The Latvian Free Trade Union Confederation (LFTUC) will meet this week with representatives of parliamentary factions to discuss the amendments to the labor law being considered in the Saeima, the LETA agency reported from the LFTUC.
Meetings with the "Progressives" and the Union of Greens and Farmers factions will take place today, and with "New Unity" on Tuesday, October 28. Opposition factions have been invited to a meeting on November 3.
Chairman of the Free Trade Union Confederation Egils Baldzens urges Saeima deputies "not to succumb to pressure from employers and the Ministry of Economics that undermines the freedom of unions."
The Free Trade Union Confederation opposes the initiative of employer organizations and the Ministry of Economics to abolish Article 110 of the Labor Law, which contains a kind of "pre-trial procedure" for assessing the legality of dismissals. According to union representatives, it is precisely because of this provision that union members have been protected from dismissal in many cases. This article protects the weaker party in the employment contract - the employee, who does not have the financial means to pay for legal proceedings.
This article of the law stipulates that an employer is prohibited from terminating an employment contract with an employee who is a union member without the prior consent of the relevant union if the employee has been a member for more than six months. If the union does not agree to the dismissal, the employer may go to court with a claim for termination of the employment contract.
As reported, union representatives also firmly advocate for the retention of the provision in the labor law regarding a 100% surcharge for overtime work.
The Free Trade Union Confederation believes that only in negotiations with the union or representatives of the employees, if there is no union, can an agreement be reached to reduce the amount of the surcharge if there are objective reasons, mutual concessions, and a balance of interests between employers and employees when concluding collective agreements.
By supporting the version proposed by the Latvian Confederation of Employers (LCE), workers, especially those who ensure the functioning of critical infrastructure, will find themselves in an unacceptable situation: the number of overtime hours may increase, while the overall payment for troubleshooting will decrease. This will lead to overload, dissatisfaction, and burnout among workers, as well as increase the risk of violations of labor protection rules and accidents due to negligence, the Free Trade Union Confederation notes.
The Free Trade Union Confederation believes that reducing overtime pay will slow down economic growth and will not solve key problems - staff shortages, ineffective organization of labor, and lack of investment in technology and skill development. The union emphasizes that the employers' amendments ignore broader reasons for weak competitiveness, including high taxes, administrative barriers, and social inequality.
The Free Trade Union Confederation also reminds that unions are independent and equal partners in negotiations, capable of protecting the interests of workers through collective agreements. The state, in their opinion, should not interfere in already concluded agreements.
The Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the LCE, on the contrary, propose to shorten the duration of collective agreements after their expiration to one year, reduce overtime pay to 50%, and abolish the provision prohibiting the dismissal of union members without the organization's consent. Employers believe that such measures will level the playing field, activate social dialogue, and motivate the parties to conclude new agreements.
