Latvia to freeze salaries of several state officials again next year

Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs signed an order on Tuesday freezing salaries next year for a range of public sector employees. He informed journalists of the decision.

Kulbergs explained that the freeze will apply to state administration employees whose base monthly salary is determined annually through a specific coefficient. This group includes the prime minister and ministers themselves, as well as members of parliament (Saeima) and several other state officials.

Recent history of salary limits

The State Chancellery has previously explained that decisions limiting or fully halting salary growth can be made during the annual budget preparation process. For example, the 2025 budget law set a cap of 2.6% on the base salary indexation coefficient — even though the standard calculation method would have produced a larger increase.

When preparing the 2026 budget, authorities decided not to raise the base salary at all, setting the increase at 0%. As a result, base salaries in 2026 stayed at the same level as in 2025.

What happens next

The newly signed freeze for an additional year means that in 2027, the affected officials' base salaries will again remain unchanged, staying at the 2025 level. This marks the third consecutive year in which salary growth for this group of officials has been restricted or fully frozen.