Moldova threatens to stop trains carrying Ukrainian grain

During the protests, Moldovan railway workers threatened to stop trains with Ukrainian grain.

According to  Rail.insider, since the beginning of the year, employees of the State Enterprise “Moldovan Railways” have taken to the streets several times.

Thus, on March 14, employees of the State Enterprise “Moldovan Railways” once again took to the streets in the city of Chisinau, demanding to pay salaries that the company’s employees have not received for more than six months.

Protests were also held in Balti, Ungheni, Ocnita, Basarabia and Giurgiuleşti, where the country’s key railway hubs are located.

The protesters threatened, in particular, to block the railway tracks and stop trains with Ukrainian grain.

It should be noted that the debt to employees exceeds 200 million lei (approximately $11.3 million). Currently, railway workers are demanding repayment of debts, compensation for losses caused by salary delays, in accordance with the law, as well as an increase in the minimum wage to 5,500 lei. If their demands are not heeded, the protesters are threatening to terminate their employment contracts early.

It is predicted that mass layoffs will complicate the work of the Moldovan railway, which may negatively affect the implementation of joint infrastructure projects in terms of improving logistics routes for transporting Ukrainian agricultural products within the framework of the EU-Ukraine initiative “Lanes of Solidarity”.