Latvia
Key Facts
| Population | 2,248,000 |
|---|---|
| Collective Bargaining Coverage | 34% |
| Proportion of Employees in Unions | 14% |
| Principal Level of Collective Bargaining |
company |
| Workplace Representation |
union (and authorised workplace representatives) |
| Board-level Representation |
no |
| Company Board Structure |
dualistic |
Trade Union
There is one trade union confederation in Latvia, LBAS, and almost all unions belong to it. Union density is relatively low, at about 15%, and is much higher in the public than in the private sector.
more ...Collective Bargaining
Company or organisational level bargaining is the most important level of bargaining in Latvia, with relatively few industry level agreements. Despite this, collective bargaining coverage is relatively high, at 34% of all employees, although there are no negotiations for large parts of the private sector.
more ...Workplace Representation
In practice employee representation at the workplace is through unions, although it is theoretically possible to elect workplace representatives. However, with low levels of union membership, particularly in the private sector, most workplaces have no employee representation at all.
more ...Board-level Representation
There is no employee representation at board level in Latvia.
more ...European-level Representation
Latvian representatives on European bodies, both European Works Councils and the European Company are in most cases chosen by the existing employee representatives – either the unions or the authorised workplace representatives.
more ...Health and Safety
The arrangements for employee health and safety representation come under the Labour Code. Practical requirements concerning election procedures and the work of representatives have been added in ministerial regulations.
Financial Participation
The most important forms of employee financial participation in Latvia are employee ownership, profit-sharing and participation in cooperatives. Of all these, employee ownership has the highest incidence, although it does not play a significant role in the Latvian economy nowadays. In the first privatization stage at the beginning of the 1990’s, it was one of the main privatization methods used, though its importance declined continuously afterwards. Cooperatives and profit-sharing, as other possibilities for employee financial participation, are not well developed in Latvia.
more ...