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International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Friday, 29.03.2024, 10:05

Latvian Unions urge cost reductions in state administration

BC, Riga, 25.02.2015.Print version
State administration is a sector where the state could look for additional funds in order to reduce costs, as Chairman of the Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia, Peteris Krigers said in an interview with the LNT television, cites LETA.

He believes that there is a need to revise public administration expenditure or even reduce the number of ministries by combining some of them. Krigers said that the number of state officials has not significantly decreased over the past years, whereas salaries in public sector have been growing at a much higher rate than in the private sector, causing concern for private employers as they are unable to "keep up".

 

Krigers also said that "we must understand who we are – either the poorest country in Europe [..] or a leader who can afford everything".

 

He also commented on the staging of the Latvian opera "Valentina" in Berlin, which will cost EUR 405,919 for the state. Krigers said this is a lot of money, meanwhile, the society remains in the "waiting mode". "Teachers, doctors, and police officers are still waiting," Krigers said.






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