Latvia’s labour market will need to be opened for foreign workers, because there is a shortage of workers in our country, said Minister of Welfare Uldis Augulis in an interview to TV3 on Tuesday, the 3rd of October.
The minister stressed that already Polish and Estonian companies use opportunities and de facto supply various Latvian economic sectors with workers from abroad, except the taxes for them go past the Latvian budget. Even if there weren’t 6 000 – 8 000 Ukrainian refugees in Latvia, there would still be a tangible shortage of workers in the country, said the minister.
When making the decision on the opening of the labour market, the state should look which sectors are in need of workers, he added. He also referenced the idea mentioned in the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) regarding the planning of the labour market, specifically the potential to combine the work of the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Welfare, concentrating them in a single ministry.
As for the first priority tasks in the Ministry of Welfare, Augulis outlined the agreement reached by the new coalition
to reinstate pension benefits for years of service.
He repeated that he supports pension indexation twice a year. However, the choice of a specific solution requires a detailed inspection.
When asked if it is necessary to further raise retirement age, the minister said first of all it’s important to wait for 2025, when the 65-year retirement age is reached. Only then will it be possible to tackle the situation in more detail and whether the social insurance system needs some changes. “Right now there are no signals to imply we should take immediate measures,” adds the ZZS politician.
Also read: Unemployment level in Latvia “within the norm” but still higher than EU’s average