Latvian unions demand figures behind savings plan, oppose benefit cuts

The Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia (LBAS) on Wednesday, 11 November, called on Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs of the United List to give social partners precise calculations before deciding to cut posts in public administration, a move meant to save €85 million, the LETA news agency reported.

The unions also want figures on plans Kulbergs set out at a news conference on 10 November to overhaul the handling of sick leave and benefits, the state family benefit and support for people with disabilities. If the family support system changes, LBAS wants to see how different households’ monthly income in euros would be affected.

What the unions oppose

LBAS opposes cutting sickness and unemployment benefits or social guarantees and wants taxes kept at current levels. It also opposes cutting pensions and reviewing the personal income tax (IIN) allowance, and does not support reducing the state family benefit or support for people with disabilities. The unions are against revisiting service pensions again, saying the issue was settled in difficult negotiations.

Before cutting posts, every institution should first say which functions it will simplify and which it will stop performing, LBAS said. Institutions should separate vacancies from filled posts and guarantee that public services do not become less accessible or worse.

What the unions support

At the same time, LBAS supports measures to get young people, parents and older people into work, and says public administration staff should be able to retrain before they lose their jobs. LBAS has already sent its proposals on the 2027 state budget and on cutting public sector spending to the prime minister, the Finance Ministry and the State Chancellery.

Gita Oškāja, the confederation’s deputy chair, told LETA the unions had received no reply to those proposals and there had been no talks on the budget or on the savings plans. In her view, the social partners have been “left out”. The savings figures have been made public, but it is not clear how they would be reached or how that would affect access to services, especially for more vulnerable groups, Oškāja said.

The rules and criteria for disability benefits could be reviewed, Oškāja said, but the causes of lost working capacity, including poor working conditions, should also be assessed. LBAS supports using public money more efficiently, looking for savings and raising employment, she said.

Three views of one plan

Kulbergs said on 10 November that the budget must save €2.875 billion over four years, about €900 million of it in public administration. Mārtiņš Kazāks, governor of the Bank of Latvia, said a day later that the public sector workforce should shrink but people must be helped to move to private firms. The unions agree in principle on looking for savings, but first want to see the calculations and take part in talks.