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A recent study shows that Latvians work long hours; indeed, a significant proportion of employees work overtime on a regular basis. At the same time, more part-time positions have become available and people are taking on multiple jobs. Overall, working conditions are slow to improve. These are some of the conclusions of the study, which set out to assess employment and working conditions in Latvia before and immediately after its accession to the European Union.
A number of studies have drawn meaningful comparisons on working conditions between the new Member States (NMS) and the 15 ‘older’ Member States of the European Union (EU15) before and immediately after EU enlargement in May 2004; challenges and trends for further progress have also been identified. However, the existing studies do not provide an in-depth analysis of working conditions in each European country.
In order to provide a deeper knowledge of employment and working conditions in Latvia, a study ‘Latvia: Working too hard’ was initiated within the framework of a project instigated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the European Commission entitled ‘Working and employment conditions in new Member States: Interaction and socio-economic impact’.
The study provides an assessment of employment and working conditions in Latvia from the late 1990s up to 2004 through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. It offers statistical and econometric analysis of recent Labour Force Surveys (LFS), working conditions surveys (Working Life Barometer and European Working Conditions Survey) and enterprise surveys (Earning Structure Survey and Survey of Occupations), as well as company-level case studies and interviews with experts.
Latvia is the only Baltic country in which self-employment declined in the period under consideration, mainly due to a reduction in agricultural self-employment.
Meanwhile, more part-time jobs have become available, which is mainly due to the fact that a reduced number of people take up such work. The proportion of part-time workers declined from 13% of all workers employed in 1997 to less than 10% in 2002, rising again only slightly to 10.3% in 2003 and 10.4% in 2004. In 2003, the percentage of those having a part-time job as their main occupation was 8% for men and about 13% for women. It appears that part-time work was often accepted as the main job largely due to a shortage of full-time jobs. However, when people are given a choice between a full-time or a part-time job, they will usually opt for the former.
To supplement their income, many Latvians take on a second job. In fact, multiple jobs have become more popular since the implementation of a new labour law – in force since June 2002 – that excludes the possibility of having, for example, an additional half-time contract with the same employer. Such a scenario had frequently meant working more hours at the same job without actually being paid for overtime.
Fixed-term contracts and verbal agreements were widespread in Latvia during the period under study. Moreover, the country reported one of the highest proportions of temporary and seasonal staff among the NMS, at 11% of all employees.
Overall, 20%–25% of both men and women in Latvia were engaged in shift work during the reference period. Some 15% of male and about 9% of female employees worked irregular hours. LFS 2002 data indicated a substantial incidence of night and evening work, as well as weekend work.
LFS data and working conditions survey data revealed that people in Latvia worked longer hours than in other EU countries. In total, 15% of Latvian employees in 2003 usually worked 50 or more hours per week, with the overtime work often being involuntary and/or unpaid. Unpaid overtime work was more likely to be found in small organisations, among temporary workers, among workers with short tenure, and in enterprises without trade union representation and collective agreements.
| Sector | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 30 | 10 | 27 |
| Hotels and restaurants, retail trade | 27–28 | 22–23 | 24 |
| Land transport and pipelines, water transport | 26 | 4 | 21 |
| Forestry | 20 | 0 | 18 |
| Manufacturing of furniture | 19 | 5 | 16 |
| Manufacturing of food products | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Manufacturing of wood products | 17 | 2 | 14 |
| All sectors (average) | 19.5 | 10.5 | 15.0 |
Source: Hazans, 2005, p.7, based on LFS data
| 2002 | 2003 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Involuntary | Total | Involuntary | |
| All workers | 3.6 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
| Men | 4.4 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 2.5 |
| Women | 2.8 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.4 |
| Part-time workers* | 2.9 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 2.2 |
| Temporary workers | 6.4 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 2.4 |
Note: *Those who declared themselves as such and who usually worked less than 35 hours a week.
Source: Hazans, 2005, p.8, based on LFS data
No major improvement was identified in working conditions between 1999 and 2001. Since 2002, the Latvian labour market has seen significant legal and institutional changes – such as in seeking to reduce the proportion of work on the basis of fixed-term contracts – but implementation has not kept pace with legislative developments.
Most of the company case studies, which were carried out between November 2004 and February 2005, confirmed the decreasing incidence of fixed-term employment contracts. Long working days were prevalent in three cases, while shift work and weekend work were common among the enterprises covered. Although some improvements in working conditions were reported in almost all cases, stress and fatigue were also found to be prevalent in all cases.
Moreover, serious risks for a significant proportion of workers were identified in eight out of 10 cases. In fact, most workers are exposed to physical and/or chemical risks during about 50% of their working time, such as: low temperatures; noise; carrying heavy loads; vibration; breathing in vapours, fumes, dust or chemicals; handling dangerous substances; repetitive movements; painful or tiring positions; and working with computers.
In five company cases, apart from stress and fatigue, work–life balance was hampered by overtime, shift work, night and evening work, and work at weekends. The possibility of taking short unpaid leave for family reasons varied from being likely to almost non-existent.
Social dialogue was absent in two company cases that did not have trade union representation. An active social dialogue existed only in four cases, including a large bank.
Hazans, M., ‘Latvia: Working too Hard?’, University of Latvia, Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies (BICEPS), World Bank – Europe and Central Asia region, March 2005, available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=742124
A slightly shorter version has been published in: Vaughan-Whitehead, D. (ed), Working and employment conditions in new EU Member States – Convergence or diversity?, ILO-EC, Geneva: ILO, 2005, pp. 161–212.
For more information at European level, see the Foundation’s survey on Working time and work–life balance in European companies.
Raita Karnite, Institute of Economics, Latvian Academy of Sciences