Petition launched to abolish Saeima members' transport and rent compensation
A signature-collection campaign has begun on Manabalss.lv calling for the abolition of transport and housing rent compensation paid to Latvian parliament members. More than 4,300 of the required 10,000 signatures have been gathered so far.
A petition drive has been launched in Latvia seeking to abolish the transport and rental housing compensation payments made to members of the Saeima, the national parliament. For the initiative to be forwarded to the Saeima for consideration, 10,000 signatures are required, and more than 4,300 have been collected so far.
The initiative was proposed by Andis Feldmanis, deputy chairman of the Latvian Trade Union of Health and Social Care Workers. The petition notes that many healthcare and social care workers, as well as teachers, also commute from distant regions or rent housing in another city for work, covering these costs themselves, since employers are not legally required to pay such expenses.
Arguments for abolition
The petition's author argues that a Saeima seat should fundamentally be a position of public trust and honor rather than a source of profit, and that there is no objective reason for lawmakers to enjoy benefits unavailable to other public and municipal sector employees. The petition also states that, amid a state budget deficit and insufficient funding for critical areas such as healthcare, education and internal security, maintaining such compensation is unacceptable and contrary to public interest. Abolishing the payments, the author says, would save taxpayer money that could be redirected to more important public needs and would demonstrate solidarity with the Latvian people.
Scale of the payments
According to published data, Saeima members received a combined 22,419.53 euros in compensation in June — 13,732.98 euros for housing rent and 8,686.55 euros for transport costs. The largest total payment that month went to Artūrs Butāns (National Alliance) at 934.53 euros, followed by Līga Kļaviņa (Greens/Farmers Union), Ramona Petraviča (Latvia First), Viktorija Pleškāne (Latvia First) and Anita Brakovska (Greens/Farmers Union). The highest rent compensation went to Līga Kozlovska (Greens/Farmers Union), while the largest transport compensation was paid to Anita Brakovska (Greens/Farmers Union).
