“If we speak purely theoretically, then this is a potential tool. Practically, I don’t see how we could support such an offer in the foreseeable future,” Rokpelnis told LETA agency.
In the program “Spried with Delfi”, Minister of Welfare Uldis Augulis (ZZS) announced that due to the lack of workers, the possibility of shortening the parental leave is being considered. According to him, the parental leave could be shortened by half a year or up to one year.
This could only be done if children from the age of one were provided with kindergartens or babysitting services. This would allow parents of children to return to the labor market as soon as possible.
“It is important for us to look to the future, so that we have enough people in the labor market, so that we can provide the same pension system and the part of solidarity that current workers pay for current pensioners,” explained the minister.
The Ministry of Welfare, when asked to comment on Augulis’s statements, gave LETA a laconic answer, stating that the ministry is currently “not developing specific amendments to the law concerning parental leave”.
Likewise, the ministry has not made any specific calculations about what shortening the leave by six months would do to the labor market.
2024-09-27 18:41:08