At the moment there are 11.4% unfilled vacancies in the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD), said the Chief of VUGD Mārtiņš Baltmanis in an interview to TV3. He mentioned the service is in dire need for workers in Riga and its surrounding area.
Baltmanis said the current wages paid to VUGD workers are
19%-24% lower than average wages in the national economy,
even though the average level was successfully reached five years ago.
Some improvements in the service are expected next year, as next January a 10% addition to wages next year. There are also plans to allocate additional funding towards better social guarantees for VUGD workers.
As for the lesson learned from Zolitude tragedy,
Baltmanis believes there were not major improvements accomplished in terms of fire safety in the past ten years. As for construction control measures, there have been major changes, and even more improvements when it comes to the legislative side of things.
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