Karnite, Raita

In September 2004, doctors working as anaesthetists called for higher pay and shorter working hours (in accordance with the law) (LV0410101N [1]), and stated that from November they would unilaterally cut their working time and workload to levels they regard as being accordance with their pay and the law. Doctors in many other specialisms have joined the campaign. In response to the anaesthetists’ demands, the government promised to find additional funds in the 2004 state budget and to speed up the completion of current healthcare reforms. This will involve 'optimising' the network of healthcare bodies, meaning that several hospitals will be closed. The government also mentioned increased payments for treatment by patients as a possible source of improved funding. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/anaesthetists-launch-wage-campaign

The beginnings of tripartite (government, employer and trade union) cooperation in Latvia go back to 1993, when the cabinet approved a 'concept on the fundamental principles for the establishment of tripartite cooperation in Latvia and its necessity' (Decision No 70 of 19 October 1993). On 5 July 1994, parliament ratified the 1976 International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No.144 on tripartite consultation (international labour standards) [1]. The legal foundations of social dialogue were subsequently enshrined in the Labour Law - Latvia's main item of legislation regulating individual and collective relations at work (LV0405103F [2]) [1] http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C144 [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/labour-law-examined

EU Directive 94/45/EC [1] on the establishment of a European Works Council (EWC) or a procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing and consulting employees was implemented in Latvia by the law on informing employees of European Community-scale commercial companies and European Community-scale groups of commercial companies and consulting such employees [2], which came into force on 1 July 2001. [1] http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=31994L0045&model=guichett [2] http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/labour_law/docs/Implementation_latvia_en.pdf

In early September 2004, doctors working as anaesthetists at the Gailezers hospital (Klīniskā slimnīca Gaiļezers), Latvia’s largest, announced that they intend to stop working long hours. They currently often work for 24 hours at a time, for pay that is equivalent to the average national wage (EUR 300 per month). The anaesthetists believe that such working hours are unacceptable, with tired doctors risking not just their own health but also that of patients, and that their wages are inadequate in terms of both the amount of time worked and the level of complexity and responsibility required in the work. The anaesthetists have announced they will start working roughly eight-hour days from 13 October 2004 unless their wages are set in accordance with their workload, which they argue means increasing their pay fourfold. They will decline to perform planned (non-emergency) operations, but will still provide emergency services and perform acute operations and care for children and oncology patients.

This article examines pay in Latvian public institutions. For its purpose, these are state organisations performing the functions of the state, including administration, security and defence, justice, social welfare and so on. Not considered here are educational, scientific, health and cultural institutions, together with a range of other specialised public service bodies. Public institutions in Latvia may be completely financed from the state budget, by a mix of state funding and income from their own activities, or entirely from their own activities.

Industrial relations in the education system are the most high profile of any sector in Latvia. In most other sectors, whatever the state of working and employment conditions, information about them is rarely publicised and there are no reports of conflicts. For example, there are reports that the rights of agricultural, retail and construction workers are not fully respected, while statistics show that there are major differences between the wages of female and male workers in the banking sector, which could be caused by infringements of gender equality laws. However, in none of these sectors do workers or their representatives appear to have raised objections about their working and employment conditions. The main exception is education, where attempts by workers to enforce their rights have forced the government to listen and take favourable decisions (LV0408103F [1] and LV0406102F [2]) (there are also some signs of similar developments in the healthcare sector, where wages do not reflect the complex nature of the work - LV0405102N [3]). [1] ShowRecord( [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/controversy-over-teachers-pay-continues [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/ambulance-drivers-threaten-strike

The phenomenon of undeclared work - defined as 'any paid activities that are lawful as regards their nature but not declared to the public authorities'- is an issue which has been preoccupying the EU institutions for a number of years. In 1998, the European Commission issued a Communication [1] on undeclared work, which was designed to launch a debate on the causes of such work and the policy options for combating it (EU9804197F [2]). It suggested that there was a need to clarify the causes and extent, and concluded that combating undeclared work should be part of the overall European employment strategy [3]. [1] http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/employment_strategy/index_en.htm [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined/commission-targets-undeclared-work [3] http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/employment_strategy/index_en.htm

On 23 August 2004, a government committee approved Latvia's 2004 National Action Plan (NAP) for employment, which was prepared by an interministerial working group. The government has been preparing such documents for the last five years (LV0407102F [1]), but in 2004 the NAP will be submitted to the European Commission for the first time, following Latvia's EU accession in May. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/industrial-relations-aspects-of-public-employment-policy-analysed

Due to economic difficulties, from the early 1990s pay in Latvian educational institutions worsened considerably. Of late, there has been a slight improvement in the wage conditions of teachers in 'general' educational establishments, following considerable trade union efforts. However, pay remains controversial in other parts of the educational system, with employees arguing that wages are not commensurate with their work.

On 27 May 2003, the government adopted a schedule for increasing the statutory national minimum wage, after lengthy discussions between the social partners. This schedule provided for a gradual increase in the minimum wage to stand at 50% of the average gross monthly wage for the previous year in 2010 (LV0307101N [1]). In accordance with the schedule, the monthly minimum wage was raised from EUR 90 to EUR 105 in 2003 and to EUR 120 from 1 January 2004 (LV0310101N [2]). In 2004 the minimum wage represents 41.7% of the average gross monthly wage in 2003. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/government-plans-to-double-minimum-wage [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/government-increases-minimum-wage