The State Audit Office has significant objections to the proposal developed by the State Chancellery to reform the public administration remuneration system, the Auditor General Elita Krūmiņa pointed out at the sitting of the Public Expenditure and Audit Commission of the Saeima on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the Director of the State Chancellery Jānis Muudkovskis informed about the progress of the public administration remuneration system reforms, noting that the draft law on remuneration of state and local government officials and employees submitted to the government in January this year could be considered in the near future.
As explained above by the State Chancellery, the draft law stipulates that the scale of monthly salaries will be changed so that the remuneration of public administration employees reaches on average 80% of the remuneration received by an equivalent employee in the private sector. It is also intended to reduce the number and amount of allowances in the total salary, for example, to waive the vacancy allowance and to set the maximum total amount of allowances at 30% of the monthly salary.
The draft law has yet to be considered by the government, but the final decision must be made by the Saeima.
Kitskowski emphasized that the purpose of the remuneration reform is to set “normal” basic salaries in the public administration, and not to “distort” the remuneration system with many bonuses and bonuses. “Currently, bonuses and bonuses help to bring the level of wages in public administration closer to the level of wages in the private sector,” citizen Kitskovski, adding that the remuneration system in public administration has not been reviewed for years.
The head of the Saeima commission Kaspars Ģirģens (KPV LV) criticized the current procedure when bonuses and allowances for public administration employees are due automatically, and their payment is not linked to the implementation of the institution’s strategy.
Krūmiņa added that the State Audit Office has repeatedly called for an orderly public administration remuneration system, moreover, getting acquainted with the draft remuneration system reform, the auditors have several objections, the most important of which is the intention to remunerate an employee without linking it to the institution’s goals.
“The State Audit Office agrees that there must be adequate remuneration for a job well done, but in that case there must be defined performance indicators. In the private sector, whose level of remuneration the public administration wants to approach, remuneration is linked to man-made work. If results are not achieved, But this is not the case in the public sector, “Krūmiņa emphasized.
The Auditor General added that it was not correct to pursue the reform of public administration remuneration, not to mention that remuneration would be linked to results.
Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš (JV), Parliamentary Secretary Evika Siliņa (JV), assessed the issue of public administration remuneration reform as “sensitive”. At the same time, she acknowledged that it was not normal for officials to be paid bonuses without assessing their achievements. Siliņa emphasized that the offer of remuneration reforms is only a “legal framework”, which will be followed by political discussions and may change during them.
The representative of the Prime Minister’s Office also pointed out that it is planned to see the changes in the public administration remuneration system together with the strategy of each ministry, which will determine the goals to be achieved by the ministries.
Atis Zakatistovs (KPV LV), Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, pointed out that the issue of public administration remuneration has long been difficult, so he is pleased to hear that the State Chancellery has developed such a plan.
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