On 1st of February, 2017, a legislative initiative on meal tickets was discussed at public discussions organized by the parliament. Representatives of trade unions, business environment and other concerned state institutions participated in the debates.
Under the document, the private companies with registered share capital of at least 10 million lei will provide each employee a meal ticket worth 45 lei. The money will be used only on the purpose of benefiting from dinner or buying food products, except for alcoholic drinks and cigarettes. The system will work based on contracts signed by operators with public nourishment institutions and shops.
The draft’s author is Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu. According to him, the legislative initiative represents a way of Moldova’s economic growth, reducing of phenomenon of salaries in envelopes and a certain means of improving the residents’ living standards and health. The meal tickets represents beneficial supplement to the salary; yet, its offering does not see decrease in the monthly payments. “The meal tickets will be provided in line with the days worked in the previous month, and their sum will not be taxed. Also, the meal tickets will not be compulsory, but will represent an additional option for employers,” Andrian Candu noted.
The draft initiative launched by Speaker Andrian Candu is to be considered and adopted in parliament.
The meal tickets are provided in more European countries and in the United States; this practice started being applied in 1954.
