From the lips of Blinkevičiūtė – bitter words to the rulers: “How far have we reached? These are living people”

On Friday, a demonstration was held in Vilnius Cathedral Square, which brought together 5,000 people. population. At the end of the demonstration, some of them headed towards the Seimas and the police officers also had to arrest them.

According to V. Blinkevičiūtė, people have the right to peaceful demonstrations and protests. Otherwise, a democratic state cannot and should not exist.

“All the problems that arise, that give rise to rallies, various actions and riots, need to be addressed, I mean politicians, speak up until then, because the rallies already usually have certain emotions, they want to express demands, but they listen less. Therefore, we really wish the rulers a serious social and civil dialogue, which is badly needed and lacking. You need to talk to everyone and listen. Yes, it is not easy and very difficult, but that is the bread of politics.

Labels cannot be pasted, people cannot be layered; it is a lot of harm to divide and confront our state. Remember, there were “beets”, now “Vatniks”, now “protesters” and “anti-wax”. That cannot be the case and those things should be avoided, ”said V. Blinkevičiūtė.

“The passport of opportunity cannot be a tool to discriminate the activities of people”

According to V. Blinkevičiūtė, now most of the discussions are about the restrictions that will be introduced from Monday.

“We Social Democrats recognize the benefits of vaccination in the fight against a pandemic, according to 71 percent. or more of the vaccinated adult population. <...> However, it is also necessary to respect the opinion of those of our people, our citizens, who are afraid of being vaccinated or not. This requires a separate individual reception for each of those people.

How to encourage vaccination, is the forced method appropriate? Many spears are broken and are still breaking. The rulers are unable to listen to the people, argue enough and make certain suggestions, which they must then withdraw because the people are outraged, ”he said.

V. Blinkevičiūtė provided examples of how to revoke a passport of opportunity in public transport. He also criticized the initial decisions to buy a passport of opportunity, which was not yet available in Sodra and elsewhere, making it difficult for some people to obtain one, but now the situation has been resolved.

“A passport of opportunity cannot be a tool to discriminate against people. In no way can I. And first of all, the passport of opportunities cannot restrict our people’s access to basic things: health, education, social security and other things ”, said the leader of the Social Democrats.

It will not support the non-payment of sickness benefits to unvaccinated people.

The Social Democrats said they would in no way support sickness benefits for unvaccinated people provided by the Ministry of Social Security and Labor. All employees must pay contributions to health insurance. As a result, you become ill or temporarily disabled and are entitled to a sickness benefit, which covers at least part of the loss of income. The benefit is free only if it is established that the person has committed a crime, lied or drunk. Those vaccinated who are not COVID-19 will soon be included.

“It is the desire and aspiration of the rulers that if a person has not been vaccinated, they have become ill covidu and being cared for, people, he has a newsletter at home, he was insured, the medical insurance was paid, he would not be paid sickness benefits.

Listen to the level we have reached: these are living people with families, children, we have to really delve into them. No one gave them the right to deduct their health insurance benefits.

I did not understand the Prime Minister’s statement linking health insurance and sickness benefits in general to the principles of insurance. This is not the same as civil insurance. There is no need to mix social security here, ”said the leader of the Social Democrats.

Developed a 7-step plan for the government

The Social Democrats discussed political issues on Saturday and accepted an appeal to the government with a package of proposals for immediate action in the country in the face of rising inflation and rising prices.

The speech by the party chairperson, Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, emphasizes that this year energy prices in Lithuania – electricity and gas – have risen by a record and so far there are no reasonable assumptions that they will decline in the near future.

“Noting that residential and commercial customers have been experiencing an increase in electricity and gas prices for some time, so this change will inevitably have an impact on the growth of prices of products and services in the near future ; especially in Vilnius, where the price of heating is forecast to increase by 50%.

Noting that, according to a survey by the National Network of Poverty Reduction Organizations, approximately 150,000 households in the country lack money for food. Noting that the existing income compensation and indexation procedure in Lithuania is inefficient, and that the highest level of risk of poverty is found among the elderly ”, say the Social Democrats.

They recall that the average old-age pension has lagged behind the at-risk-of-poverty threshold for many years, and last year the gap widened even further. About 164 thousand. people receive an old-age pension of up to € 300.

“Considering that part of the proposals presented to the Seimas in the autumn session of the Government would reduce the income of the population next year, and the proposed amendments to the Labor Code would worsen the situation of employees, the weakest country in labor relations .

Noting that the government has not yet presented a tax reform that would reduce the burden on low and middle income wage earners. Recalling that so far there are no government fiscal initiatives that increase the taxation of large capital and large assets and, therefore, the state budget revenues for 2022.

Emphasizing that the increase in the prices of raw materials and other resources will have a direct impact on citizens, consumers and companies, as well as further increases in the prices of services and goods. Observing that due to the foreign policy of the rulers towards China, it is probable that the prices of raw materials and products imported from this country will only increase, which will also increase the prices of services and goods for the population, ”says Social Democrats.

The Social Democrats call on the Government to act immediately and offer constructive assistance in the drafting and improvement of the relevant bills:

Review and better target social and financial instruments that increase household income: through tax-free income adjustments (NPD); as well as more socially just tax changes (such as a more progressive personal income tax covering all personal income, regardless of origin), which would reduce inequalities between low- and middle-income people; increase the taxation of large capitals and large assets with a view to greater budgetary redistribution;

Although not endorsed by employer representatives, take plans from 2022. increase the monthly minimum wage (MMA) to € 730, as agreed with the unions; Increase the income of employees who receive a fixed salary from the state budget by adjusting the basic amount of the official salary (salary) of public officials;

Keep the existing 9 percent. value added tax (VAT) relief for heating; establish a 9 percent preferential. VAT on electricity and gas rates for domestic consumers; review, in cooperation with municipalities, the effectiveness and affordability of measures to help those with the lowest incomes cover heating and utility costs; address the situation of highly indebted people by reviewing existing debt recovery arrangements for the most vulnerable groups in society;

In the public energy sector, promote competition and review the profitability criteria of state-owned companies so that the lowest possible price – corporate profits, the burden of growing corporate profits;

Introduce green taxes only to ensure that they do not affect the weakest;

Implement in practice the government agreements that allow increasing the salaries of those who work in the public sector (teachers, doctors, lecturers, civil servants, cultural workers, social workers, etc.); accelerate the increase in old-age pensions; encouraging employers to treat their employees fairly and in consultation with their employees, for example by giving priority in public procurement to all companies with collective agreements;

Implement comprehensive measures to support families: introduce a higher universal benefit at the birth (or adoption) of a child; guarantee the care of children under one year of age at least one or two days a week in nurseries; ensure that all teaching materials in schools are free; increase the volume and improve the quality of free school meals.