[ad_1]
After the meetings, Simonas Krėpšta, Senior Advisor to the President and Head of the Economic and Social Policy Group, said that they focused on social dialogue, partnership to reduce income inequality, economic transformation, efficient and professional work of state institutions and improving the business environment. Expectations were also expressed for the new government.
“In the president’s opinion, strengthening social dialogue, strengthening dialogue between employees and employers, is undoubtedly a very important aspect and should be one of the Government’s priorities to achieve positive economic and social objectives in the next four years,” he said Krėpšta.
According to him, the vision of the presidential welfare state has many connections with the political priorities of the new government. So according to the advisor, a breakthrough is expected in the future.
The report circulated after the meeting indicates that the president expects the new government to consult with the social partners and involve them in the decision-making process from the first working days. The first action of this type, according to the head of the country, could become 2021. revision of the preliminary draft of the state budget and the planned DNA of the Future Economy and other investments.
During meetings with representatives of trade unions and business organizations, it was also agreed that, in order to ensure the quality of the legislation, issues related to the Labor Code should continue to be discussed first in the Tripartite Council and only later in the Government and the Seimas. It is also necessary to maintain and strengthen the practice of the annual subscription of a national collective agreement in force in the public sector.
Fear of layoffs
Inga Ruginienė, president of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation, said the meeting was productive and she hoped the new government would support social dialogue.
“What we would expect is a very strong focus on the public sector. And we do not want it to be again, as it has been year after year, that each political party reaches the ruling majority to begin by “cleaning up” the workforce and reducing the public sector, “he said.
He hopes that high technology will be invested and that the public sector will be improved so that public services are available to the entire population and workers in the sector are not laid off.
According to I. Ruginienė, the public sector must remain in the hands of the state and there must be no massive privatizations.
“We receive more and more messages of this type from the ruling majority, so that real funds can be allocated to the public sector, such as education and health.” That private educational institutions should be supported in the same way as public ones, it is obvious that by depriving public educational institutions of funding, ”said I. Ruginienė and assured that unions will fight for workers’ rights.
According to her, the unions hear some of the majority talk about the restructuring of state companies, which is worrying:
“We are ready to work and protect employees who work in the public sector. We believe that it can improve not through privatization and layoffs, but through the introduction of high technology and management changes ”.
A union spokeswoman also said workers were working out of fear of possible discrimination after contracting the coronavirus.
Some suffered, some received new orders.
At that time, V. Janulevičius thanked the President for the good debate and hoped that the communication between the different organizations would continue.
There was also talk about the DNA plan of the future Lithuanian economy and its possible revision. <...> The investment with borrowed money must be sustainable and yield profitability after many years ”, explains the industrial guide.
He also noted that Lithuania lags behind neighboring countries in terms of the fiscal environment. I expected there to be changes in this area.
“The sectors that are affected by the quarantine are the same: hotels, restaurants and we also hear that sanatoriums promise not to stop working. <...> This wave of quarantine will be more severe, “said V. Janulevičius about companies affected by Covid-19.
According to him, rotation with new business support measures should rotate faster. However, not all actions of the DNA plan should be stopped. However, some investment projects should be reviewed.
V. Janulevičius admitted that after the disruption of supply chains with distant countries, European Union producers are more interested in what closer Lithuanian producers can offer.
[ad_2]
