Lithuania's new Labour Code to be postponed for half-year - Karbauskis

VILNIUS - Ramunas Karbauskis, chairman of the Lithuanian Peasant and Green Union (LPGU), the party that triumphed in recent parliamentary elections, plans to suggest that the implementation of the nation's new Labour Code be delayed for six months.

"I met yesterday with representatives of both trade unions and employers. I think we will put forward our common position in writing in the near future that the entry into force of the Labour Code should be postponed for half a year. This is a position that everyone shares," he told the media today.

According to Karbauskis, this will be among the first decisions made by the new Seimas.

"Employers have lost the sense of security and employers also understand it very well that things need to be improved to prevent a rise in emigration due to the Labour Code. These improvements (to the Labour Code that were passed on Thursday) are merely cosmetic and insufficient. We will definitely discuss this with our potential coalition partners," he explained.

The Tripartite Council, which brings together government representatives, employers, and trade unions, will have a half-year period in which to talk over the package, the LPHU leader said.

"The Tripartite Council will think and discuss everything over again and we will adopt what it approves," he stated.

Karbauskis has not eliminated the possibility of delaying the entry into force of the entire package of laws, the so-called "social model," for up to one year.

The outgoing Seimas approved the new Labour Code, focused on liberalising labour relations, last spring. President Dalia Grybauskaite vetoed several of its provisions, but the parliament overrode her veto. The Labour Code was expected to come into force next January.