The “minimum” will break the spear again: unions will reach 60 euros more, employers want new power

Negotiations on MMA usually take place in a Tripartite Council between the social partners: trade unions, employers’ representatives and the Government, and then the matter passes to the Government.

At the next meeting of the Tripartite Council, on September 23, it will be discussed how much the MMA could aspire to next year.

Will propose an increase of 31 euros

According to Eglė Samoškaitė, Public Relations Advisor to the Minister of Social Security and Labor Linas Kukuraitis, the Tripartite Council has agreed to link the amount of the monthly minimum wage to specific economic indicators: changes in average monthly wages, changes in labor productivity, changes in the annual average consumer price index, GDP growth, the average annual unemployment rate and other changes.

“In order to decouple the setting of the monthly minimum wage from the political cycle, in 2017 it was anticipated that the relationship between the minimum wage and the average wage should not be less than 45 percent nor greater than 50 percent,” he said.

According to E.Samoškaitė, the MMA should correspond to the average of a quarter of the countries with the highest average and minimum wage in the European Union, which is determined on the basis of statistics published during the last three years.

According to the calculations of the Bank of Lithuania and taking into account the latest economic development scenario for Lithuania, next year the minimum wage in Lithuania should reach 638 euros “on paper”. Currently, the minimum wage is 607 euros “on paper”, said L. Kukuraitis’s adviser.

According to the calculations of the Bank of Lithuania and taking into account the latest economic development scenario in Lithuania, next year the minimum wage in Lithuania should reach 638 euros “on paper”.

R. Karbauskis: there will be enough money

Ramūnas Karbauskis, the senior of the Lithuanian Green and Peasant Union (LVŽS) faction in the Seimas, said the issue of increasing the MMA had not been discussed so far in the governing coalition council.

However, given the economic situation of the country, raising the “minimum” will be considered.

“Because the situation is much better than it was possible to imagine half a year ago. She is just great. It turns out that we have managed, however, in those few years to make the crisis that has arisen around the world bypass us. This is the forecast of economists, and I hope so, that even this year there will be no economic recession, “he said.

The situation is much better than you could imagine half a year ago. She is just great.

Increasing the MMA would also require additional funding from the state budget. While the economy may be in recession, the government has already announced that indexed old-age pensions will continue to rise.

R. Karbauskis is convinced that there will be enough money.

“Right now, from what I’ve heard, the numbers are 30 million. less collected than should have been collected. But by now it will be clear that this year’s plan will be implemented. This means that everything is going great with Sodra. Without a doubt, when it comes to any solution, we need analysis, numbers, ”he said.

Sodra needs more money

Danas Arlauskas, president of the Lithuanian Employers’ Confederation (GDL), believes the MMA issue should be postponed until after the elections, when there will be more clarity.

He indicated that he would propose not to discuss the issue in the Tripartite Council next week.

“We are going to unequivocally suggest not to consider,” stressed the company representative.

D. Arlauskas explained that so far we do not know what stimulates the economy. He mentioned that the current export indicators are not satisfactory, there is a decrease in imports.

According to D. Arlauskas, the economy rises with domestic consumption, and when it reaches the ceiling, no one can answer.

He also emphasized that there is complete uncertainty about COVID-19 about how things will go next. In addition, it should be noted that more than 235 thousand people are without work in the country.

“I think the ministry, of course, has succumbed to the electoral period. This is understandable here. What they think is that they left mine. And I think we have to act very responsibly and there is nothing to rush here. The new Seimas will come together, people will see all those processes differently and, I think, then it will be possible to sit down and think about what we are doing here. When the clarity is greater, “said D. Arlauskas.

What they think is that they left mine. And I think we have to act very responsibly and there is nothing to rush here.

He explained that salary increases are mainly in the public sector. The President of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania stated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, wages were increased and European money was attracted for this purpose.

“And in the private sector, if it has increased, it is very little. But again, it was largely due to a lot of money being injected; I’ll call it helicopter money. That’s what we need to understand that thing. But the most important thing is that the relationship between the increase in the public sector and the private sector is to the detriment of the private sector, ”said D. Arlauskas.

But most importantly, the relationship between the growth of the public sector and the private sector is to the detriment of the private sector.

In his opinion, the first thing to talk about is not raising the “minimum.”

The President of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania assured that companies understand quite well that the main driver of their success is human resources. Those who create value are said to receive a salary significantly higher than the average salary.

According to D. Arlauskas, paradoxical as it may be, although several hundred thousand people do not have jobs in the country, the business does not find guards, support personnel, cleaners, housewives and the like.

In his opinion, the unemployed are not going to work now because they are not paid.

“Will it be worth working for them when MMA increases? After all, entrepreneurs won’t do what they’ll do all day. They will hire you there for half a day. Increase MMA, shorten the period even more. (…) Do you know where it is? For Sodra to get more money. Because you have to pay from MMA to Sodra: it doesn’t matter how many people work half a day or two hours. There are budget problems here and they mainly look through all this prism ”, thinks D. Arlauskas.

Do you know where the matter is? For Sodra to get more money.

Always turn to the heart

Inga Ruginienė, president of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation (LPSK), emphasized that the deadline for deciding on the “minimum” next year is clearly set out in the Labor Code.

“This is June 15, when the size of the MMA must be decided. Which means that the Tripartite Council should present its position to the Prime Minister before that deadline. Unfortunately, the coronavirus thwarted our plans a bit and postponed the issue to a later date. But I don’t see any reason not to consider it and express my opinion. If employers aren’t prepared, they can’t express it, let them say it directly. At that time, we as unions are ready to consider and have a clear position and arguments to support our opinion, ”he said.

According to I.Ruginienė, the unions calculate what the MMA could be next year according to the formula agreed in the Tripartite Council.

According to her, in this year’s Tripartite Council, businessmen and the Government have asked for the economic development scenario presented in September and data on the country’s average salary in the second quarter of this year.

“It just came to our knowledge then. We have put those numbers in the formula and we get that from next year the minimum wage should be 663 euros,” said the president of the LPSK.

We have put those numbers in the formula and we obtain that from next year the minimum wage should be 663 euros.

The position of the employers’ representative regarding the “minimum” I.Ruginienė was not surprised.

He recalled that last year, in the absence of the coronavirus, the economy went through one of the biggest booms, we lived quite well, without any stress, from the lips of the representatives of the businessmen the exact same rhetoric sounded as now.

“There has also been a call from the heart that companies will soon collapse, they will go out of business, that there is no way to increase MMA by one euro, that those unions are asking for something again. The rhetoric does not change from year to year. And today, there is simply no need to politicize, there is no need to interpret. Together with our economic specialists, we are observing what is happening in the Lithuanian economy, what the country’s economists, the Bank of Lithuania and the Government are talking about about the current situation. And they all say with one voice that the curves are going up, that we did not see such a recession, that it was planned at the beginning of the quarantine. In fact, the situation is even improving rapidly, many companies have not suffered as much as planned and next year we plan an even greater increase, ”commented I.Ruginienė.

There have also been calls to the heart that companies will soon collapse, go bankrupt, that there is no way to increase the MMA by a single euro, that those unions are asking for something again.