Economic agents employing "black labour" workers will pay almost five-fold higher fines starting August 2012, Labour, Social Protection and Family Minister Valentina Buliga said at a today's news conference. Buliga noted that the competent official or the director of the firm runs the risk of being subjected to a fine up to 7,000 lei for an employee without contract, and a company might pay a fine up to 10,000 lei. At the same time, the economic agent may be deprived of the right to work for a period from six months to one year or runs the risk to lose its licence. The amendments see sanctions for the people who are employed without labour contract. They will pay a fine up to 3,000 lei. The person who carries out black labour will have a small pension, as well as lower allowances for temporary inability to work. The new amendments to the Labour Code and contravention code entered into force on 3 August 2012. Since then, the Labour Inspection has compiled three official reports for economic agents who employed people illegally. At the same time, over the past five years, licences have been withdrawn from seven economic agents for "black labour." Annually, losses worth about nine billion lei are inflicted to the state budget as a result of the payment of salaries in envelopes, and the state social insurances budget loses about five billion lei.