On October 9, the opposition “United List” (AS) demanded that Minister of Welfare Augulis explain his statements regarding possible changes in childcare leave and its possible shortening.
As Augulis stated in his explanation, on September 25, 2024, in an interview with the “Delfi” portal, he answered a journalist’s question about the fact that employers want to reduce parental leave. In his answer, the minister wanted to emphasize that there are various solutions for increasing employment, but these decisions should be based on the wishes of society and economic justification.
Reducing the duration of childcare leave and thus also the payment of benefits should be aimed at parents returning to the labor market faster, however, it should be taken into account that at the same time parents should have access to childcare services, explains the minister.
“By this I do not mean that all parents should go to work as soon as the child has reached the age of one year or even less. In my opinion, it is necessary to ensure that such an opportunity exists for parents according to their specific situation and personal choice,” the minister stated in the explanatory letter.
According to the information provided by Augulis, there are currently no discussions about the reduction of the duration of childcare leave or the payment of benefits in the Ministry of Welfare (ML). On the contrary, the government has decided that the elderly allowance for working persons will be 75% in 2025, instead of 50%, as it is now.
As reported, in an interview with “Delfi” Augulis stated that due to the lack of workers, he may consider shortening his parental leave. This could only be done if children from the age of one were provided with kindergartens or babysitting services. This would allow the children’s parents to return to the labor market as soon as possible, the minister reasoned.
The leaders of the Saeima factions of the coalition parties then expressed that they were skeptical of such a plan, stating that such a proposal would not be supported.