Latvia's state sector paid out €163 million in bonuses and supplements in nine months
The government's recent austerity decisions do not limit bonuses, cash awards or supplements in the public sector. In past years these payments peaked at the end of the year.
Recent decisions by Latvia's prime minister and government to cut state budget spending in the final quarter of this year do not set any limits on additional remuneration. This covers bonuses, cash awards and supplements paid to public sector staff on top of their salaries. The information comes from an overview of state budget spending published by LSM Diaspora.
The scale of payments
In the first nine months of this year, 163 million was paid out in additional remuneration. That total is lower than in the same period last year. Even so, in some ministries and institutions the amount has already exceeded what was paid out over the whole of the previous year.
Year-end payments
Experience from previous years shows that such payments are made in considerably larger amounts in the last months of the year than earlier on. Because the government's austerity decisions do not apply to them, nothing prevents the same pattern from repeating this year.
Open questions
There are still questions about the practice. One is whether there is systemic inequality in how additional pay is awarded across different sectors and institutions. The other is whether the amounts paid at year-end are proportionate.
