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Liga Mengelsone.

Mengelsone explains that there are several ways to increase the minimum monthly wage – in accordance the overall economic situation in the country, by approximately ten percent a year, or otherwise, writes LETA.

"Nevertheless, we will never be able to raise the minimum monthly wage to such heights as to exclude highly paid jobs from the shadow economy. The problem is that wages vary due to different qualifications and workloads. There are certain jobs that will never be well-paid. These jobs are usually taken by students, senior citizens and other social groups to earn extra income, and regressive personal income tax rates could rather be used here, which though are rather unpopular in Latvia," points out Mengelsone.

As reported, the minimum monthly wage will remain LVL 200 this year.

The decision to keep the minimum wage unchanged was made taking into account the relatively inconsistent economic development in Latvia, structural unemployment risks and the required fiscal consolidation to ensure that the country's budget deficit remains below three percent of GDP.

As of January 1, 2011, the minimum monthly wage in Latvia is LVL 200, whilst the minimum hourly rate is LVL 1.189.