Latvian medics, teachers mull over joint protests to demand more funding

The Latvian trade unions of teachers and medics are mulling over joint protests to demand more funding for the education and health care sectors, the local media reported Tuesday.

This Wednesday Latvian Trade Union of Education and Science Employees is going to decide on a proposal by the Trade Union of Health and Social Care Employees to stage joint protests, said Dita Kalnina, a representative of the teachers' union.

The teachers' union has already expressed its support for the medics' decision to stage a protest rally outside the parliament house and to call a strike, but has yet to decide on the medics' call for joint action, Kalnina said.

The Latvian Trade Union of Health and Social Care Employees on Tuesday resolved to organize a protest rally outside the parliament building in Riga and to prepare for a strike in response to the government's plan to continue cutting the health care budget. The union noted that instead of increasing the accessibility and quality of health care services as recommended by the World Health Organization and the European Commission, the government has reduced funding for the health sector from this year's 3.1 percent to just 3.0 percent of GDP in 2016.

Since the teachers' union had already expressed its discontent with the draft 2016 budget, the medics' union offered to unite forces for joint action against the funding cuts. The two trade unions have already held their first consultations.

The Trade Union of Education and Science Employees decided to start a strike procedure after the government refused to earmark funding for the sector in line with existing legislation and to heed the union's proposals concerning the teachers' new pay system. Endit