2012-09-19 09:18

Lithuanian president thinks more freedom on labor market would stimulate economic growth

Liberalization of the labor market would be beneficial for economic development, Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaitė said, adding that she was against "drastic changes."
Kalnų parke darbininkai ruošia estradą Moksleivių dainų šventei.
Workers / Irmanto Gelūno / BNS nuotr.

"Let's leave it up for discussion. Both sides have their argumentation. We have to come up with the golden mean, we probably shouldn't make drastic changes," she told journalists in Vilnius district on Tuesday.

"We should let the labor market work under somewhat less strict conditions, as they are the best instrument to promote economic development. Nevertheless, this cannot be done by way of harming employees," said Grybauskaitė.

On Tuesday, Lithuania's parliament was planned to address changes to the Labor Code that propose liberalization of the labor market; however, parliamentarians decided to exclude it from the agenda.

The government-proposed amendments to the Labor Code envisage expanding the possibilities of labor contracts, reduction of severance pay, shorter notice of termination of labor contract.

The amendments also suggest discarding compensation for more than three years of unused annual holiday.

Regardless of economic growth, Lithuania's jobless rate is still above 10 percent.

Just like in other European countries, liberalization of labor relations is mainly opposed by trade unions.

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