The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is working on amendments in the law to limit bilingualism, which would restrict the use of the Russian language in workplaces and public places, announced by the Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns.
Bordāns explains that this law would result from the language referendum held in February 2012, in which 74.8% of voters voted against Russian as the second state language.
Although the referendum confirmed the desire of the population for the Latvian language to be as the only state language, the minister considers that in practice the use of Latvian and Russian languages simultaneously in service provision and in workplace has only strengthened, which is the long–term consequences of Russification.
Minister ads that this is happening despite the fact that all Latvian residents have the opportunity to use the national language on a daily basis and «the practice is that all Latvians are required to know the Russian language in very different situations».
«This should be prevented, except for certain cases listed in the law. But it would be important for the society to know that the Latvian language should be used for business people, as well as for communication in the workplace,» believes Bordāns.
According to Bordāns, such a law could be forwarded to the cooperation meeting of the parties forming the government in the nearest future.
After that it would be possible to submit it to the Latvia’s Saeima for revision.
To the question of whether this would also apply to answering machines, including various private or public sector companies, which are often offered to communicate not only in Latvian, but also in Russian, minister says that it ahould be discussed, but at the time admits that it could also apply to such cases.
«It should be established that it is prohibited to use any other a language than the official language of the European Union when selling goods or providing services, in addition to the national language or alongside it. This means that the Russian language would also be excluded in such telephone messages, as well as in bank communications,» explains the minister.
The law could also apply to job advertisements that require knowledge of the Russian language.
«For example, we would expect that if the employer employs at least 50 employees and requires at least five employees to know or use a language that is not an official language of the European Union, or if it is considered an advantage for establishing employment legal relations, then the employer adds a justification,» notes a politician.
This justification would be further examined by the Latvian State Language Center and the State Labour Inspectorate. On the other hand, the employer should go through the relevant coordination with both institutions.
The State Labour Inspectorate has previously received several complaints about possible unjustified foreign language requirements in job advertisements, as well as about refusals to hire employees, including young people who do not speak certain foreign languages.
The inspection reminds that the Labour Law stipulates that it is forbidden to indicate the skill of a specific foreign language in a job advertisement, except if it is reasonably necessary for the performance of work duties.