Latvija in brief - 2012-03-08

Europe marked Equal Pay Day of March 2 to increase awareness on how much longer women need to work than men to earn the same pay, reports LETA. According to Welfare Ministry data, Latvian women earned 17.6 percent less than men in 2010. The pay gap between men and women is similar across the EU - 17.5 percent. The largest inequality in pay between men and women is in Estonia - 30.9 percent. The most insignificant difference in pay between men and women is in Slovenia - 3.2 percent. Women are paid less than men and are exposed to old-age poverty risks due to smaller pensions in the future. Single parent women and their children are also exposed to such risks due to the pay gap, points out the ministry. The main reasons for differences in pay between men and women are different jobs and employment patterns in various sectors. For example, 80 percent of EU health and social workers are women, similarly to Latvia.

The Dzimta valoda (Native Tongue) Association has turned to the Daugavpils City Council claiming that street signs in the city be replaced with ones that would spell the street names not only in Latvian, but also in Russian, the association’s chairman and former leader of the Latvian branch of the National Bolshevik Party Vladimirs Lindermans demanded, reports LETA. During the state language referendum, 85 percent of referendum participants in Daugavpils voted for designating Russian as the second state language. In the association’s opinion, Russian deserves the status of a regional language in Daugavpils. 

One-half of economically active Latvian residents believe that, taking into account the current economic situation in Latvia, the retirement age should be 60 years, according to a survey carried out by TNS Latvia and the LNT television channel, reports LETA. Twenty percent of respondents believe that the retirement age should be 62 years; 12 percent - 65 years; three percent - up to 60 years; another three percent - 64 years, and three more percent, consisting of real workaholics - 66 years and above. Two percent mentioned a different preferred retirement age, whilst eight percent had no opinion. The survey was carried out from Feb. 28 to March 1; altogether, 700 residents aged 18 to 55 were interviewed. The Law on State Pension was amended to increase the current retirement age of 62 to 65 in 2020, in order to avert growing deficits in the welfare budget.

The Education and Science Ministry will be reorganized, and the ministry’s staff will be reduced from 234 to under 180 as a result, Education and Science Minister Roberts Kilis’ advisor Inita Blacforda said, reports LETA. Kilis has taken the decision to reorganize the ministry in order to optimize and simplify administration of the ministry, reduce bureaucracy and liquidate unnecessary jobs. During the reorganization of the ministry, the number of departments will be reduced from nine to six. The Education and Science Ministry will be reorganized pursuant to Valdis Dombrovskis (Unity) government’s declaration, which provides for the creation of compact, efficient, motivated and goal-oriented public administration to achieve more efficient and transparent use of resources and reduce the administrative burden.