Latvia

The Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia reports that in 2019, the JSC Liepājas Autobusu Parks, a transport company in Liepaja, forbade the company union (LAKRS) from posting important information about a general meeting it was to organise. Whenever the union tried to put up communication notices, the employer would immediately tear them up. The employer further banned any union meeting which would not be “coordinated” with the management.

Furthermore, the Confederation indicates that workers that are members of the LAKRS (the company-level union) were penalised after taking strike action. In May 2019, LAKRS announced a strike planned on 30 May to request an increase in the minimum wage to €7 per hour. On 28 May, the company brought a claim to court to have the strike declared illegal. Workers were prevented from striking as the court ruled on 17 June that the strike application was illegal.

Following these events, active union members were not paid their allowance, while other employees – not members of the trade union – received it. For 2019, trade union activists did not receive any annual bonuses, while others received €50. In addition, since 2018 the company started assigning workers who are LAKRS members to “bad” routes and allocating to them older buses in an attempt to harass and discriminate them.

Finally, in 2019 LAKRS initiated collective bargaining negotiations. However, the management of the company bluntly refused all proposals made by the union and did not propose make any counter-proposals to move along negotiations. As a result, the negotiations did not lead to the signing of a collective agreement in the company.

Aero navigational service provider SJSC “Latvian Air Traffic” - invited air traffic controllers in small groups to the management office and asked each of them about his or her membership in the trade union, and whether he or she agrees with the complaint previously addressed and sent to the Minister for Transport signed by the trade union chairperson Mrs. Ausra Straume.

In March 2012, Ausra Straume was suspended from her air traffic controller duties and was prohibited from entering and residing at the premises of SJSC “Latvian Air Traffic”. Disciplinary investigations against her did not reveal any infringements of labour discipline. She was suspended for three months and was restricted in carrying out her functions as chairperson of the Latvian Air Traffic Controller’s Trade Union as she had limited access to the union premises. On 13 March 2012 the employer issued an order prohibiting A. Straume from entering the company premises without special permission from the employer.

She filed a complaint to demand reinstatement. On 14 March 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that Ausra Straume did not have the right to complain about working conditions. The unions have now taken this issue to the President as the right to freedom of association has clearly been overlooked by the court.

Port managers in Liepāja dismissed 10 members of the Liepāja Port Staff Professional Organisation accusing them of theft after failed attempts to breach the union’s collective agreement by trying to force them to accept different wage levels. However, under Latvian labour law, a trade union member cannot be dismissed without prior approval from the union. By September 2012, the court had rejected seven applications from the employer to dismiss the workers and deemed one suspension illegal.

In April 2012, the Latvian Post and Telecommunications Workers’ Trade Union (LSAB) elected a representative to the board of the private pension fund as agreed in paragraph 109 of the collective agreement between LSAB and Lattelcom. However, during the meeting of JSC “First Closed Pension Fund” stakeholders on 24 May 2012, Lattelecom nominated two employer representatives. The LSAB representative was thus excluded from further board participation.

Unofficially, there have been many reported cases on employers spreading anti-union propaganda and cases of dismissal and demotion or relocation of activists who plan to establish a trade union in an enterprise or of existing trade union representatives in order to break trade union activity. However, these cases have no official evidence and the dismissal or relocation of workers is always supported by contrasting evidence demonstrating the guilt of the employees. In the current economic climate with high unemployment, employees often opt to be silent in order not to lose their jobs. These cases are mostly reported in the trade union branches in the wood manufacturing, civil aviation and industry sectors.

The law “On the Remuneration of State and Local Government Institutions Officials and Employees” has created problems for collective bargaining agents in the public sector, since it outlaws all monetary benefits under collective agreements unless they are directly provided by law. Some public employers also refuse to bargain collectively.

According to estimations by the Latvian Trade Union Confederation (LBAS), there are fewer collective bargaining agreements in multinationals than in other companies in the private sector. Foreign companies in general and multinationals in particular are reluctant to apply collective agreements to their Latvian branches. Commerce, banking and personal services are the most difficult sectors. On the other hand, LBAS reports that if a multinational does conclude an agreement, compliance is better than in other companies.