Tripartite council agrees mid-year increase of the minimum wage and to link the wage increase with economic indicators.
According to the Art. 187 of the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania, the Government, following the recommendation of the Tripartite Council of the Republic of Lithuania (LRTT), will establish the minimum hourly pay and the minimum monthly wage (MMW). The Government is likely to set different minimum rates of hourly pay and the minimum monthly wage for different branches of the economy, regions or categories of employees.
At the sitting of the LRTT on 21 April, the social partners agreed a MMW increase of €25 (up to €325) with effect from 1 July 2015. The MMW was last increased by €10.1, up to €300, in 1 October 2014. The members present also supported the proposal to link the MMW to economic indicators from now onwards, specifically to five main variables: average wage variations, changes in productivity, average annual rate of change of the harmonised index of consumer prices, GDP growth and the average unemployment rate per year. Other aspects will be also taken into consideration, for example, international commitments, poverty level and comparisons with the neighbouring countries. It is planned to set up an ad hoc committee of experts to assess the situation according to the appropriate methodology. Upon receipt of recommendations from the LRTT, the expert committee would submit their proposal to the Government (annually, by 15 September).