Petravica speech at 28 BSPC

Second Session (13.15 – 15.00)The Future of Working Life[Thank you, Chair!]Colleagues!It is my great pleasure and honour to participate in the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference and in this session focussing on the future of working life.The discussion about the future of work has featured highly on the international agenda this year. We celebrated 100 years of the International Labour Organisation and adopted the Centenary Declaration for the future of work. Ensuring decent work for all in the future is a widely shared challenge, and addressing it requires a clear and comprehensive response.For example, we see diversification in working time arrangements, with shifts from the standard working week towards different forms of flexible working time. New information and communications technologies enable constant connectivity. We need balanced working time arrangements that can benefit both – workers and employers – in terms of work-life balance and productivity.In Latvia, we are working towards adapting our regulatory framework to this changing reality of the world of work:Amendments to the Labour Protection Law are currently being discussed in the Parliament to address the occupational safety and health issues in atypical forms of work.Further, the Ministry of Welfare is considering amendments to the Labour Law to clarify matters related to flexible working conditions.Of course, broadening the understanding of employment relations and clarification of the rights and the obligations of employers and workers is only one area of work. Globalisation, digital transformation, climate change, migration and ageing societies raise a wide range of policy concerns.Longer working lives together with the rapidly changing world of work highlight the importance of skills and labour market policies.We need investments in education and training systems to provide people with the skills that will be required in the labour market. Moreover, lifelong learning opportunities and incentives are vital throughout working life to ensure inclusive labour markets and to safeguard the quality of life in the future.A recent OECD review assessed the effectiveness of Latvia’s training measures for the unemployed. It ascertained the positive impact of training programmes on the labour market outcomes for all groups of programme participants and in terms of the likelihood of both – to be employed and to increase earnings.The quality of working life is an essential indicator of public well-being, but it should not be limited to pay. It encompasses a broad set of measures, including fair income, occupational safety and health, transparent working conditions, lifelong learning opportunities, adequate social protection, equal opportunities.These issues remain at the core of our work to ensure that people can feel secure about their future in the world of work. This human-centred approach is the essence of the International Labour Organisation’s Centenary Declaration that I referred to at the beginning of my intervention. It allows addressing the challenges and transformations that the world of work faces and to ensure that nobody is left behind.In this aspect, the modernisation of social protection systems also plays a significant role. Firstly, social protection coverage may need to be adapted or extended – because of the new developments in the world of work. Adequacy is another critical issue, and it affects public trust and support to the social protection systems.In Latvia, we have paid attention to both these issues. Coverage has been improved to ensure social security for those involved in atypical employment. Currently, social insurance contributions for old-age pensions are made regardless of the form of work and tax regime. The coverage has been extended to self-employed persons, seasonal agricultural workers and professional athletes.Ensuring adequacy has been more challenging. Our pension system includes incentives to prolong working life, but there are people who are not able to do so, for example, due to health reasons.My political priority – and one of the priorities of the Latvian Government – is to improve the well-being of retired people, in particular, by increasing the minimum pension. To achieve it, I look for the Parliament’s support in the discussion on the next year’s budget.Thank you!