Decent Work Information Day Situation in Latvia from the perspective of tripartite cooperation and decent work Ilze Zvīdriņa Head of Labour Market Policy Unit Labour Department Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia 13 December, 2011

SEA data LABOUR MARKET SITUATION I Registered unemployed and registered vacancies

LABOUR MARKET SITUATION II General framework: Decentralized wage setting Mostly micro-enterprises (91%) Flexible lay-off and hiring procedures Min. wage 200 LVL (EUR ) per month Low Trade Union coverage Social insurance contribution %, Personal income tax - 25%, Non- taxable income - 45 LVL (EUR 63.98), 70 LVL (EUR 99.53) for each dependant High flexibility and moderate/low security Need for extending the social safety net – increasing and widening coverage, implementing new ALMPs Labour market institutions: State Labour Inspectorate State Employment Agency (PES) State Social Insurance Agency

SOCIAL DIALOGUE I National Tripartite Cooperation Council (NTSP) Gov. institutions, trade unions, employers organizations meeting at least once per two months Headed by Prime Minister, President of Free Trade Union Confederation or President of Employers Confederation 9 representatives for each party Discussions on State budget issues, Labour Law a.o. NTSP Sub-councils The Sub-council of the Tripartite Cooperation in Labour Affairs Social Security Tripartite Cooperation Sub-council Vocational Education and Employment Tripartite Cooperation Sub-council

SOCIAL DIALOGUE II ESF PROJECTS Free Trade Union Confederation Application of legal acts in the area of employment relations and safety at work in branches and enterprises Awareness raising of rights of workers Employers Confederation Application of legal acts in the area of employment relations and safety at work in branches and enterprises Awareness raising of duties of enterprises in the domain of employment contracts, health and safety at work a.o.

CHALLENGES Situation: Social dialogue guided by member interests mostly Non-members (unemployed, inactive) sometimes regarded as outsiders of the general labour market or social dialogue (employees and employers of micro-enterprises) So far little focus on decent work from the perspective of social security, in-work poverty, proper involvement of employers in designing and implementing ALMPs Not always balanced social dialogue Not sufficiant awareness of market inefficiencies in general and regional social dialogue

PRIORITIES Health, safety and environment at the work-place. Quality of work decreased during the crisis, pressure on decreasing costs, safety at work not observed properly, accidents occurring Information and awareness-raising activities and partnership-building among social partners and with public and private sector organizations, including NGOs. Implementing ALMPs requires involvement of social partners in a proper way to benefit the society as a whole, lobbying in employment-related policies Social partner actions to promote employment, education, schooling, housing, anti-discrimination, poverty prevention, health and safety, and social protection. Awareness raising for consequences of LTU, stigmatization of unemployed, poverty and income inequality Role of social dialogue parties, impact on labour market outcomes

Thank you! Further information: Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia State Labour Inspectorate State Employment Agency of Latvia