Latvian Healthcare Union Warns of Crisis Over Salary Funding Gap

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LVSADA предупредило, что если правительство не выделит 228,7 млн евро для повышения зарплат, это приведет к нехватке работников и закрытию услуг.

The Funding Shortfall and Compromise Demands

The confrontation between medical professionals and the state centers on a stark funding gap. Initially, LVSADA demanded a 30% salary increase for healthcare workers. Seeking a compromise, the union lowered its demand to a 25.4% raise. In September, the Ministry of Health informed the union that implementing this adjusted increase requires precisely 228,7 млн евро.

During meetings between sector representatives and government officials, participants acknowledged the severity of the situation. However, no concrete decision on allocating the necessary funding was reached, and authorities left both the action plan and the deadline for a decision entirely unspecified.

Consequences for the Workforce and Public Services

According to LVSADA, if the government fails to allocate the necessary funds, the wage ratio between medical workers and the national average salary will regress to 2018 levels. The union warns that this regression will trigger an even more acute staff shortage, force the closure of vital medical services, and leave vulnerable patients waiting indefinitely for care.

Financial disconnects plague official state planning documents. While the Cabinet of Ministers’ draft response regarding the 2027 state budget acknowledges an overall healthcare sector need for an additional 663 млн евро, the allocation designated specifically for human resources drops to just 45,2 млн евро. LVSADA points out that the draft budget leaves the actual funded amount entirely undetermined.

Broken Targets and Potential Labor Actions

The current budgetary impasse guarantees that established national health targets will be missed. LVSADA’s council decisions state that the objective outlined in the Public Health Guidelines 2021–2027—to raise state healthcare funding to 6% of GDP by 2027—will not be fulfilled. The guidelines' mandate for the annual indexing of targeted medical salaries to match national wage growth has not been implemented.

Unless the government commits to funded solutions for sector-wide salary increases, the LVSADA bureau holds a clear mandate. The council is authorized to convene an extraordinary meeting to initiate formal, legally mandated measures aimed at protecting the collective interests of healthcare workers.

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