This time the crisis is with bus passenger transport in the regions. Autumn began with protests, resulting in canceled routes to the provinces.
The Road Transport Administration – a structural unit of the Ministry of Transport – threatened with hefty fines.
So, where do we live?!
Ivo Ošnieks, president of the Latvian Association of Passenger Carriers, stated at the Saeima's Public Expenditure and Audits Commission:
– The issue of compensating carriers for losses has not been resolved for many years, turning into actions against those providing services. We are talking about how to punish carriers, rather than addressing the situation. Protests are a last resort to be heard. I have a question: do we live in a free, democratic state, and we cannot hold such actions?
Public figures, represented by Ošnieks and his colleagues, have repeatedly sent letters to the Ministry of Transport, headed by Aitis Švinka ("Progressives"). Everything revolves around the revision of long-term contract prices plus insufficient funding from the state budget, – emphasized the activist: – For years, this issue has been postponed until the end of the year, to resolve the emergency situation with contingency funds. But this should have been included in the budget when planning for the next year! Of course, this does not exclude the possibility of revising the route network, etc. We would like to hear real proposals from the Ministry of Transport.
The fact is that several years ago, contracts for servicing regional lines were signed at a fixed price, while minimum wages have increased since then, and as a result, companies find themselves outside the profitability framework, which is why they need subsidies.
– By 2030, it is expected that a driver's salary will be 6 euros per hour. Do you think this is normal? – asked Mr. Ošnieks rhetorically.
There is a shortage of drivers in the country
From the interested parties in the Saeima, Ruta Veiņa, chairwoman of the Latvian Public Services and Transport Workers Union (LAKRS), spoke:
– There are as many drivers in Latvia as there are. And they do not increase by 5-10 people a day. There are very few of them. The only thing an employer can do is to "poach" one or two for themselves. They change jobs. We regularly communicate with drivers. People are responsible, loyal to their employers, they do not wander around. And employers are looking for ways to raise salaries. A new mobility project for the regions of Latvia from the European Union costs 36.6 million euros and is planned for five years. But, as Veiņa noted, "no one is saying what will happen in 5 years, no one."
One minister, another, and the situation remains unchanged...
Back in 2019, the LAKRS union addressed the then head of the Ministry of Transport, Aitis Linkaits: "We noticed the procurement, called for face-to-face negotiations." But they achieved nothing (although perhaps an indirect result was that the Conservative Party, represented by the minister, did not pass into the XIV Saeima).
– Thank you for inviting me, – the activist addressed this time to the head of the Public Expenditure and Audits Commission, Gatis Liepiņš ("New Unity"), – perhaps this is a big step. They will listen to what people working in this industry say.
"Do you know where a driver can relieve himself? In a bottle. Why not say this out loud, they are people too," – Ms. Veiņa stated bluntly. In her assessment, the Ministry of Transport "makes up routes," disregarding the realities. "No research has been conducted."
– 15 million is needed for salary increases, – summarized the chairwoman of LAKRS. – Undoubtedly, people have the right to decent pay, – responded the head of the parliamentary commission, Gatis Liepiņš.
The state must take responsibility
Skydrīte Abrama, an independent deputy (but elected from "Progressives"), emphasized that a boycott for an hour is unacceptable: "Let the Competition Council deal with this." Andris Kulbergs ("United List") believes that the Competition Council should not be involved – it "looks too narrowly," which Andris has already encountered while being the head of the Latvian Automobile Association. In fact, the deputy is currently in charge there, as the law does not prohibit:
– Not all violators and not all criminals are those who engage in prohibited agreements. The state must take great responsibility. Because this is not a commodity that we buy on the free market at our own risk. This is an event that the state orders – and pays a tariff for it. That is, it purchases not only quantity but also quality.
"A very cheap service, – noted S. Abrama, – is sometimes impossible to fulfill." She currently spends a lot of time near the border with Estonia and often travels by bus: – I see what drivers are like. They are the last ones you can find on the market! Older than retirement age. With obvious health issues. How do they work there? We talked, it opened up – many are trying to switch to work in Estonia. They raised salaries there, realizing that they need to provide a professional workforce capable of fulfilling duties, not just sitting on sick leave all the time.
"The state conducted a very wrong procurement, relying on low prices, – summarized the politician, – and did not conduct indexing. I do not understand why, as it is written in the law?" According to the figures mentioned by Abrama, the hourly wage of a driver who transports several dozen people on a busy highway, loaded with everything from trucks to cyclists, should currently be raised by... 20 cents an hour. (Exactly, the inadequates are sitting in the Ministry of Transport!).
