Janis Dombrova's statement about the shortage of drivers in Latvia has sparked a wave of criticism: social media users accused the authorities of ignoring the real reasons - low wages, emigration, and systemic labor market issues.
The heated discussions on social media about foreigners becoming public transport drivers in Latvia have been joined by the National Alliance MP Janis Dombrova.
The politician stated that the problem of driver shortages can be solved through education reform: “To avoid bringing in immigrants working in transport and logistics companies, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Education need to organize the education system to prepare a significantly larger number of professional truck and bus drivers. Europe is short of more than 100,000 drivers.”
However, his position provoked a sharp reaction from users who saw such statements as out of touch with reality. “Nonsense. There is a shortage because no one wants to work for such a salary, except for Pakistanis,” wrote one commenter.
Others pointed to a deeper problem - the lack of people in the country as a whole: “People are brought in not because there are no trained drivers, but because there is no one to train. There are no police officers, no teachers, no medical workers, no drivers, no builders… There are no people, Dombrova, not schools!”
Many commenters emphasized that the key factor is the level of wages and working conditions: “Who likes to work for slave wages? After paying utilities, there’s nothing left for food.” “Maybe it’s worth paying an adequate salary - has anyone thought about that?” Others also pointed out the cost of obtaining a profession: “I would like to learn, for example, but look at how much it costs in Latvia! People want to, but cannot afford to get a license for 1,500 euros.”
There was also criticism of state employment policies: “The legislation is structured in such a way that you cannot work part-time normally - it’s not profitable for employers due to taxes. Maybe we should start with that?”
Some even sarcastically suggested that the politician himself should try this job: “Dombrova, you should go work as a long-distance driver - at least there would be some benefit!”
The context for the dispute was a story that caused a wide resonance: a resident of Latvia was surprised to see an Indian driver in a minibus and wondered if this was related to the departure of local workers abroad.
Lai nebūtu jāieved imigranti, kuri strādā transporta un loģistikas uzņēmumos, Satiksmes un Izglītības ministrijai ir jāsakārto izglītības sistēma, lai daudz lielākā skaitā tiktu sagatavoti profesionāli kravas un autobusu šoferi. Eiropā trūkst vairāk kā 100 tūkst. šoferi.
— Jānis Dombrava (@janisdombrava) April 22, 2026
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