The planned increase in the guaranteed minimum income (GMI) will not ensure a dignified life either, the deputies of the Social and Labor Affairs Committee of the Saeima pointed out today.
Deputy Inese Ikstena (AP) emphasized that the amount offered in one of the options prepared by the Ministry of Welfare (MoW) from 2021 – 109 euros – is a very small amount of money, which does not achieve the goal of a dignified life. The politician pointed out that it is not possible to talk about the possibility for a person to afford food and clothing with such means. People for such a small amount also can not buy healthy food, stressed Ikstena.
In his reply, Minister of Welfare Ramona Petraviča (KPV LV) pointed out that GMI is not meant as a long-term income and that the Constitutional Court (ST) has also indicated in its judgment on this issue that it is primarily each person’s own responsibility to ensure a dignified life. The GMI is intended for cases where a person is in difficulty and cannot enter the labor market, the minister said. The politician explained that everything possible should be done to motivate people to return to the labor market so that they do not become long-term unemployed.
At the same time during the commission meeting, the MoW informed that employees can also receive GMI if the income per person in the household is less than 128 euros.
Petraviča emphasized that the GMI will have to be increased in order to comply with the ST decision on this issue, so there is no “discussion, whether or not there is money”, because it will have to be done due to a court decision. The politician pointed out that negotiations on the 2021 budget have not yet started, but next week the Minister is expected to have a conversation with Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš (JV) on this issue. The MoW will submit a proposal to the government to increase the GMI at the end of August, and an initial government decision on this issue could be expected in early September.
MP Andrejs Klementjevs (S) criticized Petraviča’s work on this issue, noting that the Minister had a long time to come up with an offer to increase GMI. The Minister of Welfare had an opportunity to react to the situation already in May, when the State Audit Office had indicated “chaos” in this area, but the offer did not follow, the deputy said.
Klementjevs also emphasized that the main allegations made by ST and the ombudsman Juris Jansons had not been answered. With 109 euros a month, a person will have a small amount available per day, so it is not clear what kind of food or clothes to buy for that amount, the minister is talking about, a politician asked critically.
Petraviča replied, pointing out that last year a new offer was developed in this area, which did not receive support. If the changes proposed last year had been supported, then the applications to ST would not have followed, the Minister emphasized.
She also pointed out that the GMI should be seen in the context of the minimum wage, from which a person receives 360 euros after taxes and does not receive the support of a poor or low-income person. The question of whether in such a situation a person is motivated to work for the minimum wage and whether it should not be greater to change the situation arose from what Petraviča said.
MEP Anda Čakša (JV) emphasized that the MoW needs to explain why people have “fallen through the system” and have to deal with GMI. The politician emphasized that the offer of the MoW is not a long-term solution and that it is necessary to see more precisely who are the people who need help, including those who work and live in poverty.
Commission President Andris Skride (AP) pointed out that there was insufficient funding for employment services and that more thought was needed to support the return of the long-term unemployed to the labor market. Regarding certain areas of support, both Skride and Petraviča pointed out that education in the country is provided to the population regardless of income level.
As reported, one of the options offered by the MoW is to set the GMI level at 109 euros and the income level of a poor person at 218 euros. The second proposal is to set the GMI at EUR 164 and possibly set the same income levels for the poor and needy at EUR 270 each.
In order to implement the first variant planned by the Ministry, an additional 25 million euros are needed for next year, while the second variant requires about 40 million euros.
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