The board of the Latvian Health and Social Care Workers Union (LVSADA) on Tuesday agreed on the necessary additional funding in the amount of 69 million euros to increase wages and the corresponding increase in wages in the sector, which would be further divided according to profession categories, union chairman Valdis Keris told LETA agency.
He mentioned that such an amount had already been discussed at the January 12 meeting of the Health Care Sector Sub-Council (VANA) of the National Tripartite Cooperation Council, where representatives of LVSADA and the Ministry of Health (MoH) met. At that time, the initial offer of the MoI for the salary increase was an additional 27 million euros, which was rejected by LVSADA as not applicable to the real situation. Continuing the discussion, it was possible to increase the additional financing under discussion to 69 million euros.
LVSADA will invite the Ministry of Interior to agree on this amount and advance the agreement as a project. Already on Wednesday, January 18, the Minister of Health Līga MenĆelsone will be informed in writing about the board’s decision, after which LVSADA will wait for an answer about the possible further action.
Cares explained that this arrangement would effectively mean that every healthcare worker, whether they are a medical professional or in the support category, would receive an extra €115 a month on average before tax. It would also mean a percentage increase in support for lower paid workers. However, Keris added that the agreement applies only to the year 2023, because right now it is very important to help people compensate for the costs of heating and electricity.
“In the long term, the trade union does not give up the demand that in 2025 the salary of a doctor should reach two average salaries in the national economy, and for the other categories of professions – the corresponding proportion of the salary of doctors. In the beginning, in a sense, the fire must be put out, and then it will be time to smooth the relations between the profession categories,” Keris explained.
Also, the board of LVSADA agreed that according to the Public Health Guidelines, in 2023 the additional funding of the health care industry from the state budget should be in the amount of 306 million euros. The government’s declaration mentioned that the government will implement the health care policy in accordance with these guidelines, and “if the government wants to show that all of this was of no importance – it would be catastrophic”, admitted Keris.
