Union Rights, Pay settlements, Lithuania

The LSADPS health workers’ union reports that its members in public health will benefit from pay rises of around 14% from the beginning of this month. This is based on the collective agreement negotiated by the LSADPS and eight other health sector trade unions in 2021 and updated in October of last year. Along with higher basic pay there are increases to the coefficients on which salaries are based and these will apply to the members of the trade unions that have signed the agreement. The average increase for all health staff will be around 8%.

EPSU and industriAll Europe have sent a joint letter of protest to bosses at the Achema chemicals plant in Lithuania. They have called on the management to end anti-union activity and return to the negotiating table to resolve a dispute over pay and a new collective agreement. The local union, part of the LPPSF union affiliated to both EPSU and industriAll, took strike action in February – the first private sector strike in Lithuania for 30 years – but had to suspend the action when the government declared a state of emergency because of the war in Ukraine.

EPSU affiliate the LSADPS and eight other medical trade unions organisations have negotiated a new three-year collective agreement that runs from 1 January 2022 and covers workers from the entire health sector, who are members of the trade union organisations involved in the negotiations. This is the first time all trade unions have come together to sign one sectoral collective agreement. A combination of factors mean that wages are set to increase by an average of 10.9% in 2022. There is also a commitment to ensure funding for wage increases to prevent a recurrence of the delay in wage rises

The LPPSF industry trade union federation is celebrating a major legal victory with the conviction of an employer for pressurising workers to leave the trade union. This is a first for Lithuania. Many earlier attempts to bring employers to book have failed for lack of evidence. This time there was an audio recording of a manager threatening a trade union member with dismissal if she didn’t leave the union. The case involved the Transachema company where a trade union was established in 2018 and 80% of workers became members. The union began collective bargaining but a year of delays by the

Public service unions have made a major breakthrough after three years of negotiations following the signing of a sector collective agreement covering workers in social services. Around 1000 social workers, social worker assistants and home care employees will see a range of improvements to pay and conditions, including a 4.3% rise in the minimum coefficient used to calculate salaries along with further increases for specific groups of workers. There are other measures to compensate workers covering for absent colleagues and for using private cars. The agreement will only apply to union

(May 2017) The revised labour code has been a major issue of debate in Lithuania for the last three years. The ETUI research organisation has just published a an update on this and other labour market, industral relations and pensions developments in the country. This is part of the ETUI's Reform Watch website covering all EU Member States.

(May 2017) The new labour code is set to be implemented in July although trade unions want it deferred to January 2018 with further amendments in line with the proposals of the President. The code has been discussed in the Tripartite Council but it was unable to find consensus on many issues. President Dalia Grybauskaite has been a consistent critic of the amended code and argues that if adopted in its current form then it would have to be amended immediately to provide better protection for workers' and trade union rights.

(September 2016) Despite the long-running trade union campaign against the labour code and the temporary block put on it by the President, the parliament passed the legislation on 14 September with the government claiming that more flexible labour market rules are needed to boost employment. The code will reduce holiday entitlement, allow more flexility in fixed-term contracts, make it easier to dismiss workers and relaxes limites on overtime and working time.

(September 2016) Trade unions are moblising on 10 September in their continuing campaign against the proposed new Labour Code. The President blocked the code over the summer and EPSU has sent a message of protest to the Lithuanian government arguing that the Code will do nothing for the economy and only create more precarious working conditions, particularly for young workers. Read more at LPPFS (LT).

(July 2016) Trade unions have welcomed the decision by President Dalia Grybauskaitė to veto the draft Labour Code. She said that the Code fails to provide adequate protections for workers and she has sent it back to Parliament with 22 suggested amendments. The unions have been campaigning against the Code since last autumn, warning of the impact of measures that would relax rules on working time and make it easier for employers to sack workers. Read more at Baltic Times (EN) and EPSU (EN).