms of the Labor Code and defends the interests of members of the Federation of Trade Unions of Pridnestrovie, then small peasant farms are not involved in this system, it was noted during the discussion. Vadim Krasnoselsky emphasized that security issues are always a priority for him personally. Compliance with labor protection requirements should be monitored at various levels. The Ministry of Justice was instructed to study in detail the situation in this sphere, to prepare proposals for improving protective mechanisms.
The issue of the tax burden on the economy was discussed today. It is noted that it is 28% in Pridnestrovie. This is relatively low figure for developing countries. It was noted that there are no significant changes in the plans. If we talk about the income tax rate (it is noted that in the PMR it is higher than in the Russian Federation), then the difference is offset by tax deductions. This system in Pridnestrovie significantly reduces the tax burden on individuals. An important aspect: the lower the income level of a citizen, the less taxes he pays.
They spoke at the meeting about pricing with emphasis on the development of local production and ensuring food security. The topic of salaries and pensions was not ignored. Vadim Krasnoselsky noted that he considers their level to be insufficient. The current task is to bring the salaries of public sector employees up to the indicators in the real sector of the economy, and pensions – to the subsistence level. Public sector wages were increased in 2018 and 2021. Moving more actively in this direction was prevented by the pandemic with huge costs to combat it and a negative impact on the development of the economy. At the same time, it is important that it was during such a difficult period that the incomes of medical workers increased. 135 million rubles were allocated for additional payments for those who worked in COVID conditions. If we talk about health care in general, 532 million were spent in 2019 (410 million for wages), in 2020 - 785 million (525 million for wages), the planned expenditures of 2021 - 937 million (599 for wages). It is not planned to reduce funding for the industry with the departure of the pandemic, that is, as soon as COVID-19 recedes, the released funds will be able to be used among other things to increase salaries for medical workers, they said in the course of the meeting.
They also talked about personnel problems in the healthcare sector, in particular, the shortage of narrow specialists. The improvement of the mechanism for training doctors was discussed. The presence of a good educational base was noted. At the same time, there was no effective communication between medical educational institutions, the Ministry of Health and the Government for many years. The mechanism for concluding tripartite agreements has been launched, work on the formation of state orders has been intensified. It will take more than one year to correct the situation as a whole, but the impetus has been given. It was noted that interim measures are being taken. For example, system of state subsidies for medical services that are provided to children with disabilities in commercial medical institutions was considered (in the event that state medical institutions do not have the necessary specialists). It is proposed to include children from single-parent families in this program. The topic of creating conditions for comfortable and effective work of physicians was not left unattended. It is also an important tool for retaining staff and increasing the number of specialists. The state invested during four years 140 million rubles in the construction, repair and reconstruction of one and a half hundred healthcare facilities.
The issues related to taking into account the Pridnestrovian experience in calculating the Russian pension was discussed. The Chairman of the Supreme Council Alexander Korshunov focused on the background and legal aspects. Vadim Krasnoselsky said that this topic is being discussed at Russian sites. Work will continue in this direction with the new composition of the State Duma.
Among the topics that have been raised today are the return of the category of "senior nurse" to medical workers of preschool education institutions, simplification of the mechanism for registering part-time jobs in the medical field (two-rate work), and many others.
Concluding the conversation, Vadim Krasnoselsky called it lively, interesting and useful. The issues raised will form the basis of the presidential instructions.
