Requirement for compulsory Covid-19 vaccination to extend to parliament and municipal deputies

The requirement for compulsory Covid-19 vaccination in state and municipal institutions also applies to Saeima and municipal deputies, explains the Ombudsman’s Office.
According to the Ombudsman’s Office, Article 5.3 of the Latvian government’s declaration of the state of emergency clearly states officials and workers of state and municipal institutions, businesses run by the state and municipal administrations included, will be able to perform their duties after 15 November only if they have a valid Covid-19 vaccination or recovery certificate.
A list of state officials is clearly outlined in Section 4 of the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest in Activities of Public Officials. President of the state, prime minister, ministers, parliamentarians, parliamentary secretaries, Saeima deputies, deputies of municipal council and other officials listed in this section of the law fall under the category of state officials. «This means these people are required to vaccinate for Covid-19,» notes the Ombudsman’s Office. According to the information published by the Ministry of Welfare for employers, workers who are not vaccinated for Covid-19 may be subjected to suspension or termination in accordance with the Labour Law.
Since there have been no amendments added to the Labour Law on the topic of legislation governing employment relations during the Covid-19 pandemic, employer/employee relations are to be governed as they were by the law, the ministry explains. The same applies to officials.
If the employer has no objective way to restructure operations and offer employees a way to to their jobs remotely and work instead needs to be performed normally and with an additional requirement for employees to have a valid Covid-19 vaccination certificate, there are multiple solutions, explains the ministry. Additionally, the employer is the one who is responsible for picking an appropriate solution.
One option is suspension. In the event of suspension, the employee is not paid the wage for the duration of his or her suspension.
As it is known, Latvia’s government has declared a state of emergency for a period of three months.
Read also: State of emergency declared in Latvia; major restrictions for non-vaccinated people