Archive:Public employment - Latvia

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<Introduction: simple language, not too long, kind of executive summary>

Regional and administrative organisation

Introduction

Satversme is the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, and defines the Basic constitutional principles (sovereignty, division of powers, popular sovereignty, democracy and fundamental rights). It stipulates that Latvia is an independent democratic republic. The Latvian parliamentary system is strictly defined as democratic and republican in which the legislative power is vested in the Latvian Parliament (Saeima).

System of government

The Constitution defines the fundamental rights and principles of the political system and the structure of the state in accordance with the principle of division of powers. Legislative Power lies with the institutions representing the Latvian Parliament or Saeima, and national referendums. Executive Power is divided between the President and the Council of Ministers, whereby they both have specific powers including legislative functions. Judiciary Power is vested in the independent Courts. The President appoints the Prime Minister, who is responsible for presenting a governmental programme and appointing the members of the Council of Ministers. In both cases, Parliamentary approval is required.

Regional organisation

Latvia is a parliamentary democracy. The Republic of Latvia is also a unitary state. There are two main local self-government levels in Latvia:

Central Government: Ministries and administrative organizations managed and controlled by the former (State Agencies, services, councils, offices and administrations).

Regional Level: There are territorial administrative bodies of the different Ministries operating at this level, for example, the territorial environment service. There are 33 territorial units, 26 municipal districts and 7 local municipalities (also with self- government functions). The municipal districts, with the support of government delegates, ensure the implementation of the functions delegated by the local self- government.

Local Municipalities have local self-government functions as do the municipal districts whose authority has been questioned since 1990, which has postponed the reform. The 1994 self-government law gave some of the functions of the municipalities to Local Government. Municipal districts have not had their own taxes since 1996 and direct elections were abolished in 1997. 33 administrative units have failed to receive European funding. The sectorial Ministers have developed different sectorial and regional administration systems. These sectorial administrative units have greater powers than a municipal district.

Public administration

The State Administration led by the Council of Ministers carries out administrative functions for the Executive Power. These functions consist of different tasks and administrative responsibilities. It is structured according to a hierarchical system. The principles of the State Administration are:

It is bound by the law and should observe human rights and act in the public interest.

The State Administration, individual institutions and state civil servants may not have their own interests when exercising of administrative functions

In its activities, it must abide by the principles: of good governance, respect for the privacy of citizens, data protection, implementation of procedures in order to safeguard the rights and interests of individuals.

The Administration is evaluated so as to improve the quality of public services.

Inform the public of its activities, be organised in a manner that is as convenient and accessible to private individuals as possible in compliance with the principle of subsidiarity, and in accordance with the principle of efficiency with respect to for the law, interpreted by institutions, courts and jurisprudence.

Public Employment Structure

Legal Basis: It is governed by the following regulations: State Civil Service Act 2001; Law on the Prevention of Conflict of Interests in Civil Servant Activities; employment legislation on aspects of Public Employment; Law on Public Agencies and Law on the Administrative Structure and Public Administration Reform (2001–2006). Civil servant regulations only cover 50% of public employees.

Civil Service Model: There are two categories of public sector employees in state administration:

Civil servants (13%) are governed by the State Civil Service Act of 2001. This law applies to 116 state administration institutions (ministries, agencies, etc.).

Public employees (87%) employed with job contracts.

Civil service status has not been introduced in local governments, which autonomously determine the status of employees under the Law on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in Civil Servant Activities.

Public Employment Management Body: Since 2003, the drafting of public administrative policies has been assigned to the State Chancellery of Latvia. This function was transferred by the Secretariat of the Ministry for Special Affairs for State Reform. There is also a Division for state reform which is responsible for the coordination of administrative policies although coordination with local governments was assigned to the Ministry for Regional Development and local governments.

Therefore, Civil Service Management is decentralised between the Central Government and Local Governments.

Statistics: Population: 2.3 million inhabitants. Number of Civil servants: 241,500; State Administration (52%) and Local Government (48%).

Rights, obligations, principles and values

Their rights are similar to other Member States although special mention should be given to some of them:

Non-Discrimination: Labour Law states that differential treatment based on the gender of an employee is prohibited when establishing legal employment relationships. Furthermore, a job interview may not include questions from the employer that do not apply to the position as well as questions which are discriminatory, in particular questions concerning pregnancy, family or marital status, a previous conviction, except in cases where this may be of vital importance to the work to be performed, religious conviction, affiliation with a political party or trade union and national or ethnic origin.

Right to Strike: Civil servants have the right to strike, which is set out in a special regulation.

Career-Based System. Training

Recruitment and Training: The 2001 Civil Service Act stipulates that all civil service posts must be advertised and filled in accordance with an open competition. Job offers are the responsibility of the Prime Minister, the Minister or Head of the Institution involved. Candidates are generally recruited based on their curriculum vitae, letter of presentation and interview.

Senior Civil Servant appointment must be approved by the Government (Council of Ministers).

Recruitment Methods: Recruitment procedures are regulated by the State Civil Service Act. Recruitment is the responsibility of each Ministry and Institution and can be reviewed by the Administration responsible for the assessment of candidates and civil servants.

Recruitment Methods:

• Open competition: An open competition for candidates is published in the official gazette of the Government of Latvia. The Commissions that evaluate candidates for the position of head of an institution are appointed by the Ministry. The Commission selects one or more candidates who best meet the requirements set out in the job description of the vacancy.

• Transfer to another position in the interests of the State (obligatory transfer).

Training: Civil servants have a duty to “improve their skills according to the needs of their job” and their on-going training is the responsibility of the School of Public Administration. This school establishes programmes according to the training needs defined by the State Chancellery and conducts research on employee training. Courses in specific areas are the responsibility of other institutions, whereby access to these courses is selective. The Local Government Training Centre is in charge of training local government employees, including teachers, social workers, etc.

Career: Career development and promotion depends on appraisals and the level of complexity of the position performed.

Remuneration

The current general principles that determine remuneration for public sector employees is set out in the Employment Legislation or in the Civil Service Act. The wage system is applied equally to civil servants and public employees.

Wage criteria include: complexity of the post (67%); performance appraisal (23%) and seniority (10%). This unified payment system for all Public Sector employees in the State Administration was adopted by the Government in December 2005 and came into force in 2006 and has been fully applied since July 2007. The public sectors of the Administration are classified into position categories and into 16 wage groups. Wage groups are re-evaluated each year based on private sector salaries and the state of the budget.

Social dialogue and system of representation

Rights and Obligations: The rights and obligations of State Civil Servants are laid out in the State Civil Service Act. They have duties of loyalty to the Constitution and neutrality in the performance of their functions. They are also responsible for their actions when exercising their functions. Civil servants have the right to receive remuneration, to permanent employment, training, join a union and to strike.

Social Dialogue: In Latvia, there is no obligation to carry out collective bargaining. Negotiations take place between agencies and ministries and the Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia.

The subjects addressed include working conditions, salaries, social security, training, protection of workers, etc. The unionisation rate is around 15%. However, trade unions are regularly consulted and integrated into working groups related to Civil Service issues. The results of negotiations can take the form of legal texts, political declarations or simple agreements which are legally binding. There are general rules that regulate general collective bargaining and sectorial regulations such as education, health, internal affairs, etc. The main differences in this regulation lie in how aspects related to working conditions are negotiated.

Senior civil servants

The creation of the Senior Civil Service in Italy dates back to the 1970s (“dirigenza”) and has undergone several legislative changes since then (in 1972, 1993-1998 and 2002). Their status has been governed by diverse laws and private contracts since 1998. However, it can be said that there is a formal SCS status in Italy. (Summary Table)

The Secretary-General, Director-General or Senior Executive functions could be carried out both by SCS and by politically-appointed experts. Lower level executives are excluded from political appointment.

Performance assessment for SCS takes place annually.

The remuneration system of senior civil servants is based on merit, the position and productivity, whereby aspects such as seniority or years in public service are not taken into account. Salary is based on:

• A basic salary (for example, for State ‘s executives, it’s 50% of the total).

• A bonus (idem, 40%) related to the responsibility involved in the position, according to a fixed scale which is decided annually by the corresponding Minister.

• A percentage (idem,10%) for the fulfilment of objectives.

The percentages can vary for the remuneration of Director-General.

Recent reforms and prospects

Modernizing the Public Administration is a key issue and a plan defining diverse performance objectives for the forthcoming years has recently been established. These objectives include:

• A 20% rise in productivity in the public services.

• One out of eight retiring employees will not be replaced.

• A more efficient, restructured and digitalised public administration.

• Enhance quality and citizen satisfaction.

• A 40% reduction in public expenditure over the next 5 years.

• Improvements in the management and responsibility of public servants, giving human resource managers the possibility of evaluating them, increasing wages and rewarding productivity.

Publications

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Main tables

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Database

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