Blog post by Kara H., Team Moldova 2011
Similar to the United States, the government of Moldova has established labor laws to protect the well being of their citizens and industries. Under law, employers are not permitted to hire any child under the age of 15 and must abide to several rules when hiring adolescents. First, employers are only allowed to hire 15-year-olds if they have received consent from the child’s guardians. Adolescents who are 16 to 18 years old are permitted to work but are not permitted to work nights, weekends, holiday shifts, or overtime. Furthermore, any worker under the age of 18 is forbidden to work in hazardous conditions, like environments that involve underground work, well-drilling, stressful psychological effort, or work that presents risk of injury from machinery, electric shock, or extreme temperatures. Any individual over the age of 18, therefore, is permitted by law to work nights, weekends, holidays, overtime, and in situations that prove to be rather dangerous.
Although the government has laid out specific instructions for employment, many employers continue to violate these laws. In 2008, there were 184 reported cases of workers under the age of 18. Additionally, in 2009, 30% of children 5-14 stated that they had worked throughout the year. The worst forms of child labor in Moldova exist in the agricultural sector and out on the streets, two very accessible forms of employment for desperate children. To combat these issues, the Child Labor Monitoring Unit (CLMU) was established to educate employers on labor laws and help to withdraw illegally working children from their place of employment. Although these individuals are committed to protecting Moldova’s children, it is rather difficult for them to protect all, so cases of illegally working children continue to exist today.
Kara will be serving on the Moldova Journey 117 Team leaving in June 2011.
This is our JOURNEY 
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