[ad_1]
The generosity of the seimas
The salary of the members of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania cannot exceed 90%. the salary of the Chairman of the Board, and the latter is regulated by the Law of the Bank of Lithuania. The president’s salary is calculated in a very simple way: 5 average salaries of employees of credit institutions (not managers, but all employees) (currently it is 2377 euros). Therefore, the president’s salary is approximately 11.9 thousand. euros And still owns 15 percent. Salary supplement for representation expenses abroad and at home. And that is another 1800 euros. The current Chairman of the Board, Vitas Vasiliauskas, like his predecessors, can use this amount without paying. In other words, you can let them go wherever you go.
In early May, Kęstutis Glaveckas, vice chairman of the Seimas Budget and Finance Committee, registered an amendment (supported by 7 political colleagues with their signatures). In addition, he proposed leaving 15 percent. supplement, but V. Vasiliauskas should use it for the arrangement.
However, the project he started remained a project.
Poor and ordinary
The salary of the members of the Council of the Bank of Lithuania in the first quarter of this year was 10,994 euros. In addition to the president, the institution’s website includes 3 members of the Board: the deputies of V. Vasiliauskas, Asta Kunijoši (Kuniyoshi) and Raimondas Kuodis and the ordinary member Marius Jurgilas.
How much do other employees of the Bank of Lithuania earn? The average salary of department heads is 3,857 euros, chief specialists – 2,685 euros, senior specialists – 1,792 euros, specialists – 1,214 euros, skilled workers – 1,048 euros. Adding the average of all salaries, around fifteen hundred euros.
The Bank of Lithuania’s financial report for 2019 states that at the end of last year, the institution actually employed 617 employees, of whom 42 had fixed-term employment contracts (583 and 40, respectively, at the end of 2018). Another 25 employees had parental or unpaid leave.
Don’t die of boredom
However, the financial statement does not mention some interesting topics related to employee well-being.
For example, various celebrations and entertainments are organized for employees: movies are bought and shown to employees, performances for employees’ children, great parties for adults twice a year. For example, last year’s Christmas party cost up to 30,000. The Pramogų Bankas room was rented, the food and drink tables were broken, Jurgis Didžiulis played and sang (one hour of his performance cost 3,600 euros), etc.
A little cheaper: about 18 thousand. last year, the spring festival of the Bank of Lithuania at a rural tourism farm cost.
Furthermore, it turns out that bank employees buy shooting ranges, sports training and the like.
Another strange thing is that the Bank of Lithuania buys a ton of food for its employees. And they lost only one privilege. Until 2009, employees were not allowed to take loans from commercial banks (to avoid conflicts of interest, to avoid influencing decisions, etc.), therefore the Bank of Lithuania provided loans at interest rates 3-4 times lower than in the markets. As Tomas Kvaraciejus, Director of the Organizational Council of the Bank of Lithuania, told Vakaro žinios, the Bank of Lithuania has not made loans to its employees since 2009.
T. Kvaraciejus “Vakaro žinios” also asked about other strangeness of the bank: food shopping, entertainment organization, etc.
“Food is bought and used in the production of dishes. All employees of the Bank of Lithuania pay for meals themselves. We have examined all models of catering service provision and have now decided to provide in-house catering services, ”explained T. Kvaraciejus.
Says everything is normal
And all entertainment belongs according to the collective agreement of the Bank of Lithuania with employees.
“The Bank of Lithuania, as an employer, is committed to Bank employees and has agreed with the Bank of Lithuania Employees Union to organize sporting and cultural events, a holiday event for the children of employees or other sporting events twice a calendar year.
Yes, a movie was shown to the children of the employees of the Bank of Lithuania during the Christmas event.
Due to the situation regarding the restriction of coronavirus threats and mass gatherings, this year’s summer event for employees was abandoned.
The shooting range services are used by the security personnel of our organization, who, according to valid instructions, must meet the standards established for this work, including shooting. To promote a healthy and active lifestyle, our organization organizes sports activities for employees. There were no trainings during the quarantine.
We value these costs as part of the employer value package. The main objective of such events is to foster team community, which helps to achieve the common goals of the organization, “said T. Kvaraciejus.
Proponents of entertainment and high salaries of the Bank of Lithuania generally say that all this is not at the expense of the taxpayers, because the bank does not receive a penny from the country’s budget. On the contrary, tens of millions of euros are transferred to the budget each year from the benefits obtained. Logically, however, the contribution to the budget could be greater, if not at an enormous cost.
Interview with a former member of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania (2004-2013) prof. Vaidievutis GERALAVIČIUS:
– Is it normal for the governor of the Bank of Lithuania to receive a higher salary than the president of the country, almost double that of the prime minister?
– The head of our central bank: he is neither the first nor the last to receive more than the country’s president. The governors of all central banks receive higher salaries than the presidents of the countries: in both France and Germany, Great Britain has an exceptional salary in total.
The managers of our commercial banks actually earn more than 10,000 each. It would be frivolous for someone to lead, control, but receive less than controlled. It cannot be. The Seimas has approved such a salary and I will not provoke anything here. The only place to improvise is that money that is not given for representation. However, our central bank governor’s salary is the second or third highest in Europe.
– A good decade ago, the Bank of Lithuania provided its employees with loans 3-4 times lower in interest than on the market. Were there cases where Bank of Lithuania employees borrowed from their workplace and then made a deposit at a commercial bank at a much higher interest rate and thus earned?
– Yes, it was like that and it was abnormal. Therefore, the order has now changed. It is now possible to borrow from wherever you want, but not from the Bank of Lithuania. And then and now, Bank of Lithuania employees can hold deposits with commercial banks. But here I don’t see a high risk of office abuse, pressure, and demand more interest. After all, ordinary employees have no influence and nothing can be negotiated. Only senior officials can negotiate something, but there is an opportunity to control everything.
– The Bank of Lithuania buys tons of food for your dining needs …
– When you worked at the Bank of Lithuania, the situation was the same: you also bought food. It has probably been calculated that buying it yourself is cheaper than hiring people. Probably, a cost-benefit analysis has been done, which is now so necessary.
– And how do you rate all the free entertainment provided to employees?
– Isn’t it in other institutions? In ministries, agencies? There is. If the ministries no longer organize parties, the Bank of Lithuania will probably not organize more either. Is it a luxury? I think this can be seen as a kind of “bonus”.
We can add 500 euros to the salary of each employee and not organize parties, not give food. Maybe it’s also good. However, there are “bonds” in all public institutions. Some give a car for wages, others organize parties, others feed cheaper. This must be seen as part of the salary.
– The Bank of Lithuania allegedly pampers employees with money from non-taxpayers, since it does not receive a penny from the budget. However, if you cut costs, you could allocate more of the profits to the budget.
– Yes, the Bank of Lithuania is earned by investing the majority of its reserves. And allocate part of the profit to the budget. Which part is decided by the Seimas.
– Almost as much as V.Vasiliauskas, the Internet administrator LRT receives …
– Wow! I didn’t know. Well, then we have to keep silent about the wages of the Bank of Lithuania. You really should look at them more forgiving if LRT can already afford those wages.
Next week in Vakaro žinios it reads: Lithuanian wages would surprise the world.
[ad_2]
