Lithuania
Key Facts
| Population | 3,329,000 |
|---|---|
| Collective Bargaining Coverage | 15% |
| Proportion of Employees in Unions | 9% |
| Principal Level of Collective Bargaining |
company |
| Workplace Representation |
union (or works council) |
| Board-level Representation |
no |
| Company Board Structure |
monistic or dualistic (choice) |
Trade Union
Union membership in Lithuania is low – about 9% of all employees. The unions are divided into three main confederations, LPSK, LDF and Solidarumas, divided – historically at least – on ideological grounds. However, the unions are now working together more closely.
more ...Collective Bargaining
There is virtually no collective bargaining other than at company or organisation level, and even here the extent of bargaining is limited. Since 2004 elected works councils have bargaining rights if there are no unions present, but there is no evidence so far that this had increased the coverage of bargaining.
more ...Workplace Representation
Lithuanian legislation now provides for employees at workplace level to be represented either by trade unions or – if there is no union – by a works council. They both have almost identical functions, including collective bargaining and information and consultation, and since 2005, works councils can also organise strikes. In practice, most workplaces in Lithuania have neither.
more ...Board-level Representation
There is no employee representation at board level.
more ...European-level Representation
European representatives from Lithuania, both for European Works Council and European Company bodies are, in the first instance, chosen by employee representatives who can be union representatives or – if there is no union – the works council.
more ...Health and Safety
A health and safety committee is established in undertakings employing at least 50 workers, and in undertakings where 50% of the workforce so request.
more ...Financial Participation
Financial employee participation is not widespread in Lithuania. Employees participation in company profits results from employee share ownership, profit-sharing schemes or cooperatives. Although the quota of employee share ownership was very high when Lithuania gained independence, it declined dramatically in the years following 1995, as workers started to sell their employee shares. There still are a number of companies in which employees hold shares, acquired during the privatization process or as a result of the newly introduced financial employee participation schemes.1 In its genuine form, profit-sharing is quite rare in Lithuania. This is mainly due to taxation reasons, as it is more expensive to distribute profits through profit-sharing schemes than through dividends. Cooperatives account for only a small part of Lithuanian economic activity. There are various types of cooperatives operating, such as consumer, agricultural, production and credit cooperatives. Most of them are very small, with up to 9 employees.
more ...