Blaziene, Inga

From autumn 2007 onwards, teachers’ trade unions organised a series of protests and token strikes in support of significant pay increases (LT0803019I [1]), In response, the Prime Minister ordered the creation of a working group to develop a long-term wage increase programme for the education sector. This working group was led by Roma Žakaitienė, the Minister of Education and Science, and included the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Social Security and Labour, representatives of education trade unions, and representatives of the Association of Lithuanian School Executives and the Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/teachers-unions-hold-strike-over-pay

As previously announced (LT0802019I [1]), teachers launched an indefinite strike across Lithuania on 3 March 2008. According to different estimates, staff at from 50 to 200 state secondary schools took part in the strike. The teachers were demanding a 50% wage increase in 2008 and measures to ensure teachers’ legal status and safety. An agreement on long-term wage increases reached in a working group formed by the government was considered unsatisfactory by most teachers, so trade unions decided to launch the strike. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/education-sector-trade-unions-threaten-indefinite-strike

In November 2005, under the authorisation of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybė, LRV [1]), the then Minister of Education and Science, Remigijus Motuzas, and the Chair of the Trade Union of Lithuanian Educational Workers (Lietuvos švietimo darbuotojų profesinė sąjunga, LŠDPS [2]), Aleksas Bružas, signed an agreement on wage increases and improvements in working conditions for teachers and other educational workers. [1] http://www.lrv.lt [2] http://www.lsdps.lt

In recent years, the inflation rate in Lithuania has been rising sharply, increasing from 1.2% in 2004, 2.7% in 2005, 3.7% in 2006, to over 7% since September 2007. At the same time, compared with the third quarter of 2006, average gross wages increased by 17% in Lithuania in the third quarter of 2007: by 12% in the public sector and by 21% in the private sector. Average disposable income per head of population was 17% higher in 2006 compared with 2005, including 15% growth in cities and towns, and 25% growth in rural areas. Although price growth is therefore being accompanied by relatively rapidly rising wages, trade unions are not satisfied with the rate of inflation.

In Lithuania, no special statutory and/or collectively agreed definition of telework [1] exists either in concordance with or deviating from the definition of the 2002 European framework agreement on telework (107Kb PDF) [2]. According to the expert and legal representatives of the social partners, Lithuanian legislation presents a definition of homeworking [3] that also covers telework. The legislation concerned includes the Labour Code (LC) of the Republic of Lithuania and Decree No. 1043 of 19 August 2003 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the approval of peculiarities of individual employment contracts. The latter decree defines homework as ‘work done by an individual at home for a wage agreed on with the employer’. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/telework [2] http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/social_dialogue/docs/300_20020716_agreement_telework_en.pdf [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/homeworking

In October 2007, five national-level social partner organisations signed a declaration of mutual recognition at the sitting of the Tripartite Council of the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublikos Trišalė taryba, LRTT [1]). In all, the signatories included the three main trade union organisations – the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation (Lietuvos profesinių sąjungų konfederacija, LPSK [2]), the Lithuanian Labour Federation (Lietuvos darbo federacija, LDF [3]) and the Lithuanian Trade Union ‘Solidarumas’ (Lietuvos profesinė sąjunga ‘Solidarumas’, LPS ‘Solidarumas’ [4]) – and the two employer organisations – the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists (Lietuvos pramonininkų konfederacija, LPK [5]) and the Lithuanian Business Employers’ Confederation (Lietuvos verslo darbdavių konfederacija, LVDK [6]). [1] http://www.lrtt.lt/ [2] http://www.lpsk.lt/ [3] http://www.ldf.lt/ [4] http://www.lps.lt/ [5] http://www.lpk.lt/ [6] http://www.ldkonfederacija.lt/

At present, three national trade union organisations are operating in Lithuania in addition to a number of non-affiliated trade unions. In recent times, the latter organisations have been becoming increasingly active, with their activities receiving increased attention.

Although trade unions are not strong in Lithuania, they are nonetheless active to at least some extent in most sectors of economic activity. The only exception is the retail sector, and specifically, the largest shopping centres – Rimi [1], Iki [2] and Maxima [3] – where, according to certain individual sources, working conditions and wages are relatively poor. [1] http://www.rimi.lt/ [2] http://www.iki.lt/ [3] http://www.maxima.lt/

The Law on Trade Unions (LTU) of the Republic of Lithuania was originally adopted at the end of 1991 and was amended twice during the period 1994–2003. The amendments were, however, not very substantial. After long-lasting discussions, the major Lithuanian trade union organisations devised a draft law amending and modifying the LTU. In early 2007, the social partners discussed the draft at the Tripartite Council of the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublikos Trišalė taryba, LRTT [1]) and its Committee of Labour Relations (Darbo santykių komitetas, DSK); however, the draft was not approved (*LT0702039I* [2]). On 19 June, the LRTT returned to the discussions regarding the draft, finally agreeing to its adoption. [1] http://www.lrtt.lt/ [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/social-partners-raise-concerns-about-proposed-new-trade-union-law

In 2006, at the request of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour (Socialinės apsaugos ir darbo ministerija, SADM [1]), the Institute of Labour and Social Research (Darbo ir socialinių tyrimų institutas, DSTI [2]) carried out a study entitled /Analysis of the establishment of works councils in Lithuania and perspectives for future development/. The research aimed to assess the practical application of the Law on Works Councils, adopted in 2004. A total of 1,000 companies were surveyed in order to gather information on the presence of works councils in the workplace. The results show that on average 4% of Lithuanian companies have elected a works council, and that this proportion increases with the size of the enterprise. [1] http://www.socmin.lt/ [2] http://www.dsti.lt/