SOCIAL REPORT 2002...So me ma te rial ly po si ti ve achie ve ments we re re cor ded in the area of inc re a sing em plo y ment and re du cing the le vel of unem plo y ment. The me

SOCIAL

REPORT

2002

Vilnius2003

MINISTRY OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND LABOUR

SOCIAL REPORT 2002

Printing 250 unitsPublished by: Ministry of Social Security and Labour,

A.Vivulskio str. 11, LT-2693 Vilnius

ISBN 9955-611-01-4

De ar re a ders,

The Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour is pre sen ting its an nu al pub li ca tion „So cial Re port“ which pro vi des a de tai led over view of the de-ve lop ment and im ple men ta tion of the so cial po li cy in Lit hu a nia.

The so cial se cu ri ty of the pe op le of Lit hu a nia per si sts to re main the hig hest pri ori ty of the ac ti vi ty of the Mi nist ry. The staff mem bers of the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour in co o pe ra tion with col le a gu es form sub or di na te ins ti tu tions con ti nue to pur sue ful fil their mis sion –to de ve lop and es tab lish an ef fi cient la bour, so cial in su ran ce and so cial sup port sys tem in li ne with the Eu ro pe an Union law ca pab le of en su ring the so cial se cu ri ty for the po pu la tion of Lit hu a nia. It is a gre at ple a su re to ac know led ge that du ring the year 2002 the li ving stan dards of all re si dents of Lit hu a nia inc lu ding tho se sub ject to so cial risk we re con sis tent ly im pro ving.

The da ta of the sur vey of the eco no mic and so cial de ve lop ment of 2002 con duc ted by the De part ment of Sta tis tics pro du ce an ob vio us evi den ce that du ring the year the eco no my of Lit hu a nia was ste a di ly gro wing (du ring 2002, the GDP of Lit hu a nia inc re a sed by 6.8 per cent as com pa red to 2001), and fa vou rab ly af fec ted the trends in the li ving stan dards of the re si dents. The dis po sab le in co me has be en inc re a sing, the sha re of fo od pro ducts and non-al co ho lic be ve ra ges wit hin the to tal con su mer ex pen di tu res has dec re a sed by 1.7 per cen ta ge points. In the IV qu ar ter of 2002 the ac tu al wa ges of em plo y e es in the na tio nal eco no my ex cept em plo y e es of per so nal com pa nies (so le pro prie tors hips) sho wed an inc re a se by 7.5 per cent, as com pa red with the IV qu ar ter of 2001. The ac tu al amount of the ave ra ge mont hly Sta te so cial in su ran ce old-age pen sion of non-wor king pen sio ners inc re a sed by 3.2 per cent as com pa red to 2001.

As of De cem ber 2002, the amount of the re al mi ni mum mont hly wa ges was by 4.5 per cent hig her than at the sa me ti me in 2001, which was ba si cal ly the re sult of the inc re a se of the mi ni mum tax-exempt in co me from LTL 214 to LTL 250.

So me ma te rial ly po si ti ve achie ve ments we re re cor ded in the area of inc re a sing em plo y ment and re du cing the le vel of unem plo y ment. The me a su-res we re in par ti cu lar fo cu sed upon re gions of the hig hest unem plo y ment ra tes, sec tors of eco no my, are as and en ter pri ses most ad ver se ly af fec ted by pro ces ses of re struc tu ring and pri va ti sa tion, as well as groups of po pu la tion most vul ne rab le in the la bour mar ket. In di ca tors cha rac te ri sing the si tu a tion in the la bour mar ket ha ve no tab ly im pro ved: the de mand for la bour for ce has inc re a sed, the num ber of the unem plo y ed has drop ped, as well as the unem plo y ment le vel, so me al le via tion was re cor ded in the re gio nal dif fe ren tia tion of unem plo y ment. The year 2002 was the year when the growth of unem plo y ment was sup pres sed. The unem plo y ment le vel in 2002 dec re a sed by 2 per cent: from 12.9 per cent at the be gin-ning of the year to 10.9 per cent at the end of the year, al so by 5.3 per cent among young per sons, the ave ra ge num ber of long-term unem plo y ed dec re a sed by 12.4 per cent.

The So cial Re port pre sen ted to the re a ders al so con tains abun dant da ta cha rac te ri sing the so cial se cu ri ty sys tem which are fol lo wed by an over view of me a su res rep re sen ting the ef forts of the Mi nist ry to im pro ve the so cial se cu ri ty po li cy inc re a sing the pos si bi li ties of the ins ti tu tion to me et the so cial ne eds of the Lit hu a nian po pu la tion and en su re pre pa red ness for the ac ces sion of Lit hu a nia to the Eu ro pe an Union.

The pre sent pub li ca tion is dif fe rent from that of pre vio us years in its struc tu re and con sists of two parts. The se cond part of the Re port „The Re port on the Lit hu a nian So cial Se cu ri ty Sys tem“ is lar ge ly de vo ted to the over view of the so cial se cu ri ty sys tem ope ra tio nal in Lit hu a nia. For the con ve nien ce of the user this part is al so pre sen ted in a CD and in the In ter net ho me pa ge of the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour which will be re gu lar ly up da ted. Thus all tho se in te res ted in the na tio nal so cial se cu ri ty and la bour po li cy will be ab le to fa mi lia ri ze them sel ves with its cur rent sta tus and up da te their know led ge at their con ve nien ce.

I would li ke to wish the re a ders to find the pub li ca tion use ful and in for ma ti ve, and al so I would li ke to ex press my gra ti tu de to the wor king group in char ge of de ve lo ping the Re port, and all tho se who con tri bu ted to the draf ting and pub li ca tion of the So cial Re port.

Mi nis ter of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour V I L I J A B L I N K E V I È I Û T Ë

4 SOCIAL REPORT 2002

CO-AUTHORS OF THE SOCIAL REPORT 2002

LABOUR POLICYGin ta rë Bu þins kai tëRa sa Ma laið kie nëJur gi ta Vit kaus kie në

STATE SOCIAL INSURANCE AND PENSIONSIr ma Juk ne ly tëVai do tas Ka li naus kas

SOCIAL SUPPORTAl mi ra Ge ce vi èiû tëRa mu të Jo èy të Vi da Le o nie në Aud ra Mi ka laus kai tëDai va Za ba raus kie në

ACTIVITIES OF THE MINISTRY IN THE FIELD OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATIONMil da Pet ro kai të

He ad of Wor king Group – Dr. Vy tau tas Þiû kas Ex pert - Dr. Ro mas La zut kaCo or di na tor – Da rius Pau liu ko nis

The Ad mi nist ra tion of the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour pa ys he art felt thanks to the te am of edi tors and to the le a ders of the de part ments of the Mi nist ry for their work pre pa ring this edi tion.

5SOCIAL REPORT 2002

C O N T E N T

FO RE WORD 7

1. LA BOUR PO LI CY 8

1.1. La bour Mar ket 8

1.2. La bour Re la tions 13

1.3. Pa y ment for Work 16

1.4. Le gal Gu a ran te es of La bour 19

1.5. Sa fe ty and He alth of Wor kers 28

2. STA TE SO CIAL IN SU RAN CE AND PEN SIONS 33

2.1. The im pro ving Bud get of the Sta te So cial In su ran ce Fund and the ob jec ti ve to eli mi na te

the de fi cit ac cru ed by the Bud get of the Sta te So cial In su ran ce Fund 33

2.2. Pe cu lia ri ties of So cial In su ran ce of Self-em plo y ed Per sons 35

2.3. Im pro ve ments in Con di tions of the Sic kness and Ma ter ni ty So cial In su ran ce 36

2.4. Chan ges in the So cial In su ran ce of Ac ci dents and Work and Oc cu pa tio nal Di se a ses 36

2.5. Chan ges in the Pen sion Sys tem 37

2.6. Or ga ni sa tio nal Chan ges in SoDra and Ef forts to Pro per ly Pre pa re for the Pen sion Re form

and the Trans fer of Ad mi nist ra tion of Con tri bu tions of the So cial In su ran ce 38

3. SO CIAL SUP PORT 40

3.1. So cial Sup port to Fa mi lies and Chil dren, and its De ve lop ment 40

3.2. So cial Work and So cial Ser vi ces 48

3.3. Pro tec tion of the rights of the child 51

3.4. So cial In teg ra tion of the Di sab led 60

3.5. So cial Po li cy in Res pect of Vic tims and So cial Risk Groups` 66

4. AC TI VI TIES OF THE MI NIST RY IN THE FIELDS OF EU RO PE AN IN TEG RA TION

AND IN TER NA TIO NAL CO-OPE RA TION 77

4.1. Ma jor Are as of Ac ti vi ty in the Con text of Lit hu a nia’s In teg ra tion in to the Eu ro pe an Union 77

4.2. Par ti ci pa tion in the Ac ti vi ty of In ter na tio nal Or ga ni sa tions and In ter na tio nal Co-ope ra tion 83

4.3. Buil ding of Ad mi nist ra ti ve Ca pa ci ties 89

5. AN NE XES 90

5.1. Ma na ge ment struc tu re of the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour 90


7SOCIAL REPORT 2002

F O R E W O R D

In 2002, the po li cy of so cial se cu ri ty and la bour in Lit hu a nia was de ve lo ped un der the fa vou rab le con di tions of a vib rant and gro wing eco no my, fi nan cial sta bi li ty of the coun try and dec li ning unem plo y ment ra te of the po pu la tion. The year 2002 was al so the last year of pre pa ra tion for the ac ces sion of Lit hu a nia to the Eu ro pe an Union. The pre pa ra tion ac ti-vi ties we re du ly re flec ted on the agen da of the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour, which sought to in tro du ce ap prop ria te ad just ments in the ob jec ti ves of the so cial po-li cy and in par ti cu lar in the im ple men ta tion of prac ti cal me a su res ai med at achie ving the se ob jec ti ves. The pre sent Re port pro vi des the re a der with an out li ne of the most chal len ging as sign ments fa cing the staff of the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour, and to ta ke stock of pro gress in ot her ac ti vi ties car ried out with an ac ti ve par ti ci pa tion of the staff of the Mi nist ry.

The struc tu re of the So cial Re port of 2002 is sligh tly dif fe-rent from that of the re ports of the pre vio us years, - it con tains as a sup ple ment the Re port on the So cial Se cu ri ty Sys tem of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia which co vers the most im por tant le gal acts go ver ning the sys tem of so cial se cu ri ty and la bour of Lit hu a nia, the sys tems of ad mi nist ra tion of in di vi du al are as of so cial se cu ri ty, so cial be ne fits, the right to such be-ne fits and pro ce du res for com pu ting the amount of such be ne fits. The re fo re, in view of its li mi ted sco pe, the pre sent So cial Re port do es not co ver all the abo ve mat ters un der the as sump tion that a per son, wil ling to ac qui re a de e per in sight and know led ge of the so cial se cu ri ty sys tem, will re ad the Re port on the So cial Se cu ri ty Sys tem of Lit hu a nia; the pre sent So cial Re port has be en de sig ned to out li ne the most re le vant in for ma tion on de ve lop ments in the la bour mar ket and the so cial se cu ri ty sys tem in Lit hu a nia throug hout the year 2002 and, in cer tain ca ses, at the be gin ning of 2003.

The So cial Re port pro vi des a com pre hen si ve set of the most re cent in di ca tors de sig ned to me a su re pro gress in the de ve lop ment of the la bour mar ket, la bour re la tions and wor king con di tions, inc lu ding so cial out co mes in the eco-no mic ac ti vi ty of re si dents of Lit hu a nia and em plo y ment, fol lo wed by the main cha rac te ris tics of unem plo y ment. The So cial Re port pre sents an over view of new ini tia ti ves on em plo y ment pro mo tion and pro tec tion of the unem plo y ed un der ta ken by the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour in the year 2002, pro blems re la ted to la bour re la tions and re gu la to ry me a su res un der ta ken to tac kle such pro blems. The sec tion on pa y ment for work al so high lights the inc re a-se of the tax-exempt mi ni mum wa ge, in tro du ced at the be-gin ning of 2003. Par ti cu lar at ten tion is being de vo ted to the vio la tions of le gal gu a ran te es of la bour, which is il lust ra ted by abun dant sta tis tics on the es tab lis hed vio la tions of la bour law and sup por ted with the da ta on ac ci dents at work and the oc cur ren ce of oc cu pa tio nal di se a ses.

The suc ces sful de ve lop ment of the na tio nal eco no my

al lo wed sig ni fi cant im pro ve ments in fun ding the so cial in-su ran ce sys tem. The So cial Re port desc ri bes at length the im-pro ving fi nan cial stan ding of the Sta te So cial In su ran ce Fund and spe ci fies in di vi du al re ve nue and ex pen di tu re items of the bud get of the Fund. Sig ni fi cant pla ce has be en de di ca ted to de ci sions con cer ning inc re a se of re ti re ment pen sions, ini-tia ted af ter a ti me lap se of se ve ral years. The pen sion re form it self, the un der ly ing con cept whe re of is the de ve lop ment of the sys tem of pri va te pen sions, has be en laun ched on ly at the be gin ning of 2003; the re fo re it has be en left out si de the sco pe of the pre sent So cial Re port. Ne vert he less, re a ders are wel co me to fa mi lia ri se them sel ves with the pri va te pen sion sys tem in the pre vio us ly re fer red Re port on the So cial Se cu-ri ty Sys tem of Lit hu a nia.

The pre sent So cial Re port in tro du ces the so cial sup port po li cy star ting with the mo ne ta ry sup port. The Law on So-cial Mo ne ta ry Sup port was draf ted in 2002, and adop ted in 2003. For the first ti me ever, the Law on So cial Mo ne ta ry Sup port in tro du ced the con cept of the pro per ty ap prai sal for the pur po se of gran ting the mo ne ta ry sup port. Ot her are as of so cial sup port inc lu de so cial ser vi ces, the rights of the child, in teg ra tion of the di sab led and the so cial risk group. Each of the se is su es are co ve red in a se pa ra te chap ter of the Re port. Du ring the re cent years the area of so cial ser vi ces has wit nes sed a sig ni fi cant de ve lop ment of the in fra struc tu re and in tro duc tion of the sys tem for at tes ta tion of so cial wor-kers. An im por tant event in the area of the pro tec tion of the rights of the child was the es tab lis hment of the De part ment of Fa mi ly, Chil dren and the Youth un der the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour. In res pect of in teg ra tion of the di sab led, the Re port ad dres ses the is su es of pre pa ra tion of the Na tio nal Pro gram me for the In teg ra tion of the Di sab led in to the So cie ty for 2003-2012 and the prin ci pal pro vi sions of the Pro gram me.

Vic tims and per sons at tri bu ted to so cial risk groups en joy pro tec tion against di sad van ta ge and ex clu sion in the so cie ty and are in teg ra ted in to the so cie ty] in ac cor dan ce with spe cial pro gram mes. For that pur po se se ve ral such pro gram mes we re de sig ned in 2002; each of them is desc ri bed in de tail in the pre sent So cial Re port.

The conc lu ding sec tion of the Re port up da tes the over-view of the ac ti vi ty of the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour in the field of in teg ra tion in to the Eu ro pe an Union and in ter na tio nal co o pe ra tion inc lu ding the out co me of the ac ces sion ne go tia tions in the area of so cial po li cy, pro vi sions go ver ning em plo y ment and so cial po li cy in the Cons ti tu tion for Eu ro pe, con tri bu tion of Mi nist ry in draf ting the Tre a ty of Ac ces sion bet we en the EU and Lit hu a nia. The Re port ends with a com pre hen si ve desc rip tion of the com mit ments of the Mi nist ry in the ac ti vi ties of in ter na tio nal or ga ni sa tions and an over view of in ter na tio nal pro jects un der im ple men ta tion of the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour.

Foreword


L A B O U R P O L I C Y

1. Labour Policy

1.1. LA BOUR MAR KET

Du ring 2002, the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour con ti nu ed to ob ser ve and mo ni tor chan ges ta king pla ce in the Lit hu a nian la bour mar ket. Ha ving due re gard to the prog nos ti ca ted chan ges in the la bour mar ket, and the tasks and ob jec ti ves de fi ned in the Lit hu a nian Pro gram me for Inc re a sing Em plo y ment for 2001-2004, the Or der of the Mi-nis ter of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour de fi ned the ob jec ti ves and tasks for ins ti tu tions im ple men ting the la bour mar ket po li cy, i.e., the La bour Ex chan ge of Lit hu a nia and the Lit-hu a nian La bour Mar ket Trai ning Ser vi ce. Or der No. 43 of March 26, 2002 of the Mi nis ter of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour “On the Es tab lis hment and Im ple men ta tion of Ob jec ti ves and Tasks of ac ti vi ties of the La bour Ex chan ge of Lit hu a-nia and the Lit hu a nian La bour Mar ket Trai ning Ser vi ce for the year 2002” de fi ned the pri ori ty ob jec ti ves of the la bour mar ket po li cy for the co ming year:

- en han ce the ef fi cien cy of the im ple men ted la bour ma ker po li cy me a su res,

- im pro ve the qu a li ty of ser vi ces ren de red to the unem-plo y ed and em plo y ers,

- re du ce the long-term unem plo y ment. Du ring 2002, me a su res en vi sa ged un der the 2001-2004

Pro gram me for Inc re a sing Em plo y ment we re furt her im-ple men ted, ins ti tu tions of the la bour mar ket we re as sig ned ap prop ria te tasks, the sco pe of ac ti vi ties of the la bour mar-ket ins ti tu tions was being furt her ex pan ded and im pro ved.

Be si des, sig ni fi cant im pro ve ments we re in tro du ced in the le gal acts re gu la ting the la bour mar ket which are co ve red in de tail be low.

1.1.1. EM PLO Y MENT

Ac cor ding to the da ta pro vi ded by the De part ment of Sta-tis tics, in early 2002 the po pu la tion of Lit hu a nia was 3,482 mil lion, or by 11,500 less than at the be gin ning of 2001. The birth ra te re duc tion ten den cy which star ted sha ping it self in 1991, mig ra tion of po pu la tion and the inc re a sed mor ta li ty ra te re sul ted in the re duc tion of the po pu la tion of Lit hu a nia du ring 1992-2001 by 224,000, or by 6.4 per cent. As early as 1990 the po pu la tion growth ra tes dec li ned to 0.76 per cent, and sin ce 1992 the po pu la tion has be en ste a di ly dec re a sing. The dec re a se of po pu la tion was ef fec ti vel ly cau sed by the ne ga ti ve mig ra tion sal do, alt hough sin ce 1994 the ne ga ti ve na tu ral po pu la tion tur no ver has be en to an ex tent ad ver se-ly af fec ting the si tu a tion. In ad di tion to the dec re a sing of po pu la tion, com po si tion of the po pu la tion in terms of age un der go sig ni fi cant chan ges too. Low birth ra te re sul ted in smal ler po pu la tion of chil dren, whi le due to furt her pro gres-sing aging of po pu la tion the sha re of pe op le of 60 and over has be en ste a di ly gro wing. Ac cor ding to the em plo y ment sur vey con duc ted by the De part ment of Sta tis tics, in 2002 the ac ti vi ty le vel among per sons of both se xes dec re a sed by 0.1 point as com pa red to 2001 and was 73.2 per cent among men and 65.7 per cent among wo men. An as ses sment of

Labour force activity and employment level by age groups (%) Age Activity level Employment lev el 2001 2002 2001 2002 Total 58,4 57,9 48,3 49,9 15 – 19 8,6 6,8 4,6 4,2 20 – 24 59,6 58,2 42,6 46,0 25 – 29 87,0 86,6 72,4 74,9 30 – 34 88,7 89,1 74,7 78,5 35 – 39 91,7 90,6 76,6 78,5 40 – 44 90,7 91,4 75,5 79,7 45 – 49 87,6 88,0 73,0 76,7 50 – 54 83,2 83,6 69,2 70,7 55 – 59 64,3 66,6 54,8 58,2 60 – 64 24,9 27,1 22,6 24,8 65 – 69 10,8 10,2 10,6 10,2 70+ 3,1 1,5 3,1 1,5 15 – 64 69,4 69,3 57,2 59,6Data of the Population Employment Survey, Department of Statistics of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania Table 1.1.1.-1

9SOCIAL REPORT 2002

Male activity and em ploy ment level by age groups (%) Age Activity level Employment level 2001 2002 2001 2002 Males 64,9 64,4 51,9 55,0 15 – 19 11,1 8,6 5,7 5,0 20 – 24 67,0 64,5 44,4 51,4 25 – 29 91,1 90,4 73,7 77,0 30 – 34 92,3 92,2 76,8 80,6 35 – 39 92,8 93,1 75,7 81,1 40 – 44 89,6 92,2 72,1 79,1 45 – 49 87,2 88,3 71,1 77,3 50 – 54 82,1 83,9 67,3 70,1 55 – 59 77,9 78,4 63,4 67,1 60 – 64 39,6 40,3 34,5 34,9 65 – 69 12,2 13,2 11,9 13,2 70+ 5,7 3,6 5,7 3,6 15 – 64 73,4 73,2 58,5 62,3Data of the Population Employment Survey, Department of Statistics of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania Table 1.1.1.-2

Female activity and employment level by age groups (%) Age Activity level Employment level 2001 2002 2001 2002 Females 53,0 52,4 45,2 45,6 15 – 19 6,1 4,9 3,5 3,3 20 – 24 52,1 51,7 40,8 40,4 25 – 29 82,9 82,8 71,1 72,9 30 – 34 85,2 86,0 72,7 76,5 35 – 39 90,6 88,1 77,6 76,1 40 – 44 91,7 90,7 78,6 80,2 45 – 49 87,9 87,8 74,7 76,1 50 – 54 84,1 83,3 70,8 71,2 55 – 59 53,7 57,3 48,1 51,2 60 – 64 14,2 17,5 14,0 17,4 65 – 69 9,9 8,2 9,8 8,1 70+ 1,9 0,6 1,9 0,6 15 – 64 65,8 65,7 55,9 57,1Data of the Population Employment Survey, Department of Statistics of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania Table 1.1.1.-3

the si tu a tion by age groups sho wed a rat her low ac ti vi ty le vel among young per sons up to 25. As com pa red to the da ta of 2001, du ring 2002 the ac ti vi ty of men aged 20-24 was furt her dec li ning – from 67.0 per cent to 64.5 per cent. Si mi lar ly, the ac ti vi ty of wo men be lon ging to the sa me age groups was al so dec li ning – from 52.1 per cent in 2001 to 51.7 per cent in 2002.

As com pa red to 2001, due to the im pro ving ge ne ral eco-no mic si tu a tion in 2002 the le vel of em plo y ment was al so inc re a sing, both among men and wo men. In 2002 the em-plo y ment le vel in Lit hu a nia was 59.6 per cent. The ma le em plo y ment le vel was 62.3 per cent, and the em plo y ment le vel among wo men was 57. per cent. Dif fe ren ces be co me mo re ap pa rent when ana ly sing the em plo y ment le vel among wo men and men of youn ger age (up to 25), which

in ge ne ral is lo wer than the ge ne ral le vel of unem po y ment. This pro ves that in Lit hu a nia young pe op le tend to en ga ge in la bour ac ti vi ty at an ol der age.

In view of the im pro ving eco no mic si tu a tion du ring 2002 the num ber of pe op le ha ving em plo y ment inc re a sed by 54,000 (4 per cent), as com pa red to 2001 and ac coun ted for 1,406,000 (708,000 ma les and 698,000 fe ma les).

In 2002, al most 21 per cent of em plo y ed pe op le wor ked in in dust ry and 6.6 per cent in const ruc tion in dust ry. The ser vi ce sec tor has be en ex pan ding and ac coun ted for 54.7 per cent of all per sons em plo y ed. Ho we ver, in 2002, 17.9 per cent of the to tal em plo y ed per sons we re wor king in ag ri cul tu ral sec tor. The num ber of pe op le wor king in ag ri-cul tu ral sec tor con ti nu ed to re main rat her high, alt hough cer tain pro blems, as low pro duc ti vi ty and re stric ted mo bi li-


Employed people by employment status and sex 2001 2002 2001 2002 Thousands Per cent Total: 1351,8 1405,9 100,0 100,0 Employers and selfemployed 218,0 233,3 16,1 16,6 Hired employees 1090,9 1124,0 80,7 79,9 Assisting family members 42,9 48,6 3,2 3,5 Others – – – – Men 664,5 707,8 100,0 100,0 Employers and selfemployed 136,8 144,0 20,6 20,4 Hired employees 509,1 543,9 76,6 76,8 Assisting family members 18,6 19,9 2,8 2,8 Others – – – – Women 687,3 698,1 100,0 100,0 Employers and selfemployed 81,2 89,2 11,8 12,8 Hired employees 581,8 580,0 84,7 83,1 Assisting family members 24,3 28,8 3,5 4,1 Others – – – – Data of the Population Employment Survey, Department of Statistics of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania Table 1.1.1.-4

ty of ru ral po pu la tion per si st to be cha rac te ris tic pro blems in this sec tor. Due to con cen tra tion of pro duc tion in small and inef fi cient farms, ad ver se cli ma tic con di tions and che-ap ag ri cul tu ral pro duc tion im por ted from the EU Sta tes far mers find it inc re a sin gly dif fi cult to mar ket their pro du ce and com pe te in the in ter na tio nal mar ket. Al ter na ti ve ac ti vi-ties (tou rism, eco lo gi cal far ming, gro wing of drug plants), cur rent ly are being de ve lo ped rat her slow ly, and hard ly fa ci li ta te em plo y ment in the coun try si de in are as ot her than ag ri cul tu ral pro duc tion.

With the eco no mic si tu a tion im pro ving in 2002 the num-ber of em plo y ers and self-em plo y ed inc re a sed by 15,000 (or 6.5 per cent), as com pa red to 2001. In 2002 per sons so em plo y ed ac coun ted for 16.6 per cent (62 per cent – ma les, and 38 per cent – fe ma les). Ho we ver, the lar gest sha re of all the em plo y ed per sons we re hi red em plo y e es. The sur vey re por ted that hi red em plo y e es ac coun ted for ne ar ly 80 per cent of all the em plo y ed. Alt hough du ring 1997-2000 the num ber of hi red em plo y e es dec re a sed by 23,000 (or 2 per cent), du ring the re cent years the num ber inc re a sed again, and in 2002 to tal led 1,124,000, or ne ar ly 80 per cent of all em plo y ed per sons. 48 per cent of all wor king ma les and 52 per cent of all wor king fe ma les we re hi red em plo y e es. The ma jor part of men we re em plo y ers or self-em plo y ed, the ma jor part of hi red em plo y e es we re wo men.

Ac cor ding to the po pu la tion em plo y ment sur vey da ta, in 2002 on ly 10.8 per cent of all em plo y ed we re part-ti me wor kers, of which 44 we re ma les and 56 per cent – fe ma les. In Lit hu a nia such form of em plo y ment is not ve ry com mon. The dif fe ren ce is es pe cial ly sho wing it self in the ca se of wo-men, 88 per cent of which work full ti me and on ly 12 per cent are em plo y ed on a part-ti me ba sis.

Wor king part-ti me is pro bab ly the most fre qu ent ly ap-pli cab le non-tra di tio nal form of em plo y ment. Ho we ver, so me ot her mo re fle xib le forms of work or la bour or ga ni-sa tion are still in tro du ced me re ly on oc ca sio nal ba sis. This ap plies to such forms as te le-work, work at ho me, fle xib le wor king hours, ro ta tion of jobs, etc. This to an ex tent pre-vents the la bour for ce from adap ting to the struc tu ral and eco no mic chan ges.

1.1.2. THE UNEM PLO Y ED The year 2002 mar ked the be gin ning of dec li ne of the

unem plo y ment which had be en gro wing sin ce 1997. The po pu la tion em plo y ment sur vey con duc ted by the De part-ment of Sta tis tics al so af fir med the po si ti ve chan ges ta king pla ce in the la bour mar ket: the num ber of the unem plo y ed dec re a sed by 60,000 or by 21 per cent. Du ring the year the unem plo y ment ra te dec li ned to 13.8 per cent, and was the

Unemployment level (in per cent) Average annual 2002-01-01 2003-01-01 2001 2002 Total 12,9 10,9 12,5 11,3 Men 13,5 10,8 13,2 11,4 Women 12,2 11,0 11,9 11,3 Youth 18,7 13,4 15,3 14,9

Labour Exchange of Lithuania data Table 1.1.2.-1

11SOCIAL REPORT 2002

lo west sin ce 1995 when the sur vey was first con duc ted. The im pro ving ge ne ral eco no mic si tu a tion was al so re flec-

ted in bet te ring in di ca tors of the la bour mar ket: inc re a sed de mand of la bour, dec re a sing num bers of the unem plo y ed inc lu ding the long-term unem plo y ed per sons, the dec li ning unem plo y ment ra te and al le via tion of its ter ri to rial dif fe-ren tia tion. Ac cor ding to the da ta of the La bour Ex chan ge of Lit hu a nia, in 2002, the ave ra ge an nu al unem plo y ment ra te in Lit hu a nia was 11.3 per cent, and was by 1 point lo wer than in 2001. Alt hough the unem plo y ment was dec-li ning both among men and wo men, the unem plo y ment among ma les still re mai ned hig her. Du ring the year the ma le unem plo y ment le vel dec re a sed by 2.7 point, and the ave ra ge an nu al ra te was 11.4 per cent. Over 2002, the fe ma le unem plo y ment ra te dec li ned by 1.2 point and the ave ra ge an nu al ra te re cor ded was 11.3 per cent.

Over the year 2002 the unem plo y ment ra te on the na-tio nal sca le dec li ned by 2 points, from 12.9 per cent at the be gin ning of the year to 10.9 per cent at the end of the year. Over this year the ma le unem plo y ment le vel dec re a sed by 2.7 point and ac coun ted for 10.8 per cent at the end of the year. The cor res pon ding in di ca tors in the ca se of wo men we re 1.2 point and 11 per cent. The most no tab le chan ges we re re cor ded in res pect of unem plo y ment among young pe op le, whe re the ra te over the year dec li ned by 5.3 point to 13.4 per cent at the end of the year. Ne vert he less, the ave-ra ge an nu al unem plo y ment among young pe op le re mai ned rat her high – 14.9 per cent (in 2001 – 15.3 per cent).

As of Ja nu a ry 1, 2003 the la bour ex chan ges of Lit hu a nia re gis te red 191,100 unem plo y ed per sons, i.e., by ne ar ly 33,000 less, than in the be gin ning of 2002.

Du ring 2002 the unem plo y ment le vel drop ped in all coun-ties, most no tab ly in Ðiau liai (by 3.3 point) and Ma ri jam po lë (3.1 point) coun ties. The unem plo y ment was dec li ning by 1-4 points in ne ar ly all mu ni ci pa li ties coun try wi de, ex cept the Mu ni ci pa li ty of Va rë na, Pa sva lys, and Ne rin ga, whe re the unem plo y ment ra te re mai ned un chan ged. In Rie ta vas Mu ni ci pa li ty the unem plo y ment ra te inc re a sed by 3.5 point. The unem plo y ment ra te in ex cess of 20 per cent was re cor ded in se ven mu ni ci pa li ties of the coun try (in 2001 – in 13 mu ni ci pa li ties). Li ke in the pre vio us years the hig hest ave ra ge an nu al unem plo y ment ra te was re cor ded in Drus ki nin kai (26.1 per cent), and the lo west – in Vil nius and Kre tin ga mu ni ci pa li ties (6.1 per cent).

The im ple men ta tion of me a su res wit hin the em plo y ment pro gram me in the con text of the ge ne ral im pro ve ment of the eco no mic si tu a tion pro du ced po si ti ve im pact upon the growth of em plo y ment ra te, was dec re a sing the unem-plo y ment and brought about sta bi li sa tion in the la bour mar ket.

The inc re a sed sup ply of la bour. The ter ri to rial la bour ex-chan ges re cor ded about 135,000 new job of fers, inc lu ding 93,400 of fers for full-ti me jobs. The inc re a sin gly sta bi li zing

fi nan cial si tu a tion of na tio nal en ter pri ses enab led the em-plo y ers to cre a te mo re new jobs. As com pa red to 2001, the num ber of full-ti me job of fers inc re a sed by 4,700, or by 5.4 per cent. The lar gest num ber of job of fers – 66,000 (47 per cent) was re gis te red in the ser vi ce sec tor.

Tran si tion from pas si ve to wards ac ti ve sup port of the unem-plo y ed. Af ter the Law on Sup port of the Unem plo y ed was sup ple men ted by new pro vi sions, and so me im pro ve ment was achie ved in the ti me li ness of fi nan cing of the la bour mar ket me a su res, 125,000 job se e kers for the first ti me we-re in vol ved in the ac ti ve la bour mar ket pro gram mes (by a qu ar ter mo re than in 2001).

Mo re per ma nent and tem po ra ry jobs we re cre a ted. The cre-a tion of new jobs for the group of ad di tio nal ly sup por ted per sons (di sab led, youth, long-term unem plo y ed, per sons rai sing mi nors) was ex pan ded by ne ar ly one ti me and a half. 2,600 new jobs we re cre a ted for this ca te go ry of per sons.

Cre a tion of new jobs in ter ri to ries of the hig hest unem plo y-ment ra tes was al so ex pan ding. By gran ting Sta te sub si dies to the pro jects of lo cal em plo y ment ini tia ti ves 377 jobs we re cre a ted to em ploy the unem plo y ed re gis te red in the la bour ex chan ges. Of tho se em plo y ed eve ry third was a long-term unem plo y ed, eve ry forth – a young per son, and eve ry se-venth was from so cial ly sup por ted fa mi lies.

In 2002, the num ber of tem po ra ry jobs in pub lic works was inc re a sed by one third (up to 48,000). In ave ra ge, such jobs pro vi ded em plo y ment for a pe riod of 2.3 month. The be ne fit brought about by such works to lo cal com mu ni ties be ca me es pe cial ly ap pa rent: over 2,500 of unem plo y ed per-sons we re em plo y ed in the so cial sphe re, over 7,000 we re re pai ring scho ols, kin der gar tens, hos pi tals and ot her so cial fa ci li ties.

4,800 unem plo y ed per sons we re en rol led in the pro gram-mes of sup por ted works, ac coun ting for a qu ar ter mo re than in 2001.

Due to me dia tion of ter ri to rial la bour ex chan ges 133,700 job se e kers ob tai ned em plo y ment, or eve ry se cond of tho se se e king a job.

Sup port to long-term unem plo y ed and so cial se cu ri ty of the unem plo y ed of pen sio nab le age was en han ced. Over 2002, the num ber of long-term unem plo y ed dec re a sed by 22 per cent. As so on as the me a su res ai med at the ref res hing of pro fes-sio nal know led ge and skills of long-term unem plo y ed was laun ched, 1,500 unem plo y ed with an unem plo y ment re cord ex ce e ding one year avai led them sel ves to such me a su res. Be ne fits for unem plo y ed of pen sio nab le age we re al lo ca-ted, upon con sent of the be ne fi cia ries, to the unem plo y ed being wit hin not mo re than 2 years from be co ming eli gib le to old-age pen sions, with at le ast 15 years of sta te so cial in su ran ce re cord. Such be ne fits we re al lo ca ted to 14.400 unem plo y ed per sons.

LTL 75.3 mil lion we re al lo ca ted for the ac ti ve sup port to the unem plo y ed, which ma kes up 40.3 per cent of the


funds of the Unem plo y ment Fund (in 2001 – 34.9 per cent). LTL 62.5 mil lion we re al lo ca ted for unem plo y ment be ne-fits, or, ac cor din gly, 33.5 per cent of the Fund (in 2001 – 41 per cent).

Du ring last year, through the ef forts of the La bour Ex-chan ge of Lit hu a nia 737 per sons we re em plo y ed ab ro ad - in Ger ma ny, Swe den, Ire land, Nor way and Aust ria. Com pa-nies pro vi ding me dia tion ser vi ces for em plo y ment ab ro ad of fe red jobs to 950 per sons, of which 54 per cent we re men, and 46 per cent – wo men. Out of tho se em plo y ed ab ro ad 45 per cent we re unem plo y ed in Lit hu a nia. The lar gest num ber of per sons thus em plo y ed we re in Ire land, Uni ted King dom and the USA.

1.1.3. IM PRO VE MENT OF LE GAL BA SIS RE GU LA-TING THE LA BOUR MAR KET

The Ge ne ral Do cu ment for the As ses ment of Pri ori ties of the Lit hu a nian Em plo y ment Po li cy of the Go ver nemnt of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia nad the Eu ro pe na Com mis sion1 was de ve lo ped and sig ned in early 2002. The main pur po-se of the Do cu ment is to ana ly se and as sess the pro gress achie ved by the Sta te in de ve lo ping and im ple men ting the em plo y ment po li cy, for mu la te the har mo ni sed go als of the em plo y ment and la bou ir mar ket po li cy which ne ed to be achie ved in or der to ac ce le ra te the chan ges in the la bour mar ket and en su re pre pa red ness for the par ti ci pa tion in the pro cess of co or di na tion with the Eu ro pe an Union em-plo y ment po li cy. On Ap ril 17, 2002 a works hop was held in Vil nius with a par ti ci pa tion of rep re sen ta ti ves of the Di rec to ra te Ge ne ral of Em plo y ment and So cial Af fairs of the Eu ro pe an Com mis sion. The agen da of the works hop inc lu ded the dis cus sion of the mo ni to ring pro ce du re and ac tions. In di ca tors ne ces sa ry for the as ses sment of pro gress are no ti fied to the Eu ro pe an Com mis sion wit hin the ti me li mits of the ag re ed sche du le.

For the pur po se of im ple men ting the me a su res of the Lit hu a nian Pro gram me for Inc re a sing Em plo y ment for 2001-2004:

- the Com mit tee of the Stra te gic Plan ning of the Go vern-ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia con si de red the con cept of the Law on the Unem plo y ment In su ran ce2 . It was pro po-sed to ap pro xi ma te the unem plo y ment in su ran ce sys tem with the na tio nal so cial in su ran ce sys tem as cons ti tu ting part of the lat ter, to bring it clo ser in li ne with the sys tem of mo ne ta ry so cial sup port, to mo di fy the cur rent ly ef fec-ti ve fun ding mo del for the ac ti ve la bour mar ket po li cy by trans fer ring the fun ding of such me a su res from the so cial in su ran ce bud get to the Sta te bud get. Fun ding of the ac ti-ve la bour mar ket po li cy me a su res from the Sta te bud get

was pro po sed to be im ple men ted gra du al ly, - wit hin the pe riod from 2004 to 2008. The Com mit tee on the Stra te gic Plan ning of the Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia ap pro ved the con cept of the Law on Unem plo y ment In su-ran ce and ob li ga ted the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La-bour to pre pa re a draft of the Law on the So cial In su ran ce of Unem plo y ment.

- the con cept of the Law on So cial Em plo y ment En ter pri ses3 was de ve lo ped. The Law on So cial Em plo y ment En ter pri-ses of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia pur ports, by me ans of fi nan cial me a su res to pro mo te the es tab lis hment of so cial em plo y ment en ter pri ses and em ploy in di vi du als, who for a va rie ty of re a sons ha ve lost their pro fes sio nal or ge ne ral wor king ca pa ci ty and the re fo re ex pe rien ce dif fi cul ties to en ter the open la bour mar ket.

Du ring 2002, pro jects of lo cal em plo y ment ini tia ti ves we re furt her suc ces sful ly im ple men ted in are as worst stric ken by unem plo y ment, eve ry third of such pro jects was im ple men ted in ru ral are as. Pro jects of lo cal em plo y-ment ini tia ti ves at trac ted sig ni fi cant in te rest and in du ced the ac ti vi ty of so cial part ners in their ef forts to im ple ment ide as be ne fi cial for the eco no mic and so cial de ve lop ment of lo cal ter ri to ries.

The gui ding idea of the pro jects is to in vol ve in to the de ci-sion ma king pro ces ses as ma ny in te res ted par ties as pos sib-le (mu ni ci pa li ties, en ter pri ses, pe op le ge ne ra ting bu si ness de ve lop ment ide as, etc.), and se ek mo re ef fi cient uti li sa tion of the ma te rial re sour ces cur rent ly at the dis po sal of such par ties (dif fe rent fa ci li ties, buil dings, etc.). Gran ting of Sta te sup port to such pro jects is re la ted to the em plo y ment of job se e kers ex pe rien cing dif fi cul ties in as si mi la tion in la bour mar ket in the new ly cre a ted jobs. Se e king the en han ced qu a li ty of such pro jects and mo re ef fi cient uti li sa tion of the pro vi ded Sta te sup port, al so ha ving due re gard to the ex pe rien ce ac cu mu la ted du ring the last year so me ma jor im pro ve ments we re in tro du ced in the pro ce du re for the im ple men ta tion of lo cal em plo y ment ini tia ti ves. The Or der of the Mi nis ter of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour ap pro ved the new re a ding of the Pro ce du re for the Im ple men ta tion of Lo cal Em plo y ment Ini ti ta ti ves4 . The lo cal em plo y ment ini tia ti ves su per vi so ry com mit tee was for med un der the La bour Ex-chan ge of Lit hu a nia, com po sed of equ al num ber of em plo-y e es, em plo y ers and pub lic aut ho ri ties, all rep re sen ta ti ves en jo y ing equ al rights, and Lo cal em plo y ment ini tia ti ves se lec tion com mis sions we re for med un der the ter ri to rial la bour ex chan ges.

Se e king to en han ce the fle xi bi li ty of vo ca tio nal trai ning of fe red by the la bour mar ket by im ple men ting in di vi du al mo dels of one or se ve ral pro gram mes, so me amend ments we re in tro du ced in the Pro ce du re for La bour Mar ket Vo ca tio-

1 Re so lu tion No. 189 of Feb ru a ry 7, 2002 of the Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia (Of fi cial Ga zet te, 2002, No. 15-582)2 Mi nu tes No. 32 of the Com mit tee on the Stra te gic Plan ning of the Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia held on No vem ber 22, 2002, agen da item 2. 3 Mi nu tes No. 32 of the Com mit tee on the Stra te gic Plan nign of the Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia hellf on No vem ber 22, 2002, agen da item 1.4 Order No. 59 of April 24, 2002 of the Ministry of MSSL (Official Gazette, 2002, No. 45-1735)


nal Trai ning. The unem plo y ed to whom the la bour ex chan-ge can not of fer work cor res pon ding to their pro fes sio nal qu a li fi ca tion and sta tus of he alth, al so the unem plo y ed lac king any pro fes sio nal trai ning may be re fer red to ac-qui re pro fes sion de man ded in the lo cal la bour mar ket, or to the im pro ve ment of their qu a li fi ca tions. Ba sed on the amend ments to the Law the unem plo y ed may be re fer red to trai ning clas ses ac cor ding to in di vi du al mo dels of one or se ve ral la bour mar ket pro fes sio nal trai ning pro gram mes. The vo ca tio nal trai ning of the unem plo y ed is fi nan ced and the unem plo y ment be ne fits from the Unem plo y ment Fund are paid for a pe riod of ti me inc lu ding the du ra tion of trai-ning with in ter rup tions ac cor ding to in di vi du al mo dels and pro gram mes for a pe riod not lon ger than 6 months. Ho we ver, in ca se the ac qui si tion of a spe ci fic pro fes sion re qui res mo re ti me, on the pro po sal of the tri par ti te com-mis sion un der the La bour Ex chan ge the fi nan cing of the vo ca tio nal trai ning and pa y ment of unem plo y ment be ne fits may be ex ten ded for a pe riod up to 10 months.

Se e king to en su re the pre ven tion of the long-term unem-plo y ment and as sis ting the unem plo y ed in their job se e king ef forts, short term trai ning cour ses of the du ra tion up to one month we re ope ned in pla ces of re si den ce of such unem-plo y ed. Such cour ses se ek to pro vi de the know led ge to the unem plo y ed about the si tu a tion that they are in and how to be ha ve in such si tu a tion. The cour se al so in tro du ce cer tain pro fes sions which they could cho o se or would be wil ling to de e pen the know led ge they al re a dy ha ve. The Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour de ve lo ped The Pro-ce du re for the or ga ni sa tion and im ple men ta tion of me a su res for up da ting of pro fes sio nal know led ge and prac ti cal skills of long-term unem plo y ed1 . The pur po se of such me a su res is to as sist the long-term unem plo y ed in their ef forts to re new their pro fes sio nal ca pa ci ties, work skills and en cou ra ge them to ac qui re a pro fes sion in de mand in the la bour mar ket.

The short-term stu dy pro gram mes we re draf ted to in tro-du ce 27 most po pu lar pro fes sions in the la bour mar ket. Such pro gram mes enab le the long-term unem plo y ed to ref-resh their know led ge of the pro fes sion they had ac qui red, as sess their pos si bi li ties, and furt her ob tain em plo y ment, or pro vi de know led ge about a new pro fes sion and the pos si bi li ties to ac qui re such pro fes sion. High ly qu a li fied vo ca tio nal trai ning spe cia lists and psy cho lo gists con duct clas ses with small groups of the unem plo y ed, se e king to find so lu tions for the unem plo y ment is su es ac cep tab le to the job se e kers. In 2002, 1,500 long-term unem plo y ed with a re cord of unem plo y ment not ex ce e ding one year, par ti ci pa ted in such pro gram mes. They we re of fe red 13 stu dy pro gram mes and 14 pro gram mes for the re ne wal of pro fes sio nal know led ge and prac ti cal skills. Spe cia li sed psy-

cho lo gy clas ses for en han ce ment of self-con fi den ce, adap-ta bi li ty to the chan ges we re at ten ded by over a thou sand of long-term unem plo y ed.

Pro vi sions of the Pro ce du re for the sup port of the unem plo-y ed ad di tio nal ly sup por ted in the la bour mar ket, The pro ce du re for em plo y ing in jobs sup por ted by the Em plo y ment Fund, and Pro ce du re for Re gist ra tion of va can cies in the La bour Mar ket2 ha ve be en har mo ni zed with the La bour Co de of the Re pub-lic of Lit hu a nia.

The La bour Trai ning and Em plo y ment Pro gram me for the Ro ma of Vil nius3 as well as the me a su res im ple men ting the Pro gram me for 2003 – 2005 pro vi ded for vo ca tio nal orien ta tion and la bour mar ket vo ca tio nal trai ning spe cial ly de sig ned for the Ro ma com mu ni ty. Ta king in to ac count the edu ca tion of the Ro ma, 7 trai ning pro gram mes re le vant and de man ded in the la bour mar ket we re adap ted spe ci fi cal ly for the au dien ce in qu es tion, in ad di tion to 3 pro gram mes of in for mal trai ning which could be use ful in the day-to-day li fe of the Ro ma. Ho we ver, so far it pro ved qui te dif fi cult to im ple ment such pro gram mes in prac ti ce, due to an ex-tre me ly low ac ti vi ty of this par ti cu lar de mog rap hic group and their mo ti va tio nal at ti tu des.

1.2. LA BOUR RE LA TIONS

In 2002, sig ni fi cant at ten tions was de vo ted to the im pro-ve ment of la bour re la tions and furt her per fec tion of the le gal ba sis re gu la ting such re la tions. The most sig ni fi cant event in this area was the adop tion of the La bour Co de. On Ju ne 4, 2002, the Sei mas of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia pas sed the La bour Co de which ca me in to ef fect on Ja nu a ry 1, 2003. Whi le draf ting the La bour Co de due re gard was gi ven to the ex pe rien ce ac cu mu la ted in the Sta tes of East and Cen tral Eu ro pe, pro vi sions and re com men da tion of the Con ven tions of the In ter na tio nal La bour Or ga ni sa tions, and the So cial Char ter of Eu ro pe (as amen ded), most of the di rec ti ves of the Eu ro pe an Union we re trans po sed in to the pro vi sions of the La bour Co de.

The plan for draf ting laws and ot her le gal acts ne ces sa ry for the im ple men ta tion of the La bour Co de and tho se to be ap pro xi ma ted with the La bour Co de of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia was pre pa red as re qui red by Re so lu tion No. 1189 of Ju ly 19, 2002 of the Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia. Ac cor ding to the plan, the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour in con junc tion with ot her pub lic aut-ho ri ties is ob li ga ted to draft the le gal acts con cer ned or bring them in li ne with the pro vi sions of the La bour Co de. Whi le im ple men ting the me a su res en vi sa ged by the plan ac tions we re ta ken to draft the law amen ding the Law on Tra de Unions, al so the Law on La bour Coun cils, the Law

1 SADM 2002-09-26 ása ky mas Nr.115 “Dël il ga lai kiø be dar biø pro fe si niø þi niø ir prak ti niø ágû dþiø at nau ji ni mo or ga ni za vi mo ir vyk dy mo tvar kos”,(Þin.,2002,Nr.96-4224)2 SADM 2002-12-30 ása ky mai Nr. 168, Nr.169, Nr. 1703 SADM 2002-12-30 ása ky mas Nr.171 ,,Dël Vil niaus mies to ro mø dar bi nio mo ky mo ir uþ im tu mo pro gra mos pa tvir ti ni mo”


on Eu ro pe an Coun cils of La bour, and the Law on Sta te La bour Ins pec tion. The Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia pas sed re le vant new Re so lu tions and in tro du ced the ne ces sa ry amend ments in the ef fec ti ve Re so lu tions on the pro ce du re of re gist ra tion of col lec ti ve ag re e ments, mo-del form of the em plo y ment ag re e ment, se a so nal la bour, as sis tan ce, vo lun ta ry works, the amount of com pen sa tions when the work is per for med du ring a trip, out si de work, re la ted to trips, or is of mo vab le na tu re, the du ra tion of and the or der and the con di tions for gran ting ad di tio nal ho li da ys, the ru les of re gist ra tion of em plo y ment con tracts, the pro ce du re for the is sue and hol ding of the wor ker’s iden ti fi ca tion cer ti fi ca te and the sub mis sion of such cer ti fi-ca te to con trol ling aut ho ri ties, the pro ce du re of com pi ling the list of the ca te go ries of em plo y e es en tit led to ex ten ded ho li da ys, and the pro ce du re for con fir ma tion of du ra tion of such ho li da ys, the pro ce du re of the as ses sment of work in en ter pri ses fun ded from the Sta te or mu ni ci pal bud gets, and the pro ce du re for the cal cu la tion the wor king re cord. Re so lu tion of the Go vern ment go ver ning the pe cu lia ri ties of cer tain ty pes of em plo y ment con tracts, the pro ce du re for shor te ning the wor king hours, work re gu la tions in pub lic and mu ni ci pal ins ti tu tions, en ter pri ses and or ga ni sa tions, part-ti me work ha ve be en draf ted and cur rent ly un der go the ap pro val pro ce du re with the re le vant pub lic aut ho ri ties and so cial part ners.

In an at tempt to streng then the com bat with il le gal work the Cen tral Co or di na tion Unit of Con trol of Il le gal work in co o pe ra tion with the Sta te La bour Ins pec tion de ve lo ped the plan for in ves ti ga tion of ca ses of il le gal work and its pre-ven tion for the year 2003, which was ap pro ved on March 13, 2003. A num ber of aut ho ri ties will be in vol ved in the im ple men ta tion of me a su res en vi sa ged un der the plan, inc lu ding the Sta te La bour Ins pec tion un der the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour, the Sta te Tax Ins pec to ra te un der the Mi nist ry of Fi nan ce, the Fi nan cial Cri mes In ves ti-ga tion Ser vi ce un der the Mi nist ry of Fi nan ce and the Po li ce De part ment un der the Mi nist ry of Fi nan ce.

1.2.1. BI LA TE RAL AND COL LEC TI VE LA BOUR RE LA-TIONS

Bi la te ral and col lec ti ve la bour re la tions the re gu la tion

whe re of is equ al ly im por tant to both em plo y ers and wor kers play an im por tant ro le in the sys tem of la bour re la tions.

Re la tions sub ject to the La bour law are es sen tial ly de e-med to be col lec ti ve re la tions, ho we ver, not in fre qu ent ly la bour re la tions are iden ti fied with ci vil re la tions, pri ori ti-sing in this res pect in di vi du al em plo y ment con tracts. This al lows a conc lu sion that bi la te ral la bour re la tions re main pre vai ling in Lit hu a nia. Still, con tra ry to the ci vil re la tions, par ties of la bour re la tions are not in equ al po si tions, and

an em plo y ee even hol ding the hig hest qu a li fi ca tion and edu ca tion shall in all ca ses be in fe rior to the em plo y er who or ga ni ses the work pro cess, and owns or ope ra tes on the ba sis of trust the wor king tolls and equip ment. The re fo re, in Wes tern coun tries pri ori ty is gi ven to col lec ti ve la bour re la tions be cau se it is the col lec ti ve la bour re la tions that can en su re the equ al po si tion of both par ties in vol ved in the la bour re la tions and de fend their rights and in te rests

Cur rent ly an en han ced at ten tion is being paid to col lec-ti ve la bour re la tions, sin ce in view of in teg ra tion of Lit hu-a nia in to the Eu ro pe an Union, the prin cip le of col lec ti ve au to no my thus wi de ly used and ap plied in the Eu ro pe an Union Mem ber Sta tes will be furt her im ple men ted in Lit hu-a nia. This prin cip le sug gests that whi le re gu la ting la bour re la tions inc re a sing im por tan ce must be at ta ched to ag re e-ments conc lu ded bet we en so cial part ners (i.e., rep re sen ta ti-ves of em plo y er and em plo y ee or ga ni sa tions). Ten den cies sha ping them sel ves in the re gu la tion of la bour re la tions du ring the re cent years show that the Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia has be en li be ra li sing the la bour re la-tions and a gro wing num ber of is su es are being re fer red to the com pe ten ce of ag re e ments of so cial part ners. The La bour Co de of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia es tab lis hed the sys tem of so cial part ners hip cons ti tu ted by the Tri par ti te Coun cil of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia and ot her tri par ti te and bi la te ral coun cils (com mis sions, com mit te es), set up in ac cor dan ce with pro ce du res es tab lis hed by laws or col-lec ti ve ag re e ments. On the ba sis of the ag re e ment bet we en so cial part ners the tri par ti te Coun cil of the Re pub lic of Lit-hu a nia (furt her in the text – the Tri par ti te Coun cil) is ma de up of an equ al num ber of rep re sen ta ti ves of the cen tral (na tio nal) tra de unions, or ga ni sa tions of em plo y ers, and the Go vern ment, all ac ting on equ al terms. The func tions, rights, the pro ce du re for the es tab lis hment and ope ra tion of the Tri par ti te Coun cil are set forth in the re gu la tions of the Tri par ti te Coun cil. In the man ner set forth by laws and bi la te ral ag re e ments ot her tri par ti te or bi la te ral coun-cils (com mis sions, com mit te es) may be es tab lis hed to de al with is su es of la bour, em plo y ment, sa fe ty and he alth of em plo y e es, and im ple men ta tion of so cial po li cy and se ek so lu tions on eth ba sis of equi tab le tri par ti te or bi la te ral co o pe ra tion.

Un der pre sent prac ti ce la bour re la tions in Lit hu a nia are re gu la ted through col lec ti ve ag re e ments. Col lec ti ve ag re e ments may be conc lu ded on the Sta te (na tio nal), sec tor (pro duc tion, ser vi ces, oc cu pa tio nal), or ter ri to rial (mu ni ci pa li ties, coun ties), and en ter pri se (ins ti tu tion, or-ga ni sa tion) le vel.

No ac cu ra te da ta on col lec ti ve ag re e ments ope ra ting on en ter pri se (ins ti tu tion, or ga ni sa tion) le vel cur rent ly in ef fect are avai lab le, sin ce the re is no re qui re ments to for mal ly re gis ter such ag re e ments. Na tio nal, sec tor or ter ri to rial col-lec ti ve ag re e ments are conc lu ded with a view to re gu la ting


la bour re la tions bet we en tra de unions and em plo y ers’ or ga-ni sa tions and the re la ted so cial and eco no mic is su es. Ac ting in ac cor dan ce with par. 1 of Ar tic le 54 of the La bour Co de, the Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia ap pro ved the Pro ce du re for re gist ra tion of col lec ti ve ag re e ments conc lu-ded on the na tio nal, sec tor and ter ri to rial ba sis. Ac cor ding to this Pro ce du re the Mi nist ry of So cial Se cu ri ty and La bour was aut ho ri sed to re gis ter the na tio nal, sec tor and ter ri to rial col lec ti ve ag re e ments on the ba sis of re le vant ap pli ca tions. As of to day, 31 col lec ti ve ag re e ments ha ve be en re gis te red, 19 of which ha ve be en in va li da ted (sin ce Ja nu a ry 1, 2003 col lec ti ve ag re e ments are re fer red to as na tio nal sec tor or ter ri to rial col lec ti ve con tracts). Such in sig ni fi cant num ber of col lec ti ve ag re e ments conc lu ded is a con se qu en ce of a no tion which had pre vai led for qui te a num ber of years that la bour re la tions must be re gu la ted by the Sta te, be si des, the ve ry few so cial part ners ope ra ting on re gio nal and sec tor le vel do not show much ini tia ti ve.

The la bour Co de al so re gu la tes col lec ti ve con tracts conc-lu ded on the en ter pri se or its struc tu ral di vi sions le vel. The en ter pri se’s col lec ti ve con tract may be conc lu ded by the tra de union ope ra ting in the en ter pri se or by the elec ted rep re sen ta ti ves of the staff of the en ter pri se, i.e., the Coun cil of em plo y e es, in ca se the re is no tra de union ope ra ting in the en ter pri se and the em plo y e es of the en ter pri se did not trans fer their rep re sen ta tion func tions to the tra de union of the ap prop ria te sec tor. It is ex pec ted that the es tab lis-hment of the La bour coun cils will fa ci li ta te the so lu tion of the col lec ti ve rep re sen ta tion pro blem and will pro mo te the conc lu sion of col lec ti ve con tracts on the en ter pri se le vel.

The pre va len ce and fre qu en cy of stri kes, as the last re sort of re sol ving col lec ti ve la bour dis pu tes cha rac te ri se the si-tu a tion in the sphe re of col lec ti ve la bour re la tions and in the la bour mar ket in ge ne ral. Ac cor ding to the da ta of the De part ment of Sta tis tics, du ring the year 2002 the re we re no stri kes or ga ni sed in Lit hu a nia, whi le 34 stri kes, inc lu ding 29 to ken stri kes1 we re held du ring 2001. The main grounds for such stri kes we re dis pu tes over la bour re mu ne ra tion or the in frin ge ments of the pro ce du re for pa y ments of wa-ges. The fact that no stri kes we re or ga ni sed a du ring 2002 re flects the ge ne ral im pro ve ment in the eco no mic si tu a tion in Lit hu a nia.

In di vi du al la bour re la tions are the re la tions which ari se from the em plo y ment con tract whe re by one of the par ties (the em plo y ee) un der ta kes to per form the work ac cor ding to the spe ci fied qu a li fi ca tion, pro fes sion or spe cia li ty, and per form cer tain du ties whi le com ply ing with the es tab lis-hed wor king re gu la tions, whi le the ot her par ty (the em plo-y er) un der ta kes to pro vi de the em plo y ee with the work of ag re ed na tu re, com pen sa te the em plo y ee to the ag re ed amount, and en su re the wor king con di tions de fi ned by laws, ot her le gal acts, col lec ti ve con tracts and bi la te ral ag-

re e ments bet we en the par ties. Thus the in di vi du al la bour re la tions ari se at the mo ment the em plo y ee exer ci ses his cons ti tu tio nal right to cho o se a job, by conc lu ding an em-plo y ment con tract and an ag re e ment with the em plo y er con cer ning the work and ot her terms. Such la bour re la tions are bi la te ral re la tions and the par ties to such re la tions are in di vi du al per sons, - the em plo y ee on the one part and the em plo y er on the ot her. The du ty of the em plo y er is to pro vi-de the em plo y ee with work ag re ed un der the em plo y ment con tract, al so en su re the wor king con di tions presc ri bed by laws, the re le vant col lec ti ve and bi la te ral ag re e ments, and pay the com pen sa tion for the work to the em plo y ee. The du ty of the em plo y ee is to work in ac cor dan ce with the spe ci fied qu a li fi ca tion, spe cia li ty and du ties and com ply with the in ter nal work re gu la tions. The la bour re la tions or di na ri ly ari se from the em plo y ment con tract sub ject to the mu tu al con sent of the em plo y ee and the per sons who ad mit the em plo y ee to the po si tion. Whi le conc lu ding the em plo y ment con tract the par ties are ob li ga ted to ag ree on the es sen tial terms of the work:

1) the work pla ce of the em plo y ee (en ter pri se, ins ti tu tion, or ga ni sa tion, struc tu ral di vi sion, etc.);

2) work func tions, the work to be per for med by vir tue of an ag re ed qu a li fi ca tion, pro fes sion or spe cia li ty or cer tain as sign ments.

The La bour Co de sti pu la tes that ag re e ments con cer ning wor king con di tions (ag re e ments on the du ra tion of the em plo y ment con tract, se a so nal work, etc.), may be conc lu-ded in ac cor dan ce with laws, col lec ti ve ag re e ments and on the ba sis of the mu tu al con sent of the par ties. In ad di tion, eve ry em plo y ment con tract must pro vi de for the pa y ment con di tions (the sys tem of pa y ment for work, amount of the pa y ment for work, the pro ce du re for pa y ment, etc.).

In di vi du al la bour re la tions con cern the fol lo wing ty pes of the ins ti tu tion of the em plo y ment con tract: term con-tract of li mi ted and un li mi ted du ra tion, part-ti me work, se a so nal and ot her em plo y ment con tracts, the pro ce du re for ad mis sion to and dis mis sal from work, la bour dis cip li-ne and ot her is su es.

1.2.2. LA BOUR RE LA TIONS: RE GU LA TIONS AND IM PRO VE MENT

The re gu la tion and im pro ve ment of la bour re la tions are

im por tant both to em plo y e es and em plo y ers, the re fo re, as it has be en pre vio us ly no ted, the new La bour Co de was adop ted in 2002. In draf ting the La bour Co de due re gard was gi ven to the ex pe rien ce of East and Cen tral Eu ro pe an Coun tries, pro vi sions of the Con ven tions of the In ter na tio-nal La bour Or ga ni sa tion, and the So cial Char ter of Eu ro pe (as amen ded), pro vi sions of most of the Eu ro pe an Union di rec ti ves go ver ning the field ha ve be en trans po sed in the

1 Information Publication No. 3/2002 of the De part ment of Statistics under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of February 15, 2002.


new La bour Co de. In res pect of most of the is su es the La bour Co de pro vi-

des abst ract re gu la to ry gui de li nes, wit hout co ve ring the is su es that are re gu la ted by se con da ry le gis la tion. Whi le draf ting the La bour Co de, due ac count was ta ken of the ex pe rien ce ac cu mu la ted in the Sta tes of the East and Cen-tral Eu ro pe which ha ve al re a dy re for med their la bour law (Hun ga ry, the Czech Re pub lic, Po land), be si des, most of the pro vi sions go ver ning the area of the Eu ro pe an Union di rec ti ves ha ve be en ac cor din gly im ple men ted. Thus, by adop ting this La bour Co de Lit hu a nia in prin ci pal ful fil led its ob li ga tions con cer ning the har mo ni sa tion of its le gal acts with the la bour law of the Eu ro pe an Union, and em bed ded the prin ci pal pro vi sions of the re le vant le gal acts of the Eu-ro pe an union, the In ter na tio nal La bour Or ga ni sa tion and the So cial Char ter of Eu ro pe (as amen ded). It should be no ted that so cial part ners to ok an ac ti ve part in the pro cess of draf ting the La bour Co de.

Most pro vi sions of the La bour Co de are on ly con cep tu al re flec ting the pur suit to avoid the re gu la tion of la bour re la-tions by sec tors of eco no my (pri va te and pub lic). Ne it her do es the Co de re gu la te is su es fal ling wit hin the com pe ten ce of the Go vern ment which should be re gu la ted by acts of se con da ry le gis la tion. The pur po se of the Co de is to ap pro-xi ma te the ba sic pro vi sions of the le gal acts of the Eu ro pe an Union and the In ter na tio nal La bour Or ga ni sa tion, as well as the So cial Char ter of Eu ro pe (amen ded) even tu al ly trans-for ming them in to the pro vi sions of pri ma ry le gis la tion of Lit hu a nia. Furt her mo re, ta king in to con si de ra tion the gro wing im por tan ce of the so cial part ners hip throug hout Eu ro pe and in Lit hu a nia the Co de is ex pec ted to be co me the gui ding do cu ment in co or di na ting the in te rests of so-cial part ners.

The La bour Co de con sists of three parts: ge ne ral pro vi-sions, col lec ti ve la bour re la tions and pro vi sions go ver ning in di vi du al la bour re la tions.

With the co ming in to ef fect of the La bour Co de a num-ber of laws ha ve be en dec la red in va li da ted, inc lu ding the Law on Wa ges, the Law on Col lec ti ve Ag re e ments and Con tracts, the Law on Em plo y ment Con tract, the Law of Ho li da ys, and the Law on Re gu la ting the Col lec ti ve Dis pu-tes. Upon co ming in to ef fect of the La bour Co de, re le vant laws and re gu la tions spe ci fy ing in di vi du al pro vi sions of the La bour Co de and ne ces sa ry for the im ple men ta tion the re of ha ve be en adop ted or are being draf ted.

1.3. PA Y MENT FOR WORK

Du ring 2002, cer tain chan ges we re ef fec ted in the area of pa y ment for work in Lit hu a nia. In an at tempt to im pro-

ve the sys tem of pa y ment of work and se e king to en su re that the con di tions for pa y ment for work to ci vil ser vants and of fi cials of the ins ti tu tions fi nan ced from the Sta te or mu ni ci pal bud gets we re ba sed on equi va lent cri te ria and the prin cip le of equ a li ty, it has be en es tab lis hed that star-ting from Ju ly 1, 2002 ci vil ser vants are re mu ne ra ted in ac cor dan ce with the pro vi sions of the Law on Pub lic Ser-vi ce of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia1 (Of fi cial Ga zet te, 2002, No.45-1708).

The cur rent ly ef fec ti ve sys tem of pa y ment for work to em plo y e es of bud ge ta ry ins ti tu tions and or ga ni sa tions wor-king ac cor ding to the em plo y ment con tract is go ver ned by Re so lu tion No. 511 of Ju ly 8, 1993 of the Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia “On the Im pro ve ment of the Pro ce du re of Pa y ment for Work of Em plo y e es of Bud ge ta ry Ins ti tu tions and Or ga ni sa tions” (Of fi cial Ga zet te, 1993, No. 28-655, with sub se qu ent amend ments and sup ple ments)2. The pro ce du re of pa y ment for work as laid down in the said Re so lu tion is ap pli cab le to em plo y e es of ins ti tu tions and or ga ni sa tions of edu ca tion and cul tu re, he alth (ex cept the pub lic foun da tions), so cial, and ot her bud ge ta ry ins ti-tu tions. Re so lu tion No. 483 of No vem ber 23, 1991 of the Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia “On Pa y ment for Work of Scien tists and Pe da go gu es of Scien ce and Edu ca-tio nal Ins ti tu tions” (Of fi cial Ga zet te, 1991, No. 5-87. with sub se qu ent amend ments and sup ple ments)3 go verns the or der of pa y ment of work to pe da go gu es and scien tists.

The Mi ni mum Wa ge

The La bour Co de of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia sti pu la tes that the wa ge is the re mu ne ra tion for work per for med by the wor ker in ac cor dan ce with the em plo y ment con tract. The wa ges of a wor ker inc lu des the prin ci pal la bour wa ge and all ad di tio nal pa y ments in eit her form paid di rec tly by the em plo y er for the work per for med by the wor ker. The wa ge of the wor ker de pends upon the vo lu me and qu a li ty of the work, per for man ce of the ins ti tu tion, en ter pri se or or ga ni sa tion, de mand and sup ply of the par ti cu lar kind of la bour in the la bour mar ket. For the per for man ce of equi-va lent work or work of equ al va lue men and wo men shall be paid equ al pa ys. The wa ge shall be paid in cash. The La bour Co de al so es tab lis hes that the terms for pa y ment for work of ins ti tu tions and or ga ni sa tions fi nan ced from the Sta te, mu ni ci pal or so cial in su ran ce bud gets, as well as em plo y e es of the Bank of Lit hu a nia shall be de fi ned in the pro ce du re set forth by laws.

The La bour Co de al so sti pu la tes that on mo tion of the Tri par ti te Coun cil the Go vern ment shall es tab lis hes a mi-ni mum hour ly pay and a mi ni mum mont hly wa ge. On the

1 The Law on Public Ser vice (Official Gazette, 2002, No.45-1708)2 Resolution No. 511 of July 8, 1993 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania “On the Improvement of the Pro ce dure of Payment for Work of Employees of Bud get ary Institutions and Organizations” (Official Gazette, 1993, No.28-655)3 Resolution No. 483 of November 23, 1991 of the Gov ern ment of the Republic of Lithuania “On Payment for Work of Sci en tists and Pedagogues of Science and Ed u ca -tion al Institutions” (Official Gazette, 1991,No. 5-87)


pro po sal of the Tri par ti te Coun cil the Go vern ment may es tab lish dif fe rent mi ni mum hour ly pay and mi ni mum mont hly wa ges in res pect of in di vi du al sec tors of eco no-my, re gions and groups of em plo y e es.

The La bour Co de pro vi des for a pos si bi li ty to es tab lish by col lec ti ve con tracts the mi ni mum mont hly wa ges and mi ni mum hour ly pa ys hig her than tho se es tab lis hed by the Sta te, and set forth that wa ge may be in de xed in the pro ce du re sti pu la ted by the laws.

Cur rent ly the draft Law on In de xing the Wa ges is being con si de red by the Sei mas of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia.

Is su es re la ted to the es tab lis hment of the mi ni mum mont hly wa ge and the mi ni mum hour ly pay (MHP) we re con si de red in the me e ting of the Tri par ti te Coun cil held on Ja nu a ry 14, 2003. The Stan ding Com mis sion of Pa y ment for Work of the Tri par ti te Coun cil was ob li ga ted to draft pro-po sals con cer ning the re gu la tion of the mi ni mum mont hly wa ge. Ha ving con si de red the con su mer pri ce in dex which equ al led 1.025 (as of De cem ber 2002, com pa red to the in dex in Ju ne 1998 when the MMW was in de xed last), and the chan ges of the tax-free in co me (from LTL 214 to LTL 290), as well as the ra tes of inc re a se of ot her in co me the com mis-sion de ci ded to sub mit a pro po sal to the Tri par ti te Coun cil to inc re a se the mi ni mum mont hly wa ge. The pro po sal was ap pro ved by the Tri par ti te Coun cil and Re so lu tion No. 937 of Ju ly 18, 2003 of the Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit-hu a nia “On the Inc re a se of the Mi ni mum Mont hly Wa ge”1 (Of fi cial Ga zet te, 2003, No.73-3371) ap pro ved to be ef fec ti ve from Sep tem ber 1, 2003:

1. mi ni mum hour ly pay – LTL 2.67 and the mi ni mum mont hly wa ge – LTL 450 in res pect of em plo y e es of en ter pri-ses, ins ti tu tions and or ga ni sa tions re gard less of the form of their ow ners hip, and ot her per sons to which the mi ni mum mont hly wa ge is paid in the man ner pro vi ded by the law, ex cept per sons, re fer red to in items 2.1 and 2.2;

2. mi ni mum hour ly pay – LTL 2.55 and mi ni mum mont-hly wa ge – LTL 430:

2.1. em plo y e es of ag ri cul tu ral un der ta kings, whe re the in co me of the un der ta kings from the re a li sed ag ri cul tu ral pro du ce du ring the pre vio us ca len dar year ac count for mo re 50 per cent of the to tal in co me; wor kers hi red by far mers, al so far mers paid the mi ni mum mont hly wa ge in the man ner pro vi ded by le gal acts;

2.2. sta te po li ti cians, jud ges, sta te of fi cials, sol diers and ci vil ser vants.

The Ba sic Tax-Exempt Mi ni mum Ac cor ding to Ar tic le 6 of the Law on In co me Tax of Na tu-

ral Per sons (Of fi cial Ga zet te, 2002, No. 73-3085), the ba sic tax-exempt mi ni mum (furt her – TEM) is es tab lis hed at LTL

290, to be in ef fect from Ja nu a ry 1, 2003. In di vi du al tax-exempt mi ni mum wa ges are ap plied to

ot her per ma nent re si dents of Lit hu a nia: 1) for the di sab led of Group 1 – LTL 430 a month; 2) for the di sab led of Group 2 – LTL 380 a month. 3) for per sons rai sing three or mo re chil dren (adop ted

chil dren) un der 18, and ol der if they at tend the day scho ol of ge ne ral edu ca tion, - LTL 430 a month, be si des the TEM is inc re a sed by LTL 46 for the fourth and each sub se qu ent child (adop ted child);

4) for the mot her (fos ter mot her) or fat her (fos ter fat her) rai sing chil dren (fos ter chil dren) un der 18 at ten ding the day ti me scho ol of ge ne ral edu ca tion in ca se of a sin gle pa rent fa mi ly – LTL 335 a month, be si des, the TEM is inc-re a sed by LTL 53 for the se cond and each sub se qu ent child (fos ter child);

5) for em plo y e es of en ter pri ses pro du cing ag ri cul tu ral pro ducts who se an nu al in co me for the mar ke ted ag ri cul tu-ral pro du ce ac count for mo re than 50 per cent of the to tal in co me, al so em plo y e es of far mers which ha ve re gis te red their farms in the man ner sti pu la ted by laws – LTL 330 a month.

The ba sic tax-exempt mi ni mum in co me is ap plied for the pur po se of cal cu la tion of the ta xab le in co me of per ma nent re si dents of Lit hu a nia. For the pur po se of cal cu la tion of ta xab le in co me of ot her re si dents of Lit hu a nia, the TEM is ap plied on ly in res pect of in co me earned by way of la bour re la tions or re la tions by their es sen ce cor res pon ding the la-bour re la tions, re cei ved from a sour ce out si de Lit hu a nia.

Ave ra ge mont hly wa ge (AMW)

This in di ca tor of the wa ge is ex pres sed by two amounts:

· ave ra ge mont hly gross wa ge (AMW gross) – shall be the wa ge exempt from the in co me tax of na tu ral per sons and so cial in su ran ce con tri bu tions pa y ab le by the em plo y ee;

· ave ra ge mont hly net wa ge (AMW net) – shall be the wa ge ob tai ned ha ving de duc ted from the AMW gross the in co me tax of na tu ral per sons and the so cial in su ran ce con-tri bu tions pa y ab le by the em plo y ee.

Ac cor ding to the da ta of the De part ment of Sta tis tics of the Re pub lic of Lit ho nia, the AMW (gross) in the na tio nal eco no my, with an ex cep tion of per so nal com pa nies (so le pro prie tors hips) in the third qu ar ter of 2202 was LTL 1127.4, and has inc re a sed by 1.3 per cent, if com pa red to the se cond qu ar ter of 2002, in the pub lic sec tor – LTL 1141.0 and has inc re a sed by 0.1 per cent as com pa red to the se cond qu ar-ter of 2002, in the pri va te sec tor – LTL 1115.4 and sho wed an inc re a se by 2.4 per cent du ring the sa me pe riod. Du ring the first qu ar ter of 2003, the AMW (gross) in the na tio nal

1Resolution No. 937 of July 18, 2003 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania “ On the Increase of the Min i mum Monthly Wage”(Official Gazette, 2003, No. 73-3371)


eco no my ac coun ted for LTL 1125.4, in the pub lic sec tor – LTL 1149.8.

The ave ra ge mont hly gross wa ge in the na tio nal eco no-my, ex clu ding the pri va te com pa nies (so le pro prie tors hips) in the third qu ar ter of 2002, as com pa red to the third qu ar ter of 2001, inc re a sed by 5.6 per cent, in the pub lic and pri va te sec tors, res pec ti ve ly – by 3.7 and 7.6 per cent.

The ave ra ge mont hly gross wa ge of wor kers in the na tio-nal eco no my ex clu ding pri va te com pa nies (so le pro prie tors-hips) was LTL 843.7, and has inc re a sed as com pa red to the se cond qu ar ter of 2002 by 2.4 per cent, in the pub lic sec tor – LTL 791.1, and has dec re a sed by 2.0 per cent, as com pa red to the se cond qu ar ter of 2002, whi le in the pri va te sec tor – LTL 869.9 and has inc re a sed by 4.4 per cent.

The ave ra ge mont hly gross wa ge of wor kers in the na tio nal eco no my ex clu ding pri va te com pa nies (so le pro-prie tors hips) in third qu ar ter of 2002 as com pa red to the third qu ar ter of 2001 inc re a sed by 3.8 per cent, in the pub lic sec tor it dec re a sed by 0.7 per cent and inc re a sed by 5.9 per cent in the pri va te sec tor.

The ave ra ge mont hly gross wa ge of em plo y e es in the na tio nal eco no my ex clu ding pri va te com pa nies (so le pro-prie tors hips) was LTL 1381.0, and has inc re a sed as com-pa red to the se cond qu ar ter of 2002 by 1 per cent, in the pub lic sec tor – LTL 1317.7, and has inc re a sed by 0.4 per cent, as com pa red to the se cond qu ar ter of 2002, whi le in the pri va te sec tor – LTL 1473.29 and has inc re a sed by 1.5 per cent. The ave ra ge mont hly gross wa ge of em plo y e es in the na tio nal eco no my ex clu ding pri va te com pa nies (so le pro prie tors hips) in third qu ar ter of 2002 as com pa red to the third qu ar ter of 2001 inc re a sed by 5.2 per cent, in the pub lic sec tor – by 3.2 per cent and in the pri va te sec tor – by 7.8 per cent 1 .

As evi dent from the pro vi ded fi gu res, du ring 2002 in the pri va te sec tor the ave ra ge wa ge was ri sing due to the inc re-a se of vo lu mes of pro duc tion and ser vi ce pro vi sion.

Gu a ran tee of Wa ges to Em plo y e es of Ban krupt En ter-pri ses and En ter pri ses un der ban krup tcy

Wit hin the fra me work of the im ple men ta tion of the Eu ro-pe an Coun cil Di rec ti ve on the ap pro xi ma tion of the laws of the Mem ber Sta tes re la ting to the pro tec tion of em plo y e es in the event of the in sol ven cy of their em plo y er (80/987/EEC), the Law on Gu a ran tee Fund was pas sed on Sep tem ber 12, 2000, which ca me in to ef fect on Oc to ber 1, 2000.

En tit led to pa y ments from the Gu a ran tee Fund shall be em plo y e es of the en ter pri ses un der ban krup tcy and ban krupt en ter pri ses, who ha ve ter mi na ted their em plo y-ment re la tions hips with such en ter pri ses, as well as to the

em plo y e es who con ti nue em plo y ment re la tions hips with an en ter pri se un der ban krup tcy when the en ter pri se is in-deb ted to them

The Law de fi ned the ty pes of the com pen sa ted pa y ments re la ted to the la bour re la tions. The se shall be pa y ments in re la tion to the un paid wa ges, cash com pen sa tion for an unu-sed an nu al ho li day, se ve ran ce pay, a pay for the da ma ge cau sed by oc cu pa tio nal ac ci dents or di se a ses, and lay-off pa y ments. In ac cor dan ce with the pro vi sions of the Law on Gu a ran tee Fund the Re so lu tion No. 2103 of De cem ber 31, 2002 of the Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia “On the pa y ments form the Gu a ran tee Fund” (Of fi cial Ga-zet te, 2003, No. 2-73)2 fi xed the ma xi mum amounts of the pa y ments con cer ned. Af ter all ne ces sa ry le gal acts we re adop ted, the Gu a ran tee Fund ac tu al ly was ma de ope ra tio-nal from Au gust 2001.

Du ring the pe riod from Au gust 2001 un til Ju ly 2003, em plo y e es we re paid the fol lo wing pa y ments from the Gu a ran tee Fund:

Au gust-De cem ber 2001: 20,655 em plo y e es of 250 en ter-pri ses we re paid LTL 25.1 m.

2002 – 15,214 em plo y e es of 505 en ter pri ses - LTL 21.3 m.

First qu ar ter of 2003 – 10,497 em plo y e es of 386 en ter pri ses we re paid LTL 11.36 m.

Ac cor ding to the Law on Gu a ran tee Fund3 con tri bu tions to the Fund are ma de not on ly by the em plo y ers. The as sets of the Gu a ran tee Fund are com pri sed of re sour ces of the Pri va ti sa tion Fund and Sta te Bud get re sour ces al lo ca ted wit hin the fra me work of a se pa ra te pro gram me, re sour ces re cei ved from en ter pri ses un der ban krup tcy and ban krupt en ter pri ses in sa tis fac tion of cre di tor claims of the Gu a ran-tee Fund, and vo lun ta ry con tri bu tions by le gal and na tu ral per sons. All em plo y ed to whom the em plo y er (for mer em-plo y er0 is in deb ted, shall be en tit led to the pa y ments from the Gu a ran tee Fund. Ac cor ding to par. 2 of Ar tic le 5 of the Law on Gu a ran tee Fund, pa y ments are al lo ca ted even to em plo y e es of en ter pri ses un der ban krup tcy or ban krupt en ter pri ses which do not ha ve any as sets, and to the em plo-y e es of li qui da ted en ter pri ses. In ad di tion, pa y ments are paid to em plo y e es re gard less of the du ra tion of their em plo-y ment in the en ter pri se. The amount of pa y ments from the Gu a ran tee Fund, re la ted to the un paid wa ges and lay-offs, shall be com pu ted in ac cor dan ce with the claims, re la ted to em plo y ment re la tions hips prior to the com men ce ment of en ter pri se ban krup tcy pro cess, of em plo y e es of en ter pri-ses un der ban krup tcy or ban krupt en ter pri ses, and for a pe riod not ex ce e ding 2 months from the com men ce ment of en ter pri se ban krup tcy pro ce du re Pa y ments re la ted to the com pen sa tion for the unu sed ho li da ys and the amount of

1 In for ma tion Pub li ca tion No. E.339 of the De part ment of Sta tis tics un der the Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia of De cem ber 6, 2002. 2 Re so lu tion No. 2103 of De cem ber 31, 2002 of the Go vern ment of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia “On the Pa y ments from the Gu a ran tee Fund”

(Of fi cial Ga zet te, 2003, No. 2-43)3 The Law on Guarantee Fund of the Republic of Lithuania (Official Gazette, 2000, No.82-2478)


se ve ran ce pa y ments shall be com pu ted upon ter mi na tion of the em plo y ment con tract.

Par. 7 of Art. 5 of the Law on Gu a ran tee Fund es tab lis hes that as sets trans fer red to the Gu a ran tee Fund shall not be used for ot her pur po ses than es tab lis hed in the said Law, i.e., the funds shall not be de bi ted from the en ter pri ses ac-count in ac cor dan ce with de ci sions of pub lic ins ti tu tions or ins ti tu tions aut ho ri sed to ef fect the re co ve ry of in deb-ted ness, ne it her the funds may be sub ject to at tach ment or used in any ot her way than pro vi ded by the Law.

In ac cor dan ce with the laws cur rent ly in ef fect in Lit hu a-nia em plo y ee shall be en ter pri ses, ins ti tu tions and or ga ni sa-tions of any ty pe. Ar tic le 3 of the Law on Gu a ran tee Fund es tab lis hes that As sets from the Gu a ran tee Fund shall be al lo ca ted to the em plo y e es of en ter pri ses un der ban krup tcy or ban krupt en ter pri ses, as well as to the em plo y e es who con ti nue em plo y ment re la tions hips with an en ter pri se un-der ban krup tcy when the en ter pri se is in deb ted to them.

The pro ce du res of ban krup tcy of en ter pri ses are go ver-ned by the En ter pri se Ban krup tcy Law.1 This Law is ap-plied to all en ter pri ses (inc lu ding in su ran ce un der ta kings, ag ri cul tu ral en ter pri ses, in ter me dia ries of pub lic tra ding in se cu ri ties, and in vest ment com pa nies), pub lic foun da tions, banks and cre dit unions, i.e., all en ter pri ses re gis te red in Lit hu a nia in the man ner sti pu la ted by laws, al so to en ter-pri ses be lon ging to a group of en ter pri ses ope ra ting in ter ri to ries of mo re than one Sta te, which we re re gis te red in Lit hu a nia in the man ner pro vi ded by laws. The re fo re the pro vi sions of the Law on Gu a ran tee Fund are ap plied on ly to en ter pri ses which fall in the sco pe of re gu la tion of the En ter pri se Ban krup tcy Law, i.e., tho se which may be sub ject to the ban krup tcy pro ce e dings. En ter pri ses, ins ti tu tions and or ga ni sa tions fi nan ced from the Sta te or mu ni ci pal bud gets fall out si de the sco pe of re gu la tion of the En ter pri se Ban krup tcy Law and shall not be sub ject to pro vi sions of the Law on Gu a ran tee Fund

Di rec ti ve 2002/74/EC sets forth the re qui re ment that na tio nal pro vi sions re la ted to the pro tec tion of em plo y e es in the event of in sol ven cy of their em plo y er are ma de ap pli-cab le in res pect of em plo y e es of bran ches or sub si dia ries of en ter pri ses of the Eu ro pe an Union ope ra ting in the ter ri to ry of Lit hu a nia, and that gu a ran tee aut ho ri ty (in this ca se the Gu a ran tee Fund) is com pe tent to de al with the is su es of gu a ran te es of such em plo y e es and is aut ho ri sed to act as a “com mu ni ca tion” agen cy with the re le vant aut ho ri ties of ot her Mem bers Sta tes. Ho we ver, pro vi sions of the Law on Gu a ran tee Fund cur rent ly in ef fect pro ve that the said pro vi sions of the Di rec ti ve ha ve not be en im ple men ted in the Lit hu a nian law. Thus, in the fu tu re it is ne ces sa ry to sup ple ment the Law on Gu a ran tee Fund by in tro du cing the re le vant pro vi sions of the said le gal act of the Eu ro pe-an Union. Furt her mo re, func tions of the ad mi nist ra tor of

the Gu a ran tee Fund should be ex pan ded by as sig ning the ad mi nist ra tor with the res pon si bi li ty of “com mu ni ca tion” bet we en the re le vant aut ho ri ties of the Mem ber Sta tes.

1.4. LEGAL GUARANTEES OF LABOUR

The State Labour Inspectorate (SLI) is the authority in charge of enforcement of legislation of labour relations, and prevention of violation of such legislation in enterprises. For the purpose of the supervision over the compliance with labour legislation the SLI conducted inspections in

12,808 enterprises in total employing 578,113 persons. Violations of labour legislation were established in 7,876 en-terprises, which accounted for 61.49 per cent of all in spect ed enterprises. The number of enterprises es tab lished as vio-lating the regulations concerned have increased by nearly 1.5 per cent, as compared to 2001 (violations es tab lished in 7,764 enterprises). In general, the number of vi o la tions also showed some increase: in 2001, 22,800 vi o la tions were recorded, while in 2002 – 24,563, or by 7.7 per cent more. The structure of violations established in 2002 by their nature is as follows: violations in respect of con clu sion of employment contracts – 38.45 per cent; pay ment for work – 13.26 per cent; violation of organisation of work and rest, recording of working time – 24.2 per cent; vi o la tions of other labour legislation – 24 per cent. The data on the character of violations of labour legislation are pre sent ed in Chart 1.4.-1.

It ne eds to be no ted that alt hough in ac tu al fi gu res the num ber of vio la tions of la bour le gis la tion du ring 2000 (24,600) are hig her than in 2001 (22,800), the sha re of such vio la tions as a per cent of the to tal num ber of es tab lis hed vio la tions is dec li ning. In 2001, vio la tions of la bour le gis la-tion ac coun ted for 34 per cent of the to tal vio la tions, whi le in 2002, they ac coun ted for 32.6 per cent. The da ta on the num ber of vio la tions of la bour le gis la tion and the sha re of such vio la tions wit hin the to tal num ber of es tab lis hed vio la tions are pre sen ted in Chart 1.4.-2.

Ins pec tors is su ed bin ding or ders to eli mi na te the vio-la tions of le gal acts in res pect of each in di vi du al ca se of vio la tion, in to tal 24,563 or ders.

Vio la tions of the pro ce du re for conc lu sion of em plo y-ment con tracts

En ter pri ses es tab lis hed as ha ving vio la ted the pro ce du re for the conc lu sion of em plo y ment con tract cons ti tu te the lar gest sha re wit hin to tal en ter pri ses vio la ting the la bour law. Such vio la tions we re es tab lis hed in 4,663 en ter pri ses, or in 59 per cent of all en ter pri ses sub ject to this kind of ins pec tion. The com pa ri son of the si tu a tion with that du-ring ot her years shows the fol lo wing: in 1999, the sha re of en ter pri ses es tab lis hed as ha ving vio la ted the pro ce du re

1 Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the Republic of Lithuania (Official Gazette, 1992, No.29-843)


Nature of established violations of labour legislation 2000 - 2002

Conclusion ofemployment

contracts

Data provided in the State Labour Inspectorate Report for 2002 Chart 1.4.-1

Payment for work Organization of work and rest, recording of

working time

Other violations of labour law


Number of violations of labour legislationwithin the total number of violations 1997 - 2002

total violations

lof which of labour law

of conc lu ding the em plo y ment con tracts wit hin the to tal num ber of vio la ting en ter pri ses was 57 per cent; in 2000 – 50 per cent; and in 2001 – ne ar ly 50 per cent. Grap hi cal ly the cur ve rep re sen ting such vio la tions, af ter ha ving re a ched its pe ak sli des dow nwards, re mai ned stab le for so me ti me,

ho we ver, two ac coun ting pe riods la ter it tur ned up ex ce e-ding even the le vel of 1999. This trend is al so re flec ted in the sta tis tics of vio la tions of the pro ce du re for the conc lu sion of em plo y ment con tracts: in 2001 the ins pec tors es tab lis hed 6,871 vio la tions of this ty pe ac coun ting for 30 per cent of


the to tal num ber of vio la tions, in 2002 the cor res pon ding fi gu res we re 9,445, or over 41 per cent. In res pect of each in di vi du al vio la tion of the pro ce du re for the conc lu sion of em plo y ment con tract the ins pec tors in struc ted em plo y ers to eli mi na te the vio la tions con cer ned. In to tal the ins pec tors is su ed 9,445 such or ders.

The gro wing ten den cy of vio la tions in the pro ce du re of conc lu ding em plo y ment con tracts is al so con fir med by the num ber of in cor rec tly re gis te red em plo y ment con tracts which are ac coun ted se pa ra te ly: in 2001 the re we re 25,060 such vio la tions, whi le in 2002 – 26,596, rep re sen ting an inc-re a se by 6 per cent. Com plaints and pe ti tions con cer ning the pro ce du re for the conc lu sion of em plo y ment con tracts rep re sent the ma jor part of all com plaints con cer ning la bour law – 1,274 out of 4,596, or ne ar ly 28 per cent (in 2001– 954 out of 4526, or 21 per cent).

Vio la tions of the pro ce du re for pa y ment for work In 2002, ins pec tions on the com plian ce with the re gu la-

tions of pa y ment for work we re car ried out in 10,025 en ter-pri ses. Vio la tions of this spe ci fic kind we re es tab lis hed in 2,009 en ter pri ses, which ac count for one fifth of all en ter-pri ses sub ject to this kind of ins pec tion, and one fourth of all en ter pri ses es tab lis hed as ha ving vio la ted la bour law pro vi sions (in 2001 - 30 per cent). 3,258 vio la tions of the pro-ce du re of pa y ment for work we re re gis te red ac coun ting for sligh tly mo re than 13 per cent of all vio la tions es tab lis hed du ring 2002. Ho we ver, in 2001, vio la tions of this par ti cu-

lar ty pe ac coun ted for ne ar ly 16 per cent of all es tab lis hed vio la tions, which al lows a conc lu sion that vio la tions of the kind are be co ming less fre qu ent.

The most fre qu ent ty pe of vio la tion of the pro ce du re of pa y ment for work is the de lay in pa y ment: the ins pec tors es tab lis hed 1,261 ca ses of vio la tions of this par ti cu lar ty pe (ne ar ly 39 per cent of all es tab lis hed vio la tions), (in 2001 – 33 per cent). Ap prop ria te res pon se was gi ven in res pect of each ca se of such vio la tions: 1,261 bin ding in struc tions to eli mi na te the vio la tions we re is su ed. The num ber of en ter pri ses fai ling to pay their wor kers for a pe riod of 2 months and mo re, as well as the num ber of wor kers which ha ve not be en paid for the sa me pe riod ha ve dec re a sed sig ni fi cant ly. In 2001, the num ber of such en ter pri ses was 412, and ac cor din gly 32,595 em plo y e es, whi le in 2002, the cor res pon ding num bers dec re a sed to 141 (or 34 per cent), and 15,947 (or 49 per cent, i.e., less than half of the num ber es tab lis hed in 2001).

The se cond in row of vio la tions re la ted to the pro ce du re of pa y ment for work is the fai lu re to pay pre miums and ot her com pen sa to ry al lo wan ces. In 2002, vio la tions of such kind we re es tab lis hed in 473 en ter pri ses, which ac coun ted for 24 per cent of all en ter pri ses es tab lis hed as ha ving vio-la ted the pro ce du re of pa y ment for work (in 2001– about 25 per cent).

The num ber of ca ses of vio la tions in res pect of pa y ment of the mi ni mum wa ge re mains ne ar ly un chan ged: in 2002, such vio la tions we re es tab lis hed in 44 en ter pri ses, whi le in

Indicators of violations of procedure of payment for work 2000 - 2002


Established violations of the procedure of payment for work

Enterprises not paying wage for 2 months or

more

Complaints concern-ing violations of the

procedure of payment for work

Complaints concern-ing the non-payment of wage for 2 months

or more


2001 – in 46 en ter pri ses. In 2002, the ins pec tors es tab lis hed 3,258 ca ses of vio la-

tions of the pro ce du re of pa y ment for work. En ter pri ses in which the wa ge has not be en paid for 2 months or mo re – 141. Com plaints and pe ti tions con cer ning is su es con cer-ning vio la tions of the pro ce du re of pa y ment for work: in 2001– 2,099; in 2002 – 1,799. Com plaints and pe ti tions con-cer ning the non-pa y ment for work for 2 months or mo re: in 2001– 283, in 2002– 173. In di ca tors of vio la tions of pro-ce du re of pa y ment for work in 2000-2002 are pre sen ted in Chart 1.4.-3.

Sha re of en ter pri ses vio la ting the pro ce du re of pa y ment for work wit hin the to tal num ber of en ter pri ses ins pec ted in res pect pa y ment for work: in 2001– 23.48 per cent; in 2002– 20 per cent

Num ber of em plo y e es who ha ve not be en paid for 2 months or mo re: in 2001 – 32.600, in 2002 – 15.900.

The com pa ri son of the num ber of en ter pri ses es tab lis hed as vio la ting the pro ce du re of pa y ment for work, and the num ber of em plo y e es wor king the rein who ha ve not be en paid for 2 months or mo re in 2000 – 2002, is pre sen ted in Chart 1.4.-4.

Il le gal work

Ins ti tu tions we re furt her im ple men ting Re so lu tion No. 1407 of No vem ber 26, 2001 of the Go vern ment of the Re pub-lic of Lit hu a nia “On the Im ple men ta tion of Con trol over Il-

le gal Work”, and en han cing the at ten tion to the com plian ce with the pro ce du re for re gist ra tion of writ ten em plo y ment con tracts. For that pur po se the Cen tral Co or di na tion group for the in ves ti ga tion of re a sons for il le gal work and the con-trol of il le gal work was es tab lis hed. The group al so ap pro-ved its wor king re gu la tions. The first me e ting of the group ap pro ved the plans for the in ves ti ga tion of the re a sons for il le gal work, me a su res for the pre ven tion of il le gal work and the main gui de li nes for its ac ti vi ty for 202. Groups for con trol of il le gal work we re es tab lis hed in all coun ties. The met ho do lo gy for the con trol of oc cur ren ces of il le gal work, as well as the pro ce du re for ex chan ge of in for ma tion with the La bour Ex chan ge we re de ve lo ped, re sults of the con trol of the il le gal work are re gu lar ly ana ly sed and the re sults of such ana ly sis are ex pe dient ly sub mit ted to all ins ti tu tions in char ge of con trol of il le gal work. Three me e tings we re held for the pur po se of co or di na tion of ins ti tu tions con-cer ned which dis cus sed a ran ge of is su es re la ted to il le gal work, as well as is su es re la ted to co o pe ra tion bet we en all ins ti tu tions con cer ned.

In 2002, the Sta te La bour Ins pec to ra te con duc ted ins-pec tions in 11,601 en ti ties. Vio la tions of Law on the Em-plo y ment Con tract we re es tab lis hed in 40.2 per cent of all ins pec ted en ter pri ses, 1.266 per sons we re found to be wor king wit hout any writ ten em plo y ment con tract. The da ta on the chan ges in the num bers of in cor rec tly re gis te-red em plo y ment con tracts, and the num ber of em plo y e es wor king wit hout em plo y ment con tracts du ring 1998 – 2002,

Comparison of the number of enterprises established as violating the procedure of payment for work, and the number of employees working there in who have

not been paid for 2 months or more in 2000 - 2002


Share of enterprises established as violating the procedure of payment for work within the total enterprises inspected as to compliance to the

procedures of payment for work

Number of employees who have not been paid for 2 months or more (thousands)


are pre sen ted in Chart 1.4.-5.Con si de ring pre ven tion of il le gal work as one of the pri-

ori ty of its ac ti vi ties the Sta te La bour Ins pec to ra te car ried out joint ins pec tion in co o pe ra tion with SoDra, the Fi nan-cial Cri mes In ves ti ga tion Ser vi ce, The Po li ce De part ment. Du ring 2002, the Ins pec tion car ried out the fol lo wing joint ins pec tions:

- in co o pe ra tion with SoDra – ins pec tions in 545 en ter pri-ses es tab lis hed 165 il le gal ly wor king per sons;

- in co o pe ra tion with Fi nan cial Cri mes In ves ti ga tion Ser-vi ces – ins pec tions in 71 en ter pri ses es tab lis hed 44 il le gal ly wor king per sons;

- in co o pe ra tion with the Tax Ins pec to ra te – ins pec tions in 141 en ter pri ses es tab lis hed 86 il le gal ly wor king per sons;

- in co o pe ra tion of Eco no mic po li ce – ins pec tions in 165 en ter pri ses es tab lis hed 35 il le gal ly wor king per sons;

- in co o pe ra tion with the pub lic po li ce – ins pec tions on 107 en ter pri ses es tab lis hed 41 il le gal ly wor king per sons;

- on tri par ti te ba sis – ins pec tions in 421 en ter pri ses es tab-lis hed 266 il le gal ly wor king per sons.

Ins pec tors of the Sta te La bour Ins pec to ra te drew up 593 re ports con cer ning the vio la tions of la bour re gu la tions, which we re re fer red to courts in ac cor dan ce with Ar tic le 41³ of the Co de of Ad mi nist ra ti ve Vio la tions. It should be no ted that af ter is su es re la ted to the in ves ti ga tions of ca ses

Changes in the number of inspections of illegal activity and the number of es tab -lished illegal workers in 1998 - 2002


Inspections of illegal activity

Established illegally working

atvejai

of il le gal work, as ses sment of evi den ce and im po si tion of pe nal ties we re in 2002 dis cus sed in the Su pre me Court of the Re pub lic of Lit hu a nia, in di ca tors re flec ting the ef fi cien-cy of in ves ti ga tion of such ca ses im pro ved con si de rab ly, e.g., du ring 2001 the pe nal ty of LTL 10,000 for each il le gal ly wor king per son was im po sed in ave ra ge upon 5.1 per cent of vio la tors, whi le in 2002 the cor res pon ding num ber inc re-a sed to 7.1 per cent. The num ber of pe nal ties the amount whe re of is smal ler than that pro vi ded for by re gu la tions al so inc re a sed: in 2001 the ave ra ge amount of pe nal ties was about LTL 450, whi le in 2002 the ave ra ge pe nal ty was LTL 780. Du ring 2002, fe wer ca ses we re ter mi na ted: in 2001 in ave ra ge 48 per cent of ca ses of the kind we re ter mi na ted, whi le in 2002 – the cor res pon ding num ber was 40.7 per cent.

In ves ti ga tion of ca ses re la ted to la bour law in courts in 2002 is shown in Chart 1.4.-6.

Whi le con duc ting ins pec tion in res pect of il le gal work, the lar gest num ber of ins pec tions was car ried out in Vil-nius Coun ty (935 ins pec tions), Ðiau liai Coun ty - (804 ins-pec tions), whi le the lar gest num ber of il le gal ly wor king we re es tab lis hed in Vil nius Coun ty – 317 per sons, Kau nas Coun ty0 - 211, and Ðiau liai Coun ty - 140 il le gal ly wor king in di vi du als.

The num ber of es tab lis hed il le gal ly wor king in di vi du als


The process of investigation by courts of cases against employers(Art. 413 of the CAV)


Not completed cases 29,9%

Terminated cases 40,6%

Penalty as provided for by sanctions imposed

8,1%

Penalty smaller that pro-vided for by sanc tions

imposed51,3%

Investigated 70,1%

by Coun ties is il lust ra ted in Chart 1.4.-7.The ana ly sis of the re sults of ins pec tions and the ra tes

of es tab lis hed vio la tions by sec tors of eco no my in 2002, it is ob vio us that the lar gest num ber of il le gal wor kers was re por ted in res pect of ma nu fac tu ring in dust ry – 29.15 per cent, of which 8.29 per cent of il le gal wor kers in each of se wing, ma nu fac tu re of wo od and wo od pro ducts, al so in const ruc tion – 28.75 per cent, and re tail and who le sa le tra-ding – 8.85 per cent. The da ta on the es tab lis hed il le gal ly wor king per sons in 2002 by sec tors of eco no my are shown

Established illegally working persons in counties 2000 - 2002(numbers and %)


in Chart 1.4.-8.Chart 1.4.-9 pre sents in for ma tion on the es tab lis hed ca ses

of il le gal work by sec tors of eco no my. As was the ca se pre-vio us ly, most il le gal wor kers are es tab lis hed in en ter pri ses – 74.2 per cent of all il le gal ly wor king in di vi du als, and in 16 per cent of ca ses the il le gal work was being per for med for na tu ral per sons.

Vio la tions of or ga ni sa tion of work and restDu ring 2002, ins pec tions on the com plian ce of the pro ce-

du re for the or ga ni sa tion of work and rest we re car ried out

Vilnius Panevezys Kaunas Siauliai Alytus Klaipeda Telsiai Marijampole Utena Taurage



Number of established illegal workers by types of economic activity in 2002 Data of 2002 12 31

Con struc -tion

Manufacture of wood

and wood products

Man u fac -tur ing

Whole sale and retail

trade

Manufac-ture of food

products and bever-

ages

Foresty Car repair Other social and personal services

Agriculture

per cent


Percent of illegaly working persons discovered in 2002 year accordingthe sub jects of economy (2002.12.31)

per cent

Enterprises For natural persons For farmers In patented activ-ity

Without incor-poration

Inspections carried out in per cent

Established illegally working individuals in per cent

in 10,717 en ter pri ses. Vio la tions of le gal acts go ver ning the or ga ni sa tion of work and rest (inc lu ding ho li da ys) we re es tab lis hed in 3,654 en ter pri ses, or 34.1 per cent of all en-ter pri ses thus ins pec ted. As com pa red to 2001, the num ber

of en ter pri ses re cor ded as vio la ting the re qui re ments in qu-es tion re mai ned ne ar ly un chan ged. Ho we ver, the re we re mo re en ter pri ses es tab lis hed as vio la ting the pro ce du res for the re cor ding of wor king ti me. In 2002, vio la tions of the pro-


ce du re for the re cor ding of wor king ti me we re es tab lis hed in 2,621 en ter pri ses (24.5 per cent of al thus ins pec ted), i.e., by 4 per cent mo re than in 2001. Num bers of es tab lis hed ca ses of vio la tion of the pro ce du re for the or ga ni sa tion of work and rest ha ve inc re a sed: in 2001, 4,547 vio la tions we re

Complaints and petitions examined and proved true in 1997 - 2002


Number of examined complaints and petitions

Share of complaints and petitions proved true


Inspected enter-prises

Enterprises violat-ing the procedure

for the organization of work and rest

Enterprises violat-ing the procedure for the recording of working time

Established violations of the

procedure for the organization of work and rest

Share of the viola-tions of the proce-

dure for the record-ing of working time within the violations of organization of

work and rest

Indicators of violations of the procedure for the organization of work and rest 2000 - 2002

es tab lis hed, whi le in 2002 this num ber inc re a sed to 5,944 (inc re a sed by 30.1 per cent).

In di ca tors of vio la tions of work and rest du ring 2000-2002 are shown in Chart 1.4.-10.

Ot her vio la tions ac count for just a small per cen ta ge of all


vio la tions – in two en ter pri ses the ins pec tors es tab lis hed fai lu res to en su re the sup ple men ta ry gu a ran te es for the la bour of young pe op le, and in eight en ter pri ses the sa me vio la tion was com mit ted in res pect of wo men.

In ves ti ga tion of com plaints and pe ti tionsIn 2002, 3,822 com plaints and pe ti tions we re re cei ved

and in ves ti ga ted, the num ber ex ce e ding the num ber for 2001 by 2.6 per cent. Facts spe ci fied in 2,286 com plaints and pe ti tion we re pro ven true (59.8 per cent of all re cei ved com plaints and pe ti tions). Alt hough mo re com plaints and pe ti tions we re re cei ved du ring the 2002, fe wer com plaints and pe ti tions as ser ted facts that la ter on pro ved true (less by 6.4 per cent). The num ber of com plaints and pe ti tions in ves ti ga ted and pro ved as con tai ning trut hful facts in 1997-2002 is pre sen ted in Chart 1.4.-11.

No te wort hy, the num ber of is su es re fer red to in com-plaints and pe ti tions is inc re a sing, ne vert he less, li ke in pre vio us years, is su es re la ted to la bour law re main pre-vai ling. The se par ti cu lar is su es we re rai sed in 4,596 (out of 5,113 is su es rai sed in pe ti tions) ac coun ting for 89.9 per cent of all is su es rai sed in com plaints and pe ti tions. About 57 per cent of all is su es rai sed in com plaints and pe ti tions pro ved out, i.e., per sons we re jus ti fiab ly clai ming vio la tion of their rights and le gi ti ma te in te rests. The is sue of pa y ment for work is a do mi na ting pro blem rai se in the pe ti tions, - in 1,799 ca ses (35.2 per cent of all is su es rai sed in com plaints and pe ti tions). In 72.8 per cent of ca ses the facts as ser ted by com plai nants we re con fir med. Is su es con cer ning the em-plo y ment con tracts ac count for 24.9 per cent of all is su es, ho we ver on ly 43 per cent of the facts we re con fir med, in 679 ca ses (13.3 per cent) the com plaints we re fi led con cer ning the or ga ni sa tion of work and rest (inc lu ding ho li da ys), ot-her is su es of la bour law we re re fer red to in 729 com plaints

and pe ti tions, they ac coun ted for 14.3 per cent of all is su es rai sed. The re we re 263 com plaints con cer ning the is su es of sa fe ty and he alth at work (5.1 per cent), 42 com plaints con cer ned is su es of oc cu pa tio nal di se a ses (0.8 per cent), in ves ti ga tion of ac ci dents at work - 98 ca ses (1.9 per cent), ot her is su es rai sed – 114 ca ses (2.2 per cent).

Is su es rai sed in com plaints and pe ti tions in 2001 and 2002 are pre sen ted in Chart 1.4.-12 and 1.4.-13.

In for ma tion on re port of vio la tions of ad mi nist ra ti ve law, and de ci sions to im po se pe nal ties is pre sen ted in Chart 1.4.-14.

In the ma jo ri ty of ca ses re ports do cu men ted by la bour ins pec tors con cer ned vio la tions spe ci fied in Art. 413 of the Co de of Ad mi nist ra ti ve Vio la tions, i.e., il le gal work. The-se cons ti tu ted 592 re ports, ac coun ting for 36 per cent of all re ports, 484 re ports (29.5 per cent) we re do cu men ted ac cor ding to Art. 411 of the CAV for vio la tions of le gal acts go ver ning the sa fe ty and he alth of wor kers, 147 or 8.9 per cent re por ted vio la tions in ac cor dan ce with Art. 412 of the CAV, - fai lu re to act upon the le gi ti ma te re qui re ments of la bour ins pec tors, 139 or 8.5 per cent re por ted vio la tions of the pro ce du re of pa y ment for work, and 136 or 8.3 per cent of all re ports of vio la tions con cer ned the vio la tions of the pro ce du re of the re cor ding of wor king ti me. The la bour ins pec tors do cu men ted 1,641 re ports on vio la tions of la bour law and in 876 ca ses im po sed ad mi nist ra ti ve pe nal ties in the amount of LTL 510,530. Ot her re ports we re re fer red for in ves ti ga tion to courts ac cor ding to the re le vant are as of com pe ten ce.

1.5. SA FE TY AND HE ALTH AT WORK

Sa fe ty and he alth at wor k – is an im por tant field of the

Issues raised in complaints and petitions in 2001

Non-payment for work for 2 months and more

283 (5,6%)


Safety and health of workers 249 (4,9%)

Other issues of labour law1035 (20,9%)

Time of work and rest and holidays

438 (8,6%)

Other issues of payment for work1816 (35,7%)

Employment Contract954 (18,9%)

Investigation of ac-cidents

114 (2,2%)

Miscellaneous177 (3,5%)

Investigation of oc cu pa -tion al diseases

18 (0,3,)1%


Issues raised in complaints and petitions in 2002


Investigation of oc cu pa -tion al diseases

42 (0,82%)

Non-payment for work for 2 months and more

173 (3,38%)

Safety and health of workers 263 (5,14%)

Other issues of labour law 844 (16,51%)

Time of work and rest and holidays

679 (13,28%)

Other issues of payment for work (31,8%)

Employment Contract1274 (24,92%)

Miscellaneous114 (2,23%)

Investigation of ac-cidents

98 (1,92%)

la bour po li cy the pur po se whe re of is to en su re sa fe and he alt hy con di tions for wor kers at work. This inc lu des all pre ven ti ve me a su res de sig ned to main tain the wor king ca pa ci ty, he alth and li ves of wor kers at work which are im ple men ted or plan ned at all sta ges of the ope ra tion of an en ter pri se so that the wor kers are pro tec ted from oc cu pa tio-nal risk or that the risk is re du ced to a ma xi mum pos sib le le vel.1 This Chap ter of the Re port desc ri bes the sta tus of

sa fe ty and he alth at work in the coun try in 2002, and amend-ments in tro du ced in the le gal ba sis du ring 2002-2003.

1.5.1. SA FE TY AND HE ALTH AT WORK IN EN TER PRI-SES IN 2002

Wor king con di tions in en ter pri ses The en ti ty in char ge of en for ce ment of le gal acts re gu-

Structure of documented records of violation of administrative law


Obstruction to the labour inspectors to perform their duties (Art. 411 of the

CAV) 147 (9%)

Violation of the procedure of investigation of notification on an accident at work (Art. 411 of the

CAV) 15 (1%)

Violations of the procedure of pay-ment for work (Art. 414 of the CAV)

148 (9%)

Disguising of accidents at work (Art. 411 of the CAV)

1 (0%)

Illegal work (art. 413 of the CAV594 (36%)

Violations of the procedure for recording the working time

(Art. 414 of the CAV) 137 (8%)

Violations of the labour legislation, standards of safetyat work and hgiene (Art. 41 of the CAV) 600 (37%)

1 The Law on the Sa fe ty and He alth of Wor kers No. IX-1672 (Of fi cial Ga zet te, No. 70-3170)


la ting the sa fe ty and he alth at work, and pre ven tion of ir re gu la ri ties in the im ple men ta tion of such le gal acts is the Sta te La bour Ins pec to ra te (SLI).

Du ring 2002, la bour ins pec tors con duc ted ins pec tions in 11,300 en ter pri ses (ac cor ding to the da ta of the De part-ment of Sta tis tics, in 2002 in Lit hu a nia the re we re 62,700 ope ra ting en ter pri ses) main ly fo cu sing of is su es of sa fe ty and he alth of wor kers.

The ins pec tions re ve a led over 50,000 in frin ge ments of le gal acts re gu la ting sa fe ty and he alth at work, inc lu ding:

· vio la tions of la bour or ga ni sa tion1 - 79.7 per cent· vio la tions of tech ni cal re qui re ments2 - 20.3 per cent.As the da ta pre sen ted in Tab le 1.5.1.-1 show, the num ber

of hired wor kers in ins pec ted en ter pri ses and their branch en ter pri ses who wor ked in ve ry harm ful wor king con di tions3 , and harm ful wor king con di tions4 in 2002, as com pa red to 2001, sligh tly dec re a sed and ac coun ted, res pec ti ve ly for 5.2 and 0.1 per cent of all wor kers. It has be en es tab lis hed that 70 hi red wor kers we re wor king when harm ful fac tors ex ce e ded the va lu es of ve ry harm ful fac tors. As com pa red to the year 2000, in 2002 wor king con di tions in en ter pri ses ins pec ted ha ve im pro ved.

In res pon se to the es tab lis hed vio la tions the ins pec tors of the SLI do cu men ted the re qui re ments to eli mi na te the ir re gu la ri ties, and stop ped the work or pro hi bi ted the use of wor king equip ment in 224 en ter pri ses.

Ac ci dents re la ted to work Re cor ded in Lit hu a nia du ring 2002:· 74 fa tal ac ci dents,

Sha re of Wor kers who Wor ked in Harm ful and Ve ry Harm ful En vi ron ment in 2000-2002 wit hin the Num ber of Wor kers of

all Ins pec ted En ter pri ses (in per cent)

Year Workers in harmful Workers in very harmful environment environment 2000 7,4 0,6 2001 4,4 0,03 2002 5,2 0,1

Da ta pro vi ded in the Sta te La bour Ins pec to ra te Re port for 2002 Table 1.5.1.-1

· 145 se rio us ac ci dents, · 2311 mi nor ac ci dents at work, the in ves ti ga tion whe re of de e med them re la ted to work.

This is 12.9 se rio us ac ci dents and 6.6 fa tal ac ci dents at work per 100,000 wor kers.

Most fa tal (30 per cent) and se rio us (32 per cent) ac ci dents at work we re cau sed by inap prop ria te or ga ni sa tion of la-bour, whi le mi nor ac ci dents (49 per cent) oc cur red most ly as a re sult of ac tions of the per sons in vol ved.

The com pa ra ti ve ana ly sis of all ac ci dents at work that oc cur red du ring 2000-2002 (see Tab le 1.5.1.-2) re ve a led that in 2002, as com pa red to 2001, the num ber of se rio us and fa tal ac ci dents at work dec re a sed, whi le com pa red to 2000, the se fi gu res inc re a sed, res pec ti ve ly, by 3 and 9 per cent. The num ber of mi nor ac ci dents at work inc re a sed as com pa red to the num ber du ring 2001, and the com pa ri son with the num ber du ring 2000 sho wed a dec re a sing trend. The com pa ri son of the num bers of ac ci dents at work du-ring 1998-2002 shows that the to tal num ber of ac ci dents at work and mi nor ac ci dents at work dec re a ses, whi le the num ber of se rio us and fa tal ac ci dents is va ry ing and ave ra-ge, res pec ti ve ly at 156 and 76. Comparing general number of accidents at work in 1998-2002, we can see that is strongly decreasing (see Chart 1.5.1-1).

The Number of Accidents at Work Related to Work Registered by the SLI during 1998-2002

Year Minor Serious Fatal accidents accidents accidents 1998 2989 164 96 1999 2681 154 68 2000 2577 141 62 2001 2274 164 79 2002 2311 145 74

Da ta pro vi ded in the Sta te La bour Ins pec to ra te Re port for 2002 Table 1.5.1.-2

1 Work or ga ni sa tion re qui re ments 2 Tech ni cal re qui re ments 3 When one or more harmful factors of the working en vi ron ment or total quan ti ties of factors having a similar effect during the day time constantly exceed al low able values established by safe ty and health legislation. (The Law on the Safety and Health of Workers No. VIII-2063 (Official Gazette, 2000, No. 95-2968).4 When one or more harmful factors of the working en vi ron ment or total quan ti ties of factors having a similar effect during the day time at different time period exceed allowable values es tab lished by safety and health leg is la tion. (The Law on the Safe ty and Health of Workers No. VIII-2063 (Official Gazette, No. 95-2968).

Oc cu pa tio nal Di se a ses In 2002, the Sta te Re gis ter of Oc cu pa tio nal Di se a ses re cor-

ded 801 ca ses of oc cu pa tio nal di se a ses and 469 in di vi du als sick with such di se a ses. The sha re of oc cu pa tio nal di se a ses


re gis te red in res pect of ma les was the lar gest sin ce 1997, and ac coun ted for 88.7 per cent.

The com pa ri son of ca ses of oc cu pa tio nal di se a ses du ring 1997-2002 (see Chart. 1.5.1.-2) de monst ra tes that in 1997-2001 the num ber of ca ses of oc cu pa tio nal di se a ses dec re a sed from 701 to 570, whi le in 2002 it re a ched 801. The re cords sho wed that in 2002 the re we re by 231 (41 per cent) ca ses of oc cu pa tio nal di se a ses and 95 per sons (25 per cent) sick with such di se a ses mo re than in 20011 . The inc re a sed num-ber of ca ses of oc cu pa tio nal di se a ses was re por ted due to the lar ger num ber of vic tims of such di se a ses to whom the di se a se was diag no sed. In ad di tion, as com pa red to 2001, the num ber of per sons with a wor king re cord 30-39 years to whom the oc cu pa tio nal di se a se was diag no sed al most doub led.

As was the ca se in 1998-2002, in 2002 the fol lo wing di se-a ses we re pre vai ling:

· ca ses of vib ra tion di se a se (37.3 per cent);· ca ses of ear di se a se (44.7 per cent).Ho we ver, in 2002, dif fe rent ly from pre vio us years, the

num ber of ca ses of ear di se a ses ex ce e ded the num ber of ca ses re la ted to the ef fect of vib ra tion (see Chart 1.5.1.-3). The num ber of ca ses of ear di se a ses in per cent of the to tal

num ber of ca ses in 1998-2002 was gro wing. Ca ses of di se a-ses re la ted to the ef fects of vib ra tion in per cent of the to tal num ber of ca ses du ring 1998-2000 was inc re a sing, and has be en sho wing a dec li ning trend sin ce 2001.

1.5.2. LE GIS LA TI VE AMEND MENTS IN 2002-2003

The La bour Co deThe most im por tant le gal act in the field of sa fe ty and

he alth at work adop ted in 2002 is the La bour Co de2 . The La-bour Co de ca me in to ef fect on Ja nu a ry 1, 2003, and ne ces si-ta ted brin ging in to li ne with it of ot her le gal acts. The re fo re du ring the se cond half of 2002 – and the first half of 2003 so me new le gal acts we re draf ted or the exis ting ones we re brought in to li ne with the pro vi sions of the La bour Co de.3 The most im por tant le gal act thus adop ted was the Law on the Sa fe ty and He alth of Wor kers4 which ca me in to ef fect on Ju ly 16, 2003.

Le gal Acts Re gu la ting Pro duct Sa fe ty In 2002, the tech ni cal re gu la tion “Cab le way ins tal la tions

de sig ned to car ry pas sen gers” was ap pro ved5 (co mes in to

Data provided in the State Labour Inspectorate Report for 2002 Chart 1.5.1.-1

General Number of Accidents related to Work in 1998 - 2002

num

bers

1 See Chapter 4.4.1. of the Social Report 2001.2 See: So cial Re port 2002, Part I. 3 See: So cial Re port 2002, Part I. 4 Ju ly 1, 2003, No. IX-1672 (Of fi cial Ga zet te, No. 70-3170)5 Or der No. 137/559 of Oc to ber 25, 2002 of the Mi nist ry of So cial se cu ri ty and La bour and the Mi nist ry of En vi ron ment (Of fi cial Ga zet te, 2002, No. 108-4801)


ef fect on Oc to ber 10, 2003) set ting forth the sa fe ty re qui-re ments in res pect of cab le way ins tal la tions – sys tems de sig ned to car ry pas sen gers in ve hic les or by to wing de vi ces su spen ded or to wed by one or se ve ral cab les. The re gu la tion was draf ted se e king to im ple ment the re le vant pro vi sions of the Di rec ti ve 2000/9/EC of the Eu ro pe an Par lia ment and of the Coun cil of 20 March 2000 “On the

Cases of occupational diseases 1997 - 2002 years


Total number of registered cases of occupational diseases

Number of cases of occupational disesases diagnosed in respect of males

Number of cases of occupational diseases diagnosed inrespect of females

Num

ber

of c

ases

of o

c cu p

a -tio

n al d

isea

ses

har mo ni sa tion of laws of Mem ber Sta tes re la ted to the cab le way ins tal la tions de sig ned to car ry pas sen gers”. The pur po se of the re gu la tion is to en su re the free mo ve ment in the mar ket of cab le way ins tal la tions, their sub sys tems, units and ele ments, inc lu ding sa fe ty com po nents, al so en su re pro tec tion of ani mals and pro per ty and es tab lish the sa fe ty and pur po se re qui re ments for cab le way ins tal la tions.

Number of cases related to vibration and number of ear diseases, in per cent.


ear diseases vibration disease


Conc lu sions Du ring the year 2002, ins pec tors of the Sta te La bour

Ins pec to ra te ins pec ted a lar ge num ber of en ter pri ses and es tab lis hed over 50,000 vio la tions of the le gal acts re gu la-ting sa fe ty and he alth at work. Com pa red to 2001, in the ins pec ted en ter pri ses and their bran ches the re we re fe wer wor kers wor king in harm ful and ve ry harm ful con di tions, and com pa red to the year 2000, in ge ne ral the wor king con-di tions sho wed so me im pro ve ment.

The num ber of ca ses of oc cu pa tio nal di se a ses du ring 2002 as com pa red to that in 2001 inc re a sed from 507 to 801 ca ses. Li ke in pre vio us years, the lar gest num ber of es tab lis hed

ca ses we re ear di se a ses and di se a ses re la ted to the ef fect of vib ra tion. The com pa ri son of the num ber of ear di se a ses as a per cent of the to tal num ber of ca ses du ring 1998-2002 sho wed that the sha re of ear di se a ses tend to inc re a se. In 2002 the num ber of cases of ear di se a ses re a ched its pe ak and ac coun ted for 45 per cent of all ca ses of oc cu pa tio nal di se a ses.

Du ring the se cond half of 2002 and the first half of 2003 so-me le gal acts im ple men ting the La bour Co de we re adop ted and amen ded. The most im por tant le gal act adop ted in this area was the Law on the Sa fe ty and He alth of Wor kers.

33S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

S T A T E S O C I A L I N S U R A N C E A N D P E N S I O N S

2.1. THE IMPROVING BUDGET OF THE STATE SO-CIAL INSURANCE FUND AND THE OBJECTIVE TOELIMINATE THE DEFICIT ACCRUED BY THE BUD-GET OF THE STATE SOCIAL INSURANCE FUND

The budget of the State Social Insurance Fund, rates ofcontributions of the State social insurance and theiramounts for different types of insurance are approved ev-ery year by the Law on the Approval of Indicators of theBudget of the State Social Insurance Fund. In 2002, the Statesocial insurance contribution rate of the insurer (employ-ers) and the insured (workers) remained unchanged ascompared to 2001 and were set at accordingly, 31 per centand 3 per cent.

The general 31 per cent State social insurance contribu-tion rate of the insurers and its allocation for different typesof insurance was set as follows: pension insurance – 22.5per cent; sickness and maternity social insurance – 3 percent; unemployment insurance – 1.5 per cent; accidents atwork and occupational diseases insurance - 1 per cent;health insurance – 3 per cent. The 3 per cent State socialinsurance contributions rate of the insured and its amountfor different types of insurance was set as follows: for pen-sion insurance – 2.5 per cent; for sickness and maternityinsurance - 0.5 per cent.

Results of the execution of the approved budget for 2002of the State Social Insurance Fund (approved revenue –LTL 4,584,312,000, approved expenditures – LTL –4,618,612,000) were as follows:

- the revenues actually generated were by 0.3 per cent orLTL 14,282,400 less than [planned, however, comparedwith 20001, the revenues increased by 3 per cent.

- the expenditures were by LTL 157,542,600 less thanplanned. The plan was executed by 96.6 per cent. In 2002,expenditures of the State Social Insurance Fund in 2002 in-creased by 0.2 per cent if compared to those in the year 2001.

Structure of revenuesSocial insurance contributions by the insurers and the

insured constituted the largest part of the SSIF budget rev-enue – 96.9 per cent (LTL 4,429,628,800) representing anincrease by 3.7 per cent if compared to the year 2001. Theactual amount of contributions made was by 0.7 per centless than planned.

The factors which determined the extent of fulfilment ofthe plan on the contributions of the insured and the insur-

ers were the following:- the number of individuals insured by social insurance

was by 11,200 less than planned, as a result the amount ofactual contributions was by LTL 41,700 m less thanplanned;

- the average wage of individuals insured by social in-surance was by LTL 1.8 larger than planned, as a result,the amount of actual contributions was by LTL 9.3 m largerthan planned;

- the wages fund of officials insured exclusively by so-cial insurance was by LTL 26.2 m higher than planned,therefore the actual revenues of the Social Insurance Fundwere by LTL 5.5 m larger than planned;

- the number of non-working mothers raising childrenfrom 1 to 3 years was by 5.500 smaller than prognosticatedtherefore the amount of contributions in relation to thesocial insurance basic pension was by LTL 3.3 less.

Contributions by self-employed people and other per-sons in comparable position totalled LTL 59, 370,500, orwere by 14.9 per cent more than planned, and by 19.8 percent less than in 2001 (on May 18, 2001, the Government ofthe Republic of Lithuania approved the procedure of so-cial insurance for patent holders, according to which allthe patent holders had to pay compulsory contributionsfor the preceding periods).

Contributions of the voluntary State social insurance in2002 generated LTL 652,900, lee than planned by 21.1 percent. As compared to the year 2001, revenues from contri-butions of this type decreased by 13.3 per cent.

Revenues from late payments and penalties generatedLTL 30,890,500, i.e., LTL 4,097,500 or 11.7 per cent less thanplanned. As compared to 2001, revenue from these sourceswas by 30.7 per cent less, essentially due to the fact thatlate payment is now being computed for a period not ex-ceeding 180 days.

Structure of expendituresPension insurance expenditure amounted to LTL

3,325,308.100, or 74.5 per cent of the total expenditure ofthe SSIF. The amount of the pension insurance expendi-ture was by 2.4 per cent larger than in 2001, and by 0.1 percent smaller than planned. When all restrictions concern-ing the pensions of the working pensioners were lifted inaccordance with the ruling of November 25, 2002 of theConstitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania the bud-get of the Fund additionally generated LTL 5 m.

2. State Social Insurance and Pensions

34 S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

In 2002, the average monthly number of the pension pay-ments made from the SSIF was 1,067,500, i.e., only by 91less than in 2001. The number of the recipients of old-agepensions in 2002 decreased, as compared to 2001, by 1.8per cent, or 11,500 persons, however, the number of recipi-ents of disability pensions increased by 3.8 per cent, or by6,900 persons. The number of persons entitled to thesurvivor’s or orphan’s pensions increased by 3.4 per cent,or by 7,200 persons.

In 2002, the average annual social insurance pension of allcategories was LTL 254.72. i.e., by 0.6 per cent higher thanplanned. The average monthly old-age pension of non-work-ing persons was LTL 323.05, and accounted for 48.4 per centof average wage of the working person insured by full so-cial insurance. In December 2002, the average old-age pen-sion of a non-working pensioner as compared to Decemberof 2001 increased by 3.2 per cent, or LTL 10.01, however,given the deflation rate, the actual old-age pension of non-working person increased by 4.2 per cent. Such an increasein the amount of pensions primarily resulted from the in-crease in the basic pension from LTL 138 to LTL 147.

In 2002, sickness and maternity social insurance benefitstotalled LTL 333,167,200, i.e. by 21.7 per cent less thanplanned. The expenditure of this item of the budget de-creased due to a fewer sickness days covered per one in-sured, and the decreased number of recipients of mater-nity (paternity) benefits. As seen from the data in Table2.1-1, expenditures for this type of insurance are decreas-ing, therefore, it is obvious that during the previous yearthe transfer of the function of payment of sickness and ma-ternity benefits to territorial branches of SoDra and espe-cially strict control of such payments produced tangiblypositive results.

Benefits related to the sickness and maternity social in-

surance amounted to LTL 16,039,100, representing 49 percent of all expenses planned for this kind of benefits. Ex-penditures in relation to accidents at work and occupa-tional diseases amounted to LTL 16.039.100, - 49 per centof total expenditures planned for this kind of expendituresand by 28.7 per cent more than in 2001. The actual amountsare significantly different from those planned, since theforecasts of the expenditures were based purely on assump-tions, there being no comprehensive data base accumulat-ing the data for several years. As seen from the data pre-sented in Table 2.1.-1, starting from 2000, when this kindof insurance was first introduced, the respective expendi-tures have been steadily growing, among other reasons dueto the annual obligatory compensations payable until theperson is recognised as having lost over 30 per cent of hisworking capacity.

Other expenditures of the budget of the State Social In-surance Fund:

- amounts of bad or doubtful receivables in the amountof LTL 92,328,800 (80.3 per cent of the planned amount)have been transferred to the expenditure side. This accountsfor 2.1 per cent of the total expenditures of the budget ofthe State Social Insurance Fund;

- operating expenses of the State Social Insurance Fundamounted to LTL 137,859,7000. i.e., 91.6 per cent of plannedamount (or by LTL 12.6 m less), which accounted for 3.1per cent of the total expenditures of the State Social Insur-ance Fund budget.

The net result of the budget of the Social Insurance Fundfor the year 2002 was that revenues exceeded the expendi-tures by LTL 108,960,200, however, the comparison of therevenues of the State Social Insurance Fund budget includ-ing the proceeds from their investment activity and theimpact of fluctuations in the exchange rate with the actu-

Expenditures of the budget of the State Social Insurance Fund by types of social insurance in 2000-2003

Pensions social 3 284 404,1 3 245 860,8 3 325 309,1 102,4 99,9 74,5insuranceSickness and maternity 438 407,5 343 479,5 333 167,2 96,9 78,3 7,5social insuranceUnemployment 175 472,0 177 224,2 185 200,9 104,5 98,7 4,2insuranceSocial insurance of 9 472,7 12466,1 16 039,1 128,7 49 0,4accidents at work and occupational diseasesHealth insurance 353 841,7 355 574,6 371 164,6 104,4 98,3 8,3Data of the Board of the State Social Insurance Fund Table 2.1.-1

Types of expenditures Outcome of2000

(LTL 000)

Outcome of2001

(LTL 000)

Outcome of2002

(LTL 000)

2002,compared to

2001, percent

Per cent of allexpenditures of

the socialinsurance fund

in 2002

Per cent ofplanned in

2002

35S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

ally incurred monetary expenditures (excluding the badand doubtful receivables, reduction of depreciation of long-term assets and long-term investment), including expensesfor investment activity shows that the balance of the bud-get of the State Social Insurance Fund for the year 2002 ispositive and totals LTL 117.2 m.

It is important to notice that the indebtedness of the bud-get of the State Social Insurance Fund is steadily decreas-ing, and late in 2002 accounted for LTL 301 m (in late 2001- LTL 444 m.).

The deficit-free budget of the State Social Insurance bud-get1 was approved at the end of 2002, - LTL 4,759,260 inrevenues and LTL 4,758,435 in expenditures (revenues ex-ceed the expenditures by LTL 825,000).

The State social insurance contribution rate of the insurerand the insured and the amount of such rate in respect ofindividual types of insurance were approved. Althoughthe general rate remained unchanged, the rate in respectof individual types of insurance have been revised and setas follows:

- rates of contributions by the insurer for individual typesof insurance: 1) pension insurance - 23.4 per cent; 2) sick-ness and maternity insurance – 2.8 per cent; 3) unemploy-ment insurance – 1.5 per cent; 4) accidents at work andoccupational diseases – 0.3 per cent; 5) health insurance –3 per cent..

- rates of contributions by the insured for individualtypes of insurance remained unchanged from those inthe year 2002.

The State Social Insurance budget was approved as adeficit-free, which provides favourable preconditions forthe Fund to discharge its obligations and reduce the in-debtedness of the budget of the State Social Insurance Fund.Having reduced the indebtedness of the Stat Social Insur-ance Fund and provided the obligations assumed are prop-erly discharged new possibilities will emerge to furtherthe implementation of the pension reform, and the trans-fer to the State Tax Inspectorate of the function of adminis-tration of the Social insurance contributions.

2.2. PECULIARITIES OF SOCIAL INSURANCE OFSELF-EMPLOYED PERSONS

Amendments to the Law on State Social Insuranceadopted in late 2001 and effective as of January 1, 2002stipulated that self-employed owners of soleproprietorships, advocates, assistant advocates, notaries,members of general partnerships and general partners oflimited partnerships shall be obligatory insured no onlyfor the basic, but also for the supplementary part of thepension, as a result, changing the amount of contribution

of compulsory social insurance. Contributions in respectof the basic pension remained unchanged, i.e., accountingfor 50 per cent of the amount of the basic pension (in 2002– LTL 69 per month). The rate of contributions in respectof the supplementary part of the pension was establishedat 15 per cent of the income amount declared for the pur-pose of State social insurance in the manner provided bylaws.

The said amendments introduced a provision that con-tributions for the basic pension shall be equal in respectof all categories of self-employed persons and shall bepayable regardless of the amounts of earnings. Theamounts of contributions for the supplementary part ofthe pension are of different rates. The amount dependson the amount of the annual taxable income of the self-employed person. Self-employed persons shall pay con-tributions computed from the amount of income usedas basis for the computing of income and profit tax inaccordance with the taxation legislation. The annualamount of income declared for the purpose of socialinsurance shall be not less than the annual taxableamount and not larger than 60 amounts of average an-nual insured income approved by the Government onthe basis of the data of the year. Exempted from thepayment of contributions for supplementary part of thepension shall be only those self-employed persons theannual taxable income whereof is not larger than 3amounts of average monthly insured income approvedby the Government on the basis of the data for the year.

Obligated to pay contributions of the compulsory so-cial insurance shall also be the persons having addi-tional jobs under employment contract. The law pro-vides that exemption from the contributions (in respectof the basic and supplementary part of the pension) isawarded only to those owners of personal companies(sole proprietorships), lessees of personal companies(sole proprietorships), advocates, assistance advocates,notaries, members of general partnerships and generalpartners of limited partnerships which are pensionersof the State Social Insurance Fund, disabled of Group Iand Group II since childhood, social assistance pension-ers, and persons of personable age recipients of socialpension in accordance with the Law on Social Pensions.

However, at the beginning of 2002, in view of discon-tent amongst small businessmen and the population ingeneral concerning the excessive taxation burden uponsmall business, the Seimas revised the Law on StateSocial Insurance2 introducing amendments in the pro-cedure of the State social insurance of self-employedpersons. A different amount used as the base for com-puting contributions for the supplementary part of the

1 The Law on on the Approval of Indicators of the 2003 Budget of the State Social Insurance Fund passed on December 10, 2002 (Official Gazette, 2002, No. 123-5528)2 The Law on the Amendment and Supplement of Article 34 of the Law on State Social Insurance (Official Gazette, No. 73-3095)

36 S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

pension was introduced in respect of self-employed per-sons (sole proprietors, advocates and notaries). Providedtheir annual income is not less than 12 MMW these per-sons are obligated to pay contributions for the supplemen-tary part of the pension computed from the income de-clared to the State Social Insurance Fund which shall benot less than 12 MMW. This kind of arrangement enhancedthe social guarantees of self-employed persons.

2.3. IMPROVEMENTS IN CONDITIONS OF THE SICK-NESS AND MATERNITY SOCIAL INSURANCE

The Law on Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance thatcame into effect on January 1, 2001, set forth that in caseinsured persons recipients of the State social disability pen-sion temporarily loose their working capacity and henceloose part of their income, they shall be entitled to the sick-ness benefit from the resources of the State Social Insur-ance Fund for a period not longer than 30 calendar days ina calendar year.

However, a number of persons suffering from long-termand severe sickness and assigned a group of disability, in-dividual working recipients of the State social insurancedisability pensions and the societies of the disabled ex-pressed their discontent concerning the very short dura-tion (30 days) of entitlement to the sickness benefit whichordinarily is not sufficient even in treating sicknesses ofaverage severity. At the beginning of 2002, having regardto requests filed by persons concerned the Seimas amendedthe Law on Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance1 . Theamendment extended the duration of entitlement to sick-ness allowance up to 90 calendar days during a calendaryear; it also expanded the list of diseases creating entitle-ment to the sickness benefits for the recipients of the Statesocial insurance disability pension.

The Seimas also introduced amendments to the Law onSickness and Maternity Social Insurance at the end of 20022

and early in 20033 .The first amendment was designed to approximate the

provisions of the law concerning the maternity benefits topersons which have adopted newborns and were ap-pointed as their guardians with the provisions of the newLabour Code of the Republic of Lithuania that came intoforce on January 1, 2003.

The second amendment provided for the entitlement tothe social insurance maternity (paternity) benefit in respectof persons who were dismissed form their employment in

case of bankruptcy or liquidation of an enterprise. Havingcoordinated the provisions of the Law on Sickness andMaternity Social Insurance with the Enterprise BankruptcyLaw it was provided that maternity (paternity) benefitscould also be paid to women who were dismissed fromwork due to bankruptcy or liquidation of an enterpriseduring their pregnancy period, and other persons who aredismissed from work because of bankruptcy or liquida-tion of an enterprise and for that reason will not be grantedthe maternity leave for raising a child until the child reachesone year of age. These benefits shall be paid only to per-sons who have been socially insured in respect of sicknessand maternity for a period established by law.

2.4. CHANGES IN THE SOCIAL INSURANCE OF AC-CIDENTS AND WORK AND OCCUPATIONAL DIS-EASES

Investigation of serious and fatal accidents at workAt the beginning of 2002 the Board of the State Social

Insurance Fund and the State Labour Inspectorate agreedto cooperate in conducting investigations of serious andfatal accidents at work. Such cooperation has been pro-vided for in the Law on Social Insurance of Accidents atWork and Occupational Diseases.

Upon receipt of a notification on a serious or fatal acci-dent at work the Inspection division of the State LabourInspectorate shall notify thereof the appropriate territorialbranch of the Board of the SSIF, the head whereof shallappoint a specialist for the participation in the investiga-tion. As a result of such closer cooperation between theinstitutions concerned repeated or expanded investigationsof accidents at work have become considerably less fre-quent, with less interference with the work of the victimsand the insurers. In addition, institutions concerned havea good opportunity to exchange information and their workexperience.

Taking over of the payment of compensation for damageFrom January 1, 2002, the obligation to pay compensa-

tion of damage to recipients that are paid from the Statebudget in accordance with the Provisional Law on Dam-age Compensation in Accident at Work or OccupationalDisease Cases was passed form the care and welfare de-partments of cities and regions to the territorial branchesof the Board of the State Social insurance Fund. In casesthe damage compensation is paid from the municipality

1 The Law on the Amendment and Supplement of Articles 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 20 of the Law on Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance of the Republic of Lithuania(Official Gazette, 2002, No. 13-469)2 The Law on the Amendment and Supplement of Articles 16 and 17 of the Law on Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance of the Republic of Lithuania (OfficialGazette, 2002, No. 124-5622)3 The Law on the Supplement of Articles 16 and 19 of the Law on Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance of the Republic of Lithuania (Official Gazette,2003 No.12-441)

37S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

budgets, it shall continue to be paid by the care and wel-fare departments.

The introduction of the said amendment was consideredexpedient t since after the coming into effect of the Provi-sional Law on Damage Compensation in Accident at Workor Occupational Disease Cases on January 1, 2000, in caseof an accident at work or an occupational disease, providedthe case is recognised as insurable, the insurance premi-ums to the victims are awarded and paid by the territorialbranches of the Board of the State Social Insurance Fund.In case it is established that the event cannot be consideredan insurable event, the same branch of the Fund shall paythe damage compensation to the victim in accordance withthe Provisional Law on Damage Compensation in Acci-dent at work or Occupational Disease Cases.

2.5. CHANGES IN THE PENSION SYSTEM

Increase of the basic pension of the State social in-surance.

In 2002, having considered the financial possibilities ofthe budget of the State Social Insurance Fund the Govern-ment passed a decision to increase the basic State socialinsurance pension.

The State social insurance basic pension constituting a basisfor the computing of amounts of all other social insurancepensions, assistance pensions and nursing allowances, wasincreased from LTL 138 to LTL 147. This increase was ap-plied to 621,000 recipients of the old-age pensions, 189,000disabled people recipients of the State social insurance dis-ability pensions, and required LTL 52 m of the resources ofthe budget of the State Social Insurance Fund.

In 2002, the old-age pension was increased by LTL 9 inrespect of all recipients of this kind of pensionwho have acquired the compulsory period of State social insurance . Subject to the disability group, the disabilitypensions were increased by the following amounts: forGroup I – LTL 13.50, for Group II – LTL 9, for Group III –4.50. In respect of those recipients who do not have thecompulsory period of State social insurance the pensionswere increased in proportion to the social insurance pe-riod they have acquired.

The increase of the basic pension concerned 50,600 re-cipients of social assistance pensions and compensations(these payments are awarded and paid from the funds ofthe State budget to persons disabled since childhood, theircarers, and mothers having many children).

Besides, in view of the increase of the basic pension, ap-propriate adjustments were introduced in the Law on theApproval of Indicators of the 2002 Budget of the State So-

cial Insurance Fund1 , which stipulates that entitlement tothe basic State social insurance pension is acquired by pay-ing contributions in the amount of 50 per cent of the basicpension. The amended law established a fix amount of thecontribution in respect of this kind of insurance thus elimi-nating the need to increase the amount of the contributionpaid in the event in 2002 the basic pension is increased. Thusthe amount of contribution payable by those insured for thebasic pension were not increased, besides, the State budgetspared certain additional expenses which otherwise wouldbe incurred to insure for the basic pension certain catego-ries of the insured at the expense of the State budget.

Increase of small State social insurance pensions.Amendment to the Law on State Social Insurance Pen-

sions was passed on December 10, 2002 and came into forceon January 1, 2003. As of that date the smallest old-agesocial insurance pensions and disability pensions were in-creased.

The key criteria for taking the decision concerning theincrease of the pension was the amount of the old-age anddisability pensions received by the persons (or the total ofseveral pensions received). The pension (or the total of sev-eral pensions) could not be larger than LTL 325. Theamount was taken as a basis having considered the aver-age old-age pension for the year 2002.

The second criteria for passing the relevant decision wasthe total duration of service of the person. The old-age pen-sions were increased only in respect of persons who haveacquired an insurance (service) period not shorter than 25years prior to January 1, 1995 (the coming into effect of theLaw on State Social Insurance Pensions), when such re-quirements needed to be complied with in order for thepensioner to acquire entitlement to the full, rather thanpartial pension.

The disability pensions were increased in respect of per-sons who have acquired the obligatory state social pen-sion insurance period necessary for disability pension,where half of the period has been acquired prior to Janu-ary 1, 1995, or have the obligatory period entitling to thefull amount of disability pensions in accordance with le-gal acts effective prior to January 1, 1995.

Partial pensions awarded to persons who do not havethe obligatory insurance period entitling them to a specifictype of pension were not increased.

The increase of small pensions concerned about one thirdof all recipients of old-age and disability pensions, i.e., about255,500 persons out of the total 800,000 recipients of pen-sions. In average, the pensions were increased by LTL 8.

Changes in the payment of State social insurance pensions to

1 The Law on the Amendment of Articles 3 and 4 of the Approval of Indicators of the 2002 Budget of the State Social Insurance Fund (Official Gazette, 2002,No. 45-1706)

38 S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

persons earning other insured income. On November 25, 2002the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania passeda ruling that the working old-age pensioners having theobligatory insurance period necessary for this type of pen-sion are to be paid the full amount of the social insuranceold-age pension. Thus from the coming into effect of thesaid ruling i.e., from November 27, 2002, the old-age pen-sions were paid to all those entitled regardless of whetheror not the recipients of the old-age pension are working.

Since the Constitutional Court did not consider the pro-cedure of payment of the disability pension in case whenthe recipient of such pension is working, and did not ad-dress the issue of the recipients of partial old-age pensions(employed persons of this category were not paid any par-tial pensions), and seeking to avoid any socialcontraposition of the recipients of the social insurance pen-sions, the decision was taken to draw up the draft of theamendment of appropriate Articles of the Law on StateSocial Insurance Pensions. The Seimas of the Republic ofLithuania passed the relevant amendments, and on Janu-ary 31, 2003 the amendments were published in the Offi-cial Gazette. The Seimas decided that working disabledreceiving the social insurance disability pensions wouldbe paid the pensions regardless of the amount of their in-sured income starting from January 1, 2003. However, theworking recipients of the partial old-age pensions and re-tirement pension will be paid the pensions in question re-gardless of the insured income as of the date of the cominginto effect of the said Law, i.e., starting from January 31,2003. In 2003 the payment of pensions to the working pen-sioners and the disabled will require LTL 76.5 m of theresources of the budget of the State Social Insurance Fund.

Changes in the conditions for the award and paymentof the State Social Insurance Pensions.

The amendment to the Law on State Social Insurancepensions of December 2002 improved the conditions forthe award (recalculation) or the disability pensions (thedisabled, having worked following the award of the pen-sion for another three years were made entitled to the sameright to be awarded the pensions anew as has been grantedto the old-age pensioners; the entitlement to the recalcula-tion of the pension was provided for in respect of recipi-ents of partial pensions, in cases where following theaward of the partial pension they acquire all obligatoryinsurance period). Also conditions of pension provisionwere improved in respect of families which have losttheir breadwinner. Starting from January 1, 2003, thesurvivor’s pensions to persons raising the children ofthe deceased shall be paid not until they are 18 years ofage, but as long as they are studying (however, notlonger than until they are 19 years of age). The age limitof 19 years has been established taking into account the

possibilities of the budget of the State Social InsuranceFund. Besides, the survivor’s pensions are paid not onlyto the guardians of the underage orphans, but also totheir carers (until 18 years of age, and in case the childis studying – until 19 years of age).

Since May 1, 2003, the amount of the basic pensionwas increased by LTL 5, now accounting for LTL 152.This increase affected 843,000 persons recipients of theState social insurance pensions, out of which about610,00 were recipients of the old-age pensions, 195,000disabled persons and 38,000 orphans. In addition, someincreases were provided for in respect of the retirementpensions and the loss of breadwinner pensions awardedin accordance with the previously effective legal acts,as well as compensations for special working conditions.LTL 35.2 m will be required in expenses of the budget ofthe State social insurance fund in order to effect all theabove increases in the State social insurance pensions.

At the same time some increases were provided in re-spect of assistance pensions (51,000 recipients) and nurs-ing allowances for persons suffering from total disability(11,000 recipients).

Starting from July 1, 2003, the insured income was in-creased to LTL 901 (previously - LTL 886). This amount istaken as a basis for the purpose of computing of the Statesocial insurance pensions, also establishing minimum andmaximum amount of the State social insurance benefits.

This increase concerned all current and estimated recipi-ents of the State social insurance pensions. In average, thepensions were increased by LTL 3.00. In 2003, in order toeffect the increase of the State social insurance pensionsand taking into account the increase of the insured income,the expenditures of the budget of the State social insur-ance fund will increase by additional LTL 15.7 m.

The State social insurance pensions of a surviving spousewere not increased. In accordance with the provisions ofthe Law on Pensions which came into effect on May 1, 2002,while the State social insurance basic pension and the in-sured income is being increased, the survivor’s pensionsremain unchanged. The decision was passed in order toavoid further differentiation in the amounts of the survi-vors pensions and alleviate the discontent with the systemof survivor’s pensions on the part of the persons not re-ceiving any survivor’s pensions whatsoever.

2.6. ORGANISATIONAL CHANGES IN SODRA ANDEFFORTS TO PROPERLY PREPARE FOR THE PEN-SION REFORM AND THE TRANSFER OF ADMINIS-TRATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE SOCIAL IN-SURANCE

During 2002, the Board of the State Social Insurance Fundtook every effort to improve the organisation of the most

39S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

important areas of activity of the institution, notably, theimprovement of the customer service and introduction ofmore stringent order for the collection of social insurancecontributions.

Improvement of the customer serviceThe Customer service divisions were opened and started

operating from April 1, 2002 in seven territorial branchesof the Board of the Fund. Such divisions operate as remotework places.

In 2002, the Board introduced the system of coding ofState social insurance contributions and collection of suchcontributions into a single accumulative account.

Introducing a more stringent control over the collec-tion of the State social insurance contributions.

- Insurers failing to settle accounts with the State SocialInsurance Fund in a timely manner were subject to sanc-tions provided for by laws. During 2002, the following sanc-tions were imposed: collection orders were placed in re-spect of 82,583 insurers whose indebtedness to the budgetof the Fund totalled LTL 292.6 m, orders to arrest or blockaccounts were issued in respect of 2,784 insurers indebtedLTL 6.3 m; the debt recovery was laid as claim to the prop-erty of 38,445 insurers. The indebtedness of these insurersto the budget of the State Social Insurance Fund amountedto LTL 102.5 m. Sanctions in the form of restriction of theeconomic activity were placed in respect of insurers, whohave failed to pay the social insurance contributions for aperiod in excess of nine months. Such sanctions were im-posed upon 11,068 insurers;

- Having imposed such statutory sanctions upon the in-surers, LTL 1176.7 m was generated as income, of which:by collection transfer – LTL 143.5 m, by arresting and block-ing the insurers’ accounts - LTL 10.6 m, by placing attach-ment upon the insurer’s property – LTL 13.2 m, throughbankruptcy proceedings – LTL 10.4 m;

- The number of the insurers against which the bank-ruptcy proceedings were initiated increased from 1,029 atthe beginning of the year to 1,293 at the end of the year,i.e., an increase by as many as 264 enterprises. The indebt-edness of enterprises under bankruptcy to the budget ofthe State Social Insurance Fund as of January 1, 2003amounted to LTL 348.4 m, which accounted for 63.1 percent of the total indebtedness due to delayed payment.

During 2002, 460 bankruptcy proceedings were completedand indebtedness to the Fund on the part of such enter-prises in the amount of LTL 122.4 m was recognised ashopeless and was written-off. During 2002, the indebted-ness of the enterprises undergoing bankruptcy to the bud-get of the Fund decreased by LTL 43.2 m.

- during 2002, the territorial divisions of the Board of theState Social Insurance Fund organised 22,330 inspectionsconcerning the compliance of the enterprises with the regu-lations of computing and the use of the social insurancefunds. Altogether, 20,325 insurers were inspected in thisrespect. The inspections established 7,713 insurers (37.9 percent of all inspected) violating the regulations of the StateSocial Insurance Fund. The budget of the Fund generatedadditional LTL 8.6 m, including LTL 2 m in additional con-tributions charged to insurers, LTL 2.3 m in penalties , LTL3.9 m in late payments, and LTL 0.4 m in overpayments inbenefits. Having established violations of the procedurefor the computing and payment of the social insurancecontributions, the inspectors documented 300 records onviolations of administrative law. The inspections carriedout in 2002 established 581 persons illegally registered, ofwhich 147 were working illegally.

In mid 2002, the Seimas approved the amendments ofthe Law on State Social Insurance and the related laws1 ,providing for the transfer of collection of social contribu-tions to the State Tax Inspectorate starting from July 1, 2003.It has also been established that starting from October 1,2002, insurers must register with the State Tax Inspectorate.

In late 2002, the Seimas decided to postpone2 the trans-fer of the administration of the social insurance contribu-tions to the State Tax Inspectorate until January 1, 2004,thus all the preparatory work will be performed and com-pleted within 2003.

In early 2003, the Seimas approved the laws which willopen the way to the pension reform. The reform providingfor accumulation of pensions will be launched as soon asat the beginning of 2004. In the implementation of this re-form an extremely important role will be assigned to theBoard of the State Social Insurance Fund and its territorialdivisions which will have to transfer part of the person’scontributions to the pension fund selected thereby. There-fore, the year 2003 will be the time for all preliminary workin order to ensure proper preparedness for the successfulimplementation of the reform.

1 Law on the Amendment and Supplement of Articles 1, 2, 34, 36, 37-1, 38, 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46 of the Law on State Social Insurance (Official Gazette, 2002, No. 52-1983), and amendments to the related laws.2 The Law on the Amendment and Supplement of Articles 11, 12 and 13 of the Law on the Amendment and Supplement of Articles 1, 2, 34, 36, 37-1, 38, 42, 43, 44, 45,and 46 of the Law on State Social Insurance (Official Gazette, 2002, No. 123-5521), and amendments to the related laws

40 S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

3.1. SOCIAL SUPPORT TO FAMILIES AND CHIL DREN, AND ITS DEVELOPMENT1

3.1.1. NON-MEANS TESTED SUPPORT

Changes in the support systemThe Law on State Benefits to Families Raising Children2

establishes support to orphans and chil dren de prived of parental care by a provision that the period of a child’s guardianship expires when the child be comes of age. Ac- cord ing to the Civil Code, a child’s guardianship expires as a result of the child becoming of age, his/her eman ci -pa tion, or marriage.

Thus, in the year 2003, Law on Amending and Sup ple -

ment ing Articles 5, 7 and 8 of the Law of the Re pub lic of Lithuania on State Benefits to Families Raising Children was adapted, es tab lish ing payment of a child’s care ben- e fit, or phan student’s allowance as well as the ben e fit for the set tle ment of children deprived of parental care harmonised with the above-mentioned provisions under the Civil Code. Besides, in said Law it is established to es tab lish that in case of death of both parents (the only par ent) of a study ing full-aged, emancipated, or married per son, he/she shall continue, without disruption, attend ing a full-time gen er al ed u ca tion establishment, the child care ben e fit being paid to the child himself/herself. Also, it is established that an orphan student’s sallow-ance is paid not only to un em ployed persons, whereto,

3. SOCIAL SUPPORT

No. Benefits Number of recipients* Costs

thousand peo ple

In LTL million

% of the total number per ma nent res i dents

in Lithuania **

1 The present sub-item deals with support to families and children by allocating social support thereto in the form of financial allowances and compensations. Social ser vic es to families and children, guardianship, adoption of chil dren, are dealt with under other sub-items of Chapter 6. 2 Law of the Republic of Lithuania on State Benefits to Families Raising Children No. I-621, of November 3, 1994, (Official Gazette, 1994, No.89-1706)

Table 3.1.1-1

The number of recipients of benefits for families raising children as well as for children deprived of parental care and relevant costs during 2002

I. In total (1.1.+1.2.) - - 259

1.1. To families raising children, of which: - - 193

1.1.1. One-off benefit at child-birth 29,8 0,9 22

1.1.2. Family benefit 81,8 2,3 89

1.1.3. Benefit to children of conscripts 0,08 0,16

1.1.4. Benefits to families with 3 and more children 45,6 3,7 82

1.1.5. Maternity benefit to women students 0,24 0,053

1.2. To children deprived of parental care for maintenance - - 66

and settlement, of which:

1.2.1. Child-care benefit 8,8 0,3 47

1.2.2. Benefit for settlement to orphans and children deprived of

parental care 1,52 0,04 5,8

1.2.3. Orphan student’s allowance 2,2 0,1 13 Data provided by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour* Lines 1.1.1; 1.1.2; 1.1.3 and 1.2.1 represent the number of children for which a relevant benefit has been allocated; Line 1.1.4 represents the number of families.** according the year-2001 census, the number of permanent residents in Lithuania is 3490.8 thousand per sons; re- cip i ents of a large family benefit (Line 1.1.4) are indicated in per cent of the total number of families.

S O C I A L S U P P O R T

41S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

before their full age, eman ci pa tion, or mar riage a child’s guardianship (ward ship) was established, but also to un em ployed per sons whose both parents (the only par-ent) are diseased. Ac cord ing to the data of the Ministry of Ed u ca tion and Sci ence, there are 412 persons, whose both parents (the only par ent) died at the time when they were in the general ed u ca tion school or were students at a vocational, high, or high er education in sti tu tion.

Also, it is established that in con nec tion with a ben-efit for settlement a person must apply be fore he/she turns 25.

This Law comes info effect from will be January 1, 2004.

In the year 2002, spending for benefits to all families with children as well as to children deprived of parental care was about LTL 259 m: the major portion went to families with children - LTL 193 m, and in support to children de prived of parental care - LTL 66 m (see Table 3.1.1-1).

In 2002, 30 thousand one-off child-birth benefits were paid; on average, in case of 82 thousand children bellow 3 years of age (2.3 per cent of the total number of permanent residents in Lithuania) family benefits were paid; about 46 thou sand families (3.7 per cent of the total number of fam i lies in Lithuania) received benefits for fam i lies with 3 and more children; on average, 80 benefits per month were al lo cat ed for the maintenance of children of conscripts, ma ter ni ty benefits were paid to 241 female students.

On average, over the year 2002, 8.8 thousand child-care benefits were paid (to 0.3 per cent of the total number of permanent residents of Lithuania), orphan student’s al low anc es were paid to 2.2 thousand students who are foster children. Over the year 2002, 1.5 thousand foster children were paid a benefit for settlement of orphans and children deprived of parental care.

Support system development trends Implementing the Programme of the Government of the

Republic of Lithuania for 2001-2004, in the year 2003, a concept of a Law on Allowances to Children was worked out. The concept is aimed at the implementation of an in te -grat ed reform of the system of State benefits to families, at guaranteeing social security to all families raising chil dren, at rendering the parents’ responsibility for the use of the benefits more stringent, and at grant ing more power and authority to benefit-paying institutions that are en gaged in social work with social-risk fam ilies.

Analysis of the recent years’ statistical data shows that rearrangement of state benefits to families that raising chil dren is influenced by various factors:

Social factors:• higher level of poverty among families with children

up to 18 years of age (every fifth child of pre-school age lives in a needy family, and in large families the poverty

level is over 30 per cent);• the number of social-risk families is increasing (since

1995, this number has doubled; in 2002, the number of such families was 18,700, and the number of children in such families was nearly 43,000);

• every year, 3 thousand children are deprived of par ents (according to the year-2002 data, there were 14,700 foster children: 8,000 - in families, 6,7000 - in care in sti tu tions and boarding schools).

Demographic factors:• continuously decreasing birth rate that does not en sure

the generation change (in 1990, there were 15.4 ba bies born per 1000 of the population; in 2002 - 8.7 babies), and deter-mines a decrease in the number of children in future;

• decreasing number of children born first and second (over 1995-2001, a decrease in the number children born first was from 20,.7 to 14.9 thousand, children born second - from 14.300 to 10.800).

The Lithuanian system of support to families is different from that in other EU countries in that:

• not each child before attaining majority is supported. In EU countries, support to a child before attaining ma jor i ty makes up 5-10 per cent of an average qualified work er’s sal a ry;

• the amount of support to foster children is 4 times high er than that to families with children.

Envisaging trends for the rearrangement of the system of benefits to families with children, the existing sys tem was analysed and its main drawbacks were revealed to be as follows:

According to the existing system, families are supported in two cases: until a child is 3 years old (0.75 MSL per month), and where a family has three or more children (1 MSL per month in case of three children, plus 0.3 MSL in case of each next child).

All other families are supported only in case if their in come per one family member is below that of families sup port ed by the State (LTL 135 per month), ensuring only minimum costs for food. Only the most needy fami-lies (about 7 per cent of families) are supported, whereas in come of more than two thirds of families is below the coun try’s average standard of living.

By supporting needy families up to a certain standard of living, incentives of parents themselves to look for sources of subsistence and maintain their children are inhibited, and children are stigmatised.

Support established to children deprived of parental care (LTL 500 per month) is not in line with support to children in families, and it does not reflect the actual standard of living. According to the household budgets analysis data, average income per member of a family raising children is LTL 362 per month. Such a difference in income is one of the reasons inducing needy families give away their chil dren

42 S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

for guardianship, often to close relatives. In many cases, when former foster children start their independent life, their salaries are below the support they received be fore attaining majority and during the period of studies.

When granting support, the provision under the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania which establishes a duty to close relatives, who have a possibility, to maintain a child who is in need of support, is not applied.

Social-risk families do not ensure the use of State benefits they receive in the interests of their chil dren.

In 2003, based on the concept of the law on allowances to children, preparation of Draft Law of the Republic of Lithu-ania on Allowances to Children was started with the aim of inducing families to raise and maintain their chil dren, rearranging the system of support to children de prived of parental care, and ensuring the use of ben e fits for the needs of children through the development of so cial services to families. It is envisaged that said law will come into force on 1 July 2004.

3.1.2. ASSISTANCE TO LOW-INCOME FAMILIES, BASED ON THEIR INCOME AND PROPERTY

Current status and necessity of the new law Social Charter of Europe applied in the EU countries

con tains a provision to “ensure that each person without suf fi cient funds for a living and unable to obtain such funds at his/her own efforts or from other sources, particularly from the social security system, receives the required support”.

In Lithuania, people with low income are allocated social benefits as well as compensations for heating of their dwelling, for hot and cold water.

By allocating social benefits, social assistance to the pop u la tion, which is in need of it, is restricted. Families of long-term unemployed persons are not assisted: only fam i lies of the unemployed who get the un em ploy ment/ed u ca tion benefit or do public works/works supported from the Employment Fund are entitled to a benefit, also, 6 months after expiry of such periods. The standard of liv ing of about 16 per cent of the population is below the rel a tive poverty limit, however, the percentage of the pop u la tion that receive social benefits is even below 4 per cent.

Another equally important problem is that allocating a social benefit only the family’s income is taken into con- sid er ation (employment income, pensions, benefits, etc.) without taking into account their property. There fore, of ten families with illegal income or with considerable im mov able property or any other property get support.

Together with widespread illegal employment where it is attempted to conceal the sources of income of the pop u -la tion, instances of abuse become unavoidable. Part of the

sup port goes to families that are not the ones who need it most badly.

In 2003, the Law on Cash Social Assistance (Persons who Live Alone) was adopted which establishes a uniform system of cash social assistance based on the principle of income and property ap prais al which ensures minimum funds for needy pop u la tion for food and payment for the main utilities, also, so cial ly more fair distribution of funds for social support. The Law will become effective on 1 April 2004, su per sed ing the pre vi ous acts of law that regulated cash social assistance and com pen sa tion of costs for heating of a dwelling and for water. 1

Main provisions of the Law To ensure minimum funds to the needy population for

food, the Law provides for a social benefit, which is allo cat ed to a family (a person who lives alone (hereinafter a ‘person’)), if its/his/her monthly income is below the in come supported by the state (i.e. LTL 135 per one fam-ily member). At a time of an increase in prices of both energy resources and utilities, which exceeds an increase in in come of the population, another acute problem of the needy pop u la tion is their inability to pay for the first priority ser vic es (heating, hot and cold water). For this population the Law establishes compensations of costs for heating of the dwell ing, for hot and cold water, and for wastewater. Con di tions are created for a family (person) to pay for the heat ing of their dwelling an amount equal to no more than 25 per cent of their income less 90 per cent of the state sup port ed family (person) income; for cold water and sew er age during both heating non-heating season - no more than 2 per cent of the family (person) income; for hot water - no more than 5 per cent of the family (person) income. Said costs of a family (person) are compensated applying the established stan dard: for heating of 38 sq.m. of the useful area of a dwelling per single family member (person) liv ing there, adding 12 sq.m. per each other fam-ily member; for 1 cu.m. of hot water and for 2 cu.m. of hot water and wastewater per single member of a family (person) per month.

It is envisaged that social assistance to families (persons) will be granted in financial resources, whereas in cases where families do not fall within set requirements it will be possible to obtain support in the form of services (e.g., in cases where maintenance of children of divorced or un mar ried persons has not been established due from par ents, or where the unemployed do not fulfil obligations established thereto, etc.). Social assistance in the form of ser vic es may be allocated to conflicting families which do not carry out child maintenance functions or parents are un able to take care of their children or improperly

1 Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Guarantees of In come of the Population No.I-618, of September 27, 1990 (Official Gazette, 1990, No.30-711);

43S O C I A L I N I S P R A N E Ð I M A S 2 0 0 2S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

Property value standards calculated for the purpose of social assistance allocation, and types of a family’s (per son’s) property under valuation

• Buildings• Means of transport subject to mandatory • Agricultural machinery subject to man da to ry reg- is tra tion • Land (included afforested land and land un der wa ter bodies)• Livestock, poultry, small animals, bee fam i lies, to tal value whereof is in excess of 30 state supported in come amounts (currently, LTL 4,050)• Shares, bonds, notes, and other securities• Pieces of art and jewellery, total value where of is in excess of 15 state supported in come amounts (current ly, LTL 2,025)• Funds with banks and other credit in sti tu tions as well as with institutions other than banks and credit in sti tu tions• Loans obtained (non-repaid) • Funds lent (non-repaid) to other persons• Property donated to any other person over the dec- la ra tion period • Other property acquired over the dec la ra tion peri od the total value whereof is in excess of 30 state sup port ed income amounts (do mes tic appliances, fur ni ture, clothes, etc.).

Composite parts of the property standard for the purpose of social assistance allocation, per family (per son)

1

Types of property included in the family’s (per son’s) prop er ty valued

2

In cities

Useful area of a dwelling standard

50 sq.m. per one family member (person) liv ing there, 15 sq.m. per each oth er family mem ber

Land plot standard is selected based on the type of land owned *:- area of the real estate

land plot - area of an agricultural land plot up to 1 hect are (including real estate

land plot on it) - area of an agricultural land plot which is over 1 hectare in area, of a land plot that con sists of only a water body, as well as of a

for est ry land plot Standard of the value of movable property, funds, securities, and shares

Data provided by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour* If plots of land owned by a family (person) are of different purpose of use, the de ter mi na tion of the standard land

plot is based on the highest-priced plot of land of a single pur pose. In case of a family (person) that (who) does not own a land plot, the standard of a land plot up to 1 hectare in area is applied.

6 ares 25 ares

6 ares 25 ares

3,5 ha

30 state supported income amounts a year (cur rent ly, LTL 4,050)

In the coun try side

behave with their children, or (and) use the state support received in other than the family interests, also, to social risk fam i lies (persons) that are alcohol or drug abusers. A decision on allocation of support in the form of services is made and such services are provided by municipalities. Services to families (persons) are provided by buying of food and other necessary goods, by arrangement of meals, etc.

It is envisaged to pay compensations in financial re- sourc es, whereas in case of families (persons) who are in debt ed for heating of their dwelling, or for hot and cold water mu nic i pal i ties are entitled to refrain from allocat-ing com pen sa tions, to cancel compensations, or, pursuant to a procedure es tab lished by municipalities, transfer the cal cu lat ed amounts of compensations to current bank ac counts of companies that provide energy supply and util i ties services.

Experience of municipalities that are responsible of pro-

vid ing assistance as well as proposals of non-gov ern men tal organisations, meetings with the population, their letters show that it is necessary to assist families of the long-term unemployed. Thus, the Law provides for the right to a social benefit to persons who, over no less than a six-moth period, register in the state regional labour exchange as persons looking for a job. It is forecasted that after start ing to support long-term unemployed families, the per cent age of the population that receives social assistance will increase from 3.4 to 5 per cent, i.e. additionally about 63.0 thousand residents would receive social benefits.

The Law is aimed at allocating social assistance to families that are in need of it and at avoiding instances of abuse of social assistance. Therefore, it is envisaged to allocate assis-tance to families, if their property is not above the property value determined on the basis of the average market price in their relevant region, and their in come is indeed in ad e- quate to sat is fy priority needs.

Table 3.1.2-1

44 S O C I A L I N I S P R A N E Ð I M A S 2 0 0 2S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

The Law establishes that the property of a family (per son) is valuated once a year, and income - once in three months. Thus, eligible social assistance or a compensation is allo-cated for a three-month period, however, mu nic i pal i ties may al lo cate the assistance for either a shorter or a long er than a three-month period, taking into account pos si bil i ties of change in the family composition or in its income.

If the value of property (property valued is listed under Item 2 of Table 3.1.2-1) owned by a family (person) is above the property value standard (composite parts of the standard are provided under Item 1 of Table 3.1.2-1), no social assistance is allocated to such family (person) and, on the con trary, if the value of the property owned is below the prop er ty value standard, then the family’s (person’s) in come is assessed based on which the amount of the social assistance is calculated. If the family’s (person’s) calculated income is too high for the al lo ca tion of a social benefit or compensations, such family is not eligible for social assistance.

Property value standard per family (per son) is es tab -lished as a sum total of the determined immovable prop er ty standards and movable property and various valu ables standard for the family (person). The value stan dard of each type of immovable property is determined by mul- ti ply ing the standard of a certain im mov able property by the average market value of such property (values of such property are adjusted on a yearly basis).

Family (person’s) income includes all in come, other than one-off benefits and com pen sa tion of a social char ac ter, other than com pen sa tions to handicapped individuals for trans port, for the acquisition of specialised cars and for their technical main te nance, com pen sa tions to diabetics, do nors, nursing benefits to in di vid u als with total disability, in sur ance payments, and paid alimonies, received by each fam i ly member. Similarly, social benefit or compensations re ceived are not included in the income.

To decrease the number of certifications re quired from individuals on the property owned by the family (person), on the al low anc es received, etc., resorting to the de vel op ing possibilities of information technologies, the Law en ti tles municipalities to obtain, free of charge, information on families (persons) who have applied for social support from da ta bas es of other state and municipal entities, in sti tu tions, establishments, and organisations. Families (per sons) have only to submit the documents that mu nic i pal i ties are not in the position to obtain di rect ly from entities, in sti tu tions, establishments, and organisations.

Family notion in the social assistance system The Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania that reg u lates

family relations contains the fol low ing comment: “The Civil Code does not contain any general def i ni tion of the notion “family”, as family is a sociological cat e go ry rather than

a legal one. Besides, in a historic perspective the no tion of a family is subject to change. However, the Civil Code defines the notion of a family by describing the no tion of a “family member”. There fore, from the legal point of view a family is a group of persons (two or more) that are related by property and personal non-property legal relations that arise out of marriage, life together without reg is tered mar-riage, blood relationship, child adop tion or out of any other type of legal forms of child care and up bring ing.”

Based on such comment, family relations arise not neces sar i ly on the basis of a marriage.

In order to define subjects of support reg u lat ed under the Law on Cash Social Assistance to Low-Income Fam i lies (Persons who Live Alone), it defines the notion of a family: “A family are spouses or persons living to geth er, also, a married person with whom, upon a court judge ment on separation of spous es, their children have re mained, or one of the parents, their children and adopted chil dren up to 18 years of age. A family com po si tion also includes young students and full-time students of ed u ca tion al establish-ments from 18 to 24 years of age who are not employed and who are not married nor live together with any other person.”

Responsibility for maintenance of children Now that there is developed support to a family and a

variety of benefits in cases when children are being brought up by one of their parents, cases have become quite fre quent when families deliberately deteriorate their family and ma-terial condition, avoid re spon si bil i ty for main tain ing their children, and abuse State sup port.

This has been evidenced by family statistics. Over the recent decade, the number of children borne without mar riage has doubled. Every fourth baby is born without mar riage, and the majority of such children (67 per cent) are registered only upon their mother’s application without indicating the child’s father.

Thus, parents are released from the responsibility of child maintenance. It happens so that State funds that could be used to support families to a greater extent are spent for the sup port of children who are not supported by parents. As can be seen while practically granting the support, quite often chil dren in families are maintained by both parents, however, in cases where a child is registered only at the mother’s ap pli ca tion, support to low-income families is re sort ed to.

Under both international and Lithuanian legal acts that regulate the rights of a child the responsibility for a child, for a child’s maintenance is primarily prescribed to parents. The state undertakes the responsibility to contribute to social security of a family, where parents have resorted to all possibilities for income generation.

The Constitution and the Civil Code of Lithuania em-phasise the responsibility of parents for the main te nance


of their children. The Civil Code states, that “parents must materially maintain their underage children. Ma te ri al main- te nance of their underage children must be provided by both parents proportionately to their property stand ing”. According to the Civil Code, the rights of children born to unmarried parents and the rights of children born to mar-ried parents are equal. First of all, it is the both par ents that are responsible for the main te nance of their child (children), irrespective of being married or not married.

The State guaranties a minimum level of subsistence to families, where parents have resorted to all pos si bil i ties for income generation. However, where an individual or a fam- i ly applies for state support, their duties and liability arises in connection with the receipt and use of such sup port.

Rights of municipalities and duties of support re cip i- ents

Seeking to alleviate the social exclusion of the recipients of social assistance and avoid granting of the assistance to those having illegal income, provisions have been made to ex pand the rights of municipalities and define the rights of the support recipients.

Family members registered with the State territorial la-bour exchanges are posed requirements to fulfil the ob li -ga tions pro vid ed in the individual employment schedules defined by territorial labour exchanges, while the em ploy -able members of the family having at the mo ment no job are obligated to participate in the social in te gra tion measures organised by municipalities. This provision grants municipalities the right to use the employable recipients of social support in the voluntary works organised by the mu nic i pal i ties.

Municipalities are also authorised to inspect the living conditions of the family (person), the property pos sessed thereby, its status of employment, document reports on the inspection of living conditions and, based on such re port, take decision con cern ing the entitlement of the fam i ly (person) to the monetary social support.

To families (persons) failing to fulfil the requirements stip u lat ed in respect of support recipients the mu nic i- pal i ties may choose to grant the social assistance in the form of services.

Seeking to ensure an expedient use of the resources and the continued development of social integration measures in respect of risk families, the Law provides for a social support administration fee which amounts to 4 per cent of the total amount of the support.

Thus, in the event a family (person) applies for social as-sistance, it shall in the first place be required to earn all the income it can possibly earn by its own efforts, i.e., apply for the benefits it is entitled to, the employable members of the family actively seek employment via the measures pro-vided by the territorial labour markets, all measures taken

to establish the paternity of a child born out of un mar ried persons, child maintenance es tab lished in respect of these children and children of divorced parents by agree ment approved by court, or by court ruling, etc.

This is the ultimate assistance granted to persons who, due to objective reasons, are not able to earn sufficient earn-ing to ensure their living, also in cases they do not awarded any support from other sources, or such assistance is not sufficient, in particular the support from the social security system (pensions, social benefits, com pen sa tions, pro vid ed services, etc.)

Legal acts and regulations needed for implementing the Law on Cash Social Assistance to Low-Income Families (Persons who Live Alone) will be worked out and passed by January 1, 2004. First, methodology of the appraisal of property of families (persons) applying for social assistance. In this respect measures will be taken to develop the software on the appraisal of property which subsequently will be implemented in municipalities. Besides, it is necessary to design the formats of the application for social assistance, formats of the inspection of living conditions, the pro ce dure for involving persons for public works, standards of income from the ag ri cul tur al activity, etc.

Development of assistance to low-income families raising children of pre-school age

Funds form the State budget are allocated to arrange for free school meals of schoolchildren in schools of general education. The re spon si bil i ty for the use of such funds lies with the founders of the schools: mu nic i pal i ty Councils, County governors, the Ministry of Education and Science. Annual allocations for free-meals of schoolchildren from the State budget amount to LTL 60 m, providing about 160,000 schoolchildren which free meals at school (28 per cent of the total number of pupils in all schools of general education).

In an attempt to assess the efficiency of the use of the funds allocated from the State budget, a scientific in ves -ti ga tion was conducted in 2002, and in 2003 the Ministry of Social Security and Labour performed an audit of the use of the State funds.

The findings of the investigation and the audit proved that municipalities choose different patterns for ap pli ca tion of the provisions governing the organisation and fund ing of free meals for school children:

- in certain municipalities funds are allocated ex clu sive ly for the purchase of food products, while in others funds are used to cover the meal preparation costs (salaries to cooks, costs of utilities, etc.). Violations were established in some municipalities when the appropriations granted by the State were used not as targeted, rather, they were used to purchase the inventory for school canteens, cover the costs of the repair works in the school canteens, etc. Most such


cases take place in schools where free catering services are provided by private catering companies.

- in a number of cases where a pupil does not arrive to school, he is not granted any free meal, while in other in stanc es such pupils were given packed meals at the price equal to the amount of the child’s entitlement to free meals;

According to the data of the said investigation in 2002, 57 per cent of founders of schools were using the funds from the State budget for the acquisition of food products cover-ing other costs of arrangement of free meals out their own budgets. The remaining 43 per cent of the school founders used the funds of the State budget not only for the acqui-sition of food products, but also to cover other expenses incurred in relation to food preparation.

The established amount of daily allocation for free lunch is LTL 3.00 per person. In schools that used the funds exclu sive ly for the ac qui si tion of food products, the actual allocation was LTL 2.1, while in other schools which have chosen to cover part of the food preparation expenses the daily allocations were as little as LTL 1.77. Around 23 per cent of the allocation for free lunch was used to cover oth er expenses. However, cases have been registered where meals were subject to excessive mark-ups (40-50 per cent), as a result failing to ensure the minimum amount of food as a necessary daily allowance per schoolchild.

Seeking to ensure that free meals are provided only to those children that most need them, also that school chil dren are pro vid ed with quality and full value meals, the Pro-gramme of State support to low-income families rais ing school-age children was drafted in 2003. The Programme will provide an exact definition of the pur pose of the State budget allocations, provisions concerning the organisation of free school meals of schoolchildren, ap pro pri ate and the sources of funding.

The provision of free meals free meals also serves an important incentive for children of needy families to at tend school. Nevertheless, every year, at the approach of the new

school year, needy families lack funds to pur chase the most necessary school items for their children, such as notebooks, sport outfit, etc. Quite frequently this de ter mines a decision not to allow the children to attend school.

According to the data of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, in 2002, out of 60, 47 municipalities allocated funds from their own budgets, took measures to identify sponsors or organised charity actions to support children from needy families. Support in the form of textbooks, train ing literature, sport suits was granted to over 20,000 children of school age. On average, support granted per child amounted to LTL 40.00.

Nevertheless, the one-off benefits from the municipal budgets are not sufficient to cover all needs, besides, not all municipalities are able to provide this kind of support. Considering that both in 2002 and 2003 the Government allocated LTL 200,000 to help the most needy families prepare their children for the new school year.

Such organised support showed that even an in sig nif i cant support is very important for needy families.

Seeking to ensure possibilities for children from needy families to attend, schools the currently considered Pro-gramme for State support to low-income families rais ing children contains a proposal to provide for granting of sup-port funded by the State budget to children from needy families targeted for the acquisition of most necessary learn ing aids prior to each new school year.

However, one of the greatest concerns in this respect are children from families of social risk groups. Many of such children them do not attend school not because of the scanty income of their parents, but because of the neg li gence of the parents and their indifference to the interests of the chil-dren. The supervision over problem families should be the primary responsibility of municipalities in order to ensure that each child under 18 attends school and seeks educa-tion. Employees of the municipal social support divisions, education departments and services of the rights of the child should be visiting the problem fam i lies in order to assess the

Benefits Recipients Costs

Thousand people

LTL mil-lion

% of the total number of per ma nent res i -

dents of Lithuania *

The number of recipients of low-income family assistance and expenditures in 2002

Total (1.1.+1.2.) - - 262 Social assistance 117 3,4 90 Compensation of costs of heating of a dwelling and water 107 Free meals for schoolchildren 164 29 61 One-off payments for socially needy persons 51 1,5 3,9

* The number of schoolchildren is indicated as a percentage of all schoolchildren of school of general educationData provided by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour

Table 3.1.2-2


preparedness of a child to go to school, and, where neces-sary, notify the administration of the municipality of what support is needed for children from such families.

The total assistance during 2002 to low-income families on a means-tested basis amounted to LTL 262 m (see Table 3.1.2-2). Most of the expenditures were allocated as com pen sa tions for costs of the heating of a dwelling and ex pens es for water (LTL 90 m).

Over the year 2002, on average per month social benefits were allocated to 117,000 residents (3.4 per cent of the total permanent population of Lithuania).

3.1.3. EU PHARE TWINNING PROJECTS “SOCIAL AS SIS TANCE REFORM AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ACQUIS - CON SEN SUS III” DISSEMINATION EX PERT PRO POS ALS AND EXPERIENCE OF PILOT MU NIC I PAL I TIES

During 2001-2002, in the Ministry of Social Security was hosting the EU PHARE Twinning project “Social as sis tance reform and implementation of ACQUIS requirements - Consensus III”, which sought to assist Lithuania in the preparation for the EU accession in the area of social pol i cy while providing for more stringent administration of the social support and awarded benefits.

Having reviewed and assessed the Lithuanian social support system the experts of the PHARE Twinning project drafted proposals and recommendations concerning the social support policy, procedures for planning of funds, management and control, allocation of institutional respon si bil i ties, administration, inspections of property and in come, control of payments, and other issues. Social sup port divisions of 4 municipalities (Vilnius, Klaipïda, Druskininkai and Jonava region), which were involved in pilot activities covering the organisation of work, ad min is -tra tion of payments, assessment of property and income, risk management and control over payments, etc.

Seeking to disseminate the proposals submitted by EU PHARE Twinning project experts and the experience ac cu -mu lat ed during pilot activities in municipalities, the MSSL in conjunction with the 4 pilot municipalities held work-shops on the experiences of the pilot activities under the project. The workshops introduced the new work organisa-tion methods, tested by pilot municipalities (es tab lish ment of client information and document reg is tra tion divisions, compilation of a single file, the idea of es tab lish ment of an information division). Such workshops represented the efforts to provide comprehensive in for ma tion to other municipalities on the optional ad min is tra tion methods and their advantages.

In addition, in 2003, training courses were arranged in cooperation with the Social Workers Training Centre un der the MSSL. First, the course on training of teachers was used

to train one teacher representing the Social support division that later on was teaching other employees of the division. These trained teachers from municipalities were offered training courses in subjects like customer ser vic ing, assess-ment of the client’s material condition, and iden ti fi ca tion of applicants for social support assessing the risk of fraud.

The training courses were arranged seeking to enable the municipality teachers to further arrange the same kind of training within own municipalities, and specialist of the municipal social support divisions are able to apply in prac tice the new methods of client servicing and assess-ment of the material conditions, as well as the new methods of risk management. The quality of client servicing was thus con sid er ably improved, by implementing methods to more ac cu rate ly assess them material conditions of the ap pli cant, records of all applicants were distinguished by risk groups, alongside conducting the examination of large risk cases. The more stringent control is devised to ensure that sup port is allocated only to those who are actually entitled to it.

Over the year 2004 this kind of research and assessment of pilot activities will be conducted in all municipalities of Lithuania.

Conclusions In the year 2002, total allocations in support to families

and children amounted to LTL 520 m. A comparable amount - LTL 260 m was allocated in assistance to needy families (persons who live alone) granted on the means tested basis, as well as families raising children and children deprived of parental care that is granted regardless of benefits paid in respect of their income. The major part was allocated for benefits to families raising children (LTL 193 m) as compensations for costs of heating of a dwelling and domestic water (LTL 107 m), and social benefit (LTL 90 m).

In 2003, drafting of the Law on Allowances to Children of the Republic of Lithuania was initiated and will seek to find ways to encourage families to raise and maintain their children by their own efforts. Other purposes of the said Law is to reform the system of support to children de prived of parental care and ensure the utilisation of benefits for the needs of the children by developing social services pro vid ed to families. The Law is scheduled to come into effect on July 1, 2004. The restructuring of State support to chil dren raising families was initiated in view of a higher lev el of poverty among children raising children under 18, the growing number of social risk families, continuously de clin ing birth rate, that is no longer able to ensure the re- place ment of generations, and other factors. The Lithuanian system of support to families is distinguished from that applied in other UE Member States: not each child before attaining majority is supported, the amount of support to


guardians of a child is by 4 times exceeding the amount of support to families raising own children. The objectives of the reforms in the system of support to families raising children was to enhance efficiency of support to children deprived of parental care, and ensure the utilisation of ben e fits allocated for children for the satisfaction of their needs.

The new Law on Cash Social Assistance to Low-In come Families (Persons who Live Alone) will become effective on April 1, 2004. The Law establishes a uniform system of cash social assistance based on the principle of in come and property appraisal which ensures minimum funds for needy population for food and payment for the main util- i ties, also, socially more fair distribution of funds for social assistance. Therefore, it is envisaged to allocate assistance to families, if their property is not above the property value determined on the basis of the average market price in their relevant region, and their income is indeed inadequate to satisfy priority needs. Besides, the entitlement to social ben-efits shall be provided in respect of persons who have been registered with the territorial labour exchanges as seeking employment for a period not shorter six months.

Thus, in the event a family (person) applies for social assistance, the applicant shall in the first place be required to earn all the income it can possibly earn by own efforts, i.e., apply for the benefits it is entitled to, the employable mem bers of the family actively seek employment via the mea sures provided by the territorial labour markets, all mea sures are taken to establish the paternity of a child born out of unmarried persons, child maintenance established in respect of these children and children of divorced par ents by agree ment approved by court, or by court ruling, etc. This is the ultimate assistance granted to persons who, due to objective reasons, are not able to earn sufficient earn ing to ensure their living, also in cases they are not award ed any other support from other sources, or such support is not sufficient, in particular the support from the social security system (pensions, social benefits, compensations, pro vid ed services, etc.)

Seeking to ensure that free meals are awarded only to those children who really need such support and also that children are pro vid ed with quality and full value food, in the year 2003 the drafting of programme of State support for low-income families raising school-age children was initiated. The programme will provide an accurate def i -ni tion of the purpose of the funds granted as State support, provisions concerning the organisation of free school meals for schoolchildren, responsibilities and sources of fund ing. In addition, the said draft programme includes a proposal to introduce support by using the funds of the State bud get to children from needy families in order to supply them with items of first necessity thus providing conditions for children from needy families to attend schools.

During 2001-2002 the Ministry of Social Security and Labour was hosting the EU PHARE Twinning project aimed at assisting Lithuania for its EU membership, de- vel op ment of social support policy and strengthening of administration of payment of social support and benefits. In an attempt to convey the proposals made by the EU ex perts and experience gained in 4 pilot municipalities to social support divisions of all municipalities, the framework of the project included a number of workshops and training activities.

3.2. SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL SERVICES

In the area of social services all efforts were made to pro ceed with the National Social Services Infrastructure De vel op ment Programme which included training activi-ties in the area of attestation of social workers de signed to pro vide social workers-practitioners who have not ac-quired any professional training with the basics of social work and assess their professional competence even tu al ly con fer ring them with an appropriate qual i fi ca tion category. The World Bank has approved the proposal of the Min is try of Social Security and Labour to use the remaining part of the World Bank loan for the Social Policy and Com mu nal Social Services De vel op ment Project for the purposes of strengthening strategic partnership, thus the programme of strategic part ner ship was being further implemented.

The Social Services Infrastructure Development Pro-gramme

The purpose of the Social Services Infrastructure De vel -op ment Programme is to develop the pro gres sive forms of the provision of social services at community level by es tab lish ing the social services network in mu nic i pal i ties and regions and ensuring the provision of social services to most vulnerable groups of persons.

Funds allocated for the Social Services Infrastructure Development Programme are used to cover the costs incurred in relation to the reconstruction of social services institutions, overhaul, current repair works and ac qui si tion of basic equipment and goods.

The continued implementation of the Social Services In- fra struc ture Development Programme provides a pow er ful stimulus to the initiatives of municipalities and non-govern-mental institutions while at the same time en hanc es their responsibility for the development of the in fra struc ture of social services.

During 1998-2002 the total allocations from the Council of Europe Development Bank and the resources of the State budget for the Programme totalled LTL 22.49 mil-lion. The projects designed to develop 48 social services institutions allowed to expand the scope of the provision of such ser vic es; such services were offered to 2,268 new


customers; 414 new jobs were created. During 2002, funds allocated from the State and mu-

nic i pal budgets facilitated the implementation of a num ber of projects, including those designed for development of 9 outpatient social services institutions, including 3 in sti -tu tions for elderly people, 2 for children of risk group, 3 for the disabled and 1 for persons of social risk groups. LTL 1.2 m were allocated for the implementation of these projects which created conditions to provide social ser vic es to 447 new customers and created 6 new jobs.

The year 2002 also witnessed the completion of projects since 1999 jointly funded using the re sourc es of the State budget and the Council of Europe Development Bank and designed to de vel op ment of ten major in sti tu tions of so cial service.

Allocations for the Social Services Infrastructure De vel -

Distribution of certified social workers by Coun ties in 2002

Certified social workers by qualification categories in 2002

Chart 3.2.-2

op ment Programme from the State budget, Privatisation Fund and the Council of Europe Development Bank for the year 2003 amount to LTL 5.7 m which will be used to implement 35 new projects aimed at the development of 35 social services institutions.

The Ministry of Social Security and Labour prepared the draft Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania “On the Social Services Infrastructure De vel -op ment Programme for 2004-2006” according to which the implementation of the Programme will be extended up to the year 2006.

Programme for Attestation of Social WorkersDuring 2002, within the programme for attestation of so-

cial workers, training was organised specifically for so cial workers not having appropriate professional qual i fi ca tions.

County

Number

Aly

tus

Kau

nas

Kla

ipëd

a

Mar

ijam

polë

Pan

evëþ

ys

Ðia

ulia

i

Taur

agë

Telð

iai

Ute

na

Viln

ius

Social Workers Training Centre at the Ministry of Social Security and Labour Data Chart 3.2.-1

Social Workers Training Centre at the Ministry of Social Security and Labour Data

Leading social worker 3%

Seniour social worker38%

Expert social worker 3% Assistant social worker

14%

Juniour social worker22%

Social worker 20%


Such training activities were attended by social workers of State, municipal, and non-governmental organisations, re li -gious communities and private in sti tu tions providing so cial services. Following the training the professional com pe tence of the social workers was as sessed and ap pro pri ate qualifica-tion categories were assigned to the at tend ees.

During 2002, 398 social workers were enrolled in at test ing training courses the itinerary whereof included the pre-sentation of theoretical training modules approved by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour.

During 2002, 665 social workers were conferred ap- pro pri ate qualification categories. The High Certification Com mis sion has conferred 23 social workers with the qual i fi ca tion category of an expert social worker, and 23 social work ers with the qualification category of a leading social work er. A number of social workers were conferred ap pro pri ate qual i fi ca tion categories by the County Cer ti -fi ca tion Com mis sion, including 247 seniour social work-ers, 134 social workers, 146 junior social workers, and 92 assistant social worker.

The programme for attestation of social workers con- trib ut ed significantly to the enhancement of professional com pe tence and up grad ing of qualifications of social work specialists which in an indispensable precondition for the provision of quality social services.

The survey “The analysis of education of the needs of social workers in Lithuania”, conducted by the Ministry of Social Se cu ri ty and Labour showed that the programme en-abled social workers practitioners to acquire the min i mum theoretical knowl edge and en cour aged them to im prove their professional image, and, none the less im por tant, the programme created the en vi ron ment conducive to the es-tablishment of professional relationship between the prac-titioners of social work and universities and es tab lish ment of higher ed u ca tion.

Strategic partnershipThe implementation of the strategic partnership ar range -

ments creates possibilities to enhance the efficiency of planning of de vel op ment of the social area at the municipal lev el, carry out the assessment of such de vel op ment and identify the need for social assistance, as well as provide for most ef fi cient ways and methods of the provision of social as sis tance.

The information obtained while implementing the agree ment between the Ministry of Social Security and Labour and mu nic i pal i ties enables the parties concerned to de sign the strategy of the development of social sup-port and con trib utes to the most efficient sub stan ti a tion and dis tri bu tion of resources among the different types of social ser vic es and monetary benefits. Such activities ensure

1 Resolution No. 171 of February 6, 2002 of the Gov ern ment of the Republic of Lithuania “On the Approval of the Concept for the Reform of the Provision of Social Ser- vic es” (Official Gazette, 2002, No. 15-564).

that social support is provided for those who need it most, in cen tives are provided for in respect of voluntary social ser vic es by customizing them for individual groups of the population and making them complementary to the social support provided by the State.

Indicators obtained through the activities carried out under the strategic partnership agreements are expected to assist the Ministry of Social Security and Labour in design ing the social policy and assessing the results of the implementation of the social support policy.

A set of indicators compiled in 2002 will be used to assess the efficiency of the social support policy being im ple -ment ed, social as sis tance, investigate and assess the qual i ty of social support and the efficiency of ad min is tra tion, as well as plan the trends of the social policy in the future. Requirements for he software to be operated have been designed supplemented by the description of such re quire -ments, detailed technical specification of the software and operating system and the standard programme to be in tro -duced and operated in all mu nic i pal i ties and the Min is try of Social Security and Labour.

In 2002, based on the results of the research, the experts updated “The strategic partnership agreement” in clud ing an Annex thereto “Social support information systems” which was presented to municipalities. The purpose of the research was to de vel op meth od olog i cal instructions on comprehensive, reliable and uniform registration of social support provided in mu nic i pal i ties, as well as the over view of technical capacities op er at ed by municipali-ties. The findings of the research made it possible to outline the ac tu al technical possibilities of the municipalities and pro vide for specific measures aiming at improvement of the existing situation.

Legal acts drafted by the Social Work and Social Ser- vic es Department

The Resolution of the government of the Republic of Lithuania approved the “Concept of the reform in the pro vi sion of social ser vic es”1. The purpose of the concept is to outline the directions for the future development of social services which would meet the needs of today, cre-ate the preconditions for more efficient development and main tain ing of the national social services system. More-over, the concept is expected to become in stru men tal in out lin ing the reform of the social services funding system, im ple men ta tion of pro cure ment models and development of the requirements to and mechanism of the assessment of qual i ty and control of the social ser vic es provided.

The Order of the Minister of Social Security and Labour approved the wording of the “Procedure for Ap prov al of


1 Order NO. 127 of October 16, 2002 of the Minister of Social Security and Labour “On the Approval of Qual i fi ca tion Re quire ments for Social Workers and the Pro ce dure for their Attestation” (Official Gazette, No. 101-4521).2 Order No. 132 of October 21, 2002 of the Minister of Social Security and Labour “On the Approval of Reg u la tions for County Commissions of the Atestation of Social Workers” (Official Gazette, No. 102-4590). 3 Order No. 1 of January 6, 2003 of the Minister of Social Security and Labour “On the Approval of the Com mis sion for the Assesment of the Qualification of Social Work- ers and the Regulations of such Commission” (Official Gazette, 2003, No. 3-83). 4 Order No. A1-9 of January 13, 2003 of the Minister of Social Security and Labour “On the Approval of the Reg u la tions for Tender for Selection of Projects for the De vel -op ment of the Social Services Infrastructure in 2003” (Of fi cial Gazette, 2003, No. 5-219). 5 Order No. A1-71 of April 28, 2003 of the Minister of Social Security and Labour “On the Amendment of the Order No. 71 of July 10, 2000 of the Minister fo Social Se cu ri ty and Labour “On the Approval of the Catalogue of Social Services” (Official Gazette, 2003, No. 43-1989). 6 Order No. A1-72 of April 28, 2003 ‘On the Approval of Requirtements to the nestacioantions social services in sti tu tions” (Official Gazete, 2003, No. 43-1990).

3.3. PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD3.3.1. INSTITUTION COORDINATING EN FORCE -MENT OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

To improve the enforcement mechanism of the chil dren’s rights protection policies and to promote inter-ministe-rial cooperation in that sphere, on 24 September 2002, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania passed a Law on the Amend ments and Supplements to Articles 59 and 61 of the Law on Fundamentals of Protection of the Rights of the Child. Under the new law, the Seimas, Government, ministries, prosecutors’ office and other public in sti tu tions are to draw up and enforce the measures of protection and defence of children’s rights within the framework of their competence established by the Constitution, the men tioned law and other legislation of the Republic of Lithuania, while the Government must appoint one ministry to manage the sphere of protection and defence of chil dren’s rights and define the competence of other ministries.

For the purpose of enforcement of the provisions of that law, in October of 2002, the Family, Children and Youth De part ment was established in the Ministry of Social Se- cu ri ty and Labour (“the Ministry”), and on 6 February 2003, by Order No 194 of the Government On the Assignment to the Ministry of Social Security and Labour the Sphere of Protection of the Rights of the Child and Establishment of the Competence of Other Ministries, the Ministry was ap point ed to su per vise over the sphere of protection of chil dren’s rights. The competence of other ministries, e.g.

Qualification Requirements for Social Workers and the Procedure for their Attestation”1, and “On the Approval of Regulations for County Com mis sions of the Attestation of Social Workers”2. Having these legal acts approved the Counties were provided a regulatory basis for the con fer -ment of the qualification categories of the assistant social worker, junior social worker, social workers and the lead ing social worker in their re spec tive counties. Also criteria for acquiring certain qualification categories by social work ers were approved.

The Minister of Social Security and Labour passed the order “On the Approval of the Commission for the As- sess ment of the Qual i fi ca tion of Social Workers and the Regulations of Such Commission”3. The Regulations pro- vid ed for the criteria for as sess ment of pro fes sion al qual i -fi ca tions of persons who have acquired the social worker’s qualification abroad and apply to engage in social work in Lithuania, as well as the procedure of the activities of the Commission for the assessment of the professional qual i -fi ca tions of social workers.

“Regulations of the selection of projects on the de vel -op ment of infrastructure of social services for 2003”4. The Regulations set forth the criteria for the assessment and selection of the projects submitted under the Social Ser vic es Infrastructure Development Programme in 2003, as well as the mechanisms for funding and ad min is tra tion of the winning projects, as well as institutions responsible for the enforcement of such mechanisms.

The Order of the Minister of Social Security and Labour “On the Amendment of Order No. 70 of July 10, 2000 of the Minister of Social Security and Labour “On the Ap prov al of the Social Services Catalogue for 2000”5 in tro duced some updating in the qualification and the con cepts of social ser vic es.

The Order of the Minister of Social Security and Labour “On the Requirements to the out-patient social ser vic es institutions”6 es tab lished the minimum requirements for the out-patient social institutions, the procedure of ac tiv i ties of such institutions, the rights and duties of cus tom ers, requirements to the staff members, the services pro vid ed thereby, premises, environment and the procedure for admission of clients to such in sti tu tions.

The Law amending the Law on the Provision of Social Services is currently being drafted the purpose whereof

being to reg u late the procedure of organisation, provision and reception of social services, by providing a more pre- cise definition of the responsibilities of the State and mu- nic i pal i ties, providers of social services and re quire ments applicable to such service pro vid ers. Also the amendment to the Law seeks to develop a clear-cut dif fer en ti a tion of the groups of recipients of social services on the basis of complexity of social services provided and the pe cu liar i ties of requirements applicable thereto, also to specify the prin-ciples of controlling, purchasing, financing of social services and payment for such services though the in tro duc tion of the procedures for li cens ing of social services institu-tions and the standards of social services in the Re pub lic of Lithuania.


Education and Science, Justice, Health Care and Interior, in the sphere of protection of the rights of the child was established by the same Order.

At the municipal level the responsibility for the pro tec tion of children’s rights and defence of their legitimate in ter ests lies with the Agency for Protection of Children’s Rights, which is a structural unit of the municipality’s ad min is -tra tion. Under the general reg u la tions of the agen cies for protection of children’s rights, their major tasks are re lat ed to su per vi sion over placement and keeping the child in cus-tody and adoption matters. Such agencies also play a major role in the organisation and coordination at the mu nic i pal level of inter-agency cooperation in the mat ters re lat ing to the child and child’s family and collection of sta tis ti cal data about children. Within the frame work of their com pe tence, the agencies bear responsibility for and participate in the investigation of various in fringe ments upon chil dren’s rights (violence against children, in volve ment of children in illegal work, etc.) and arrangement of help to such children. It is also within the competence of such agencies to provide methodological assistance to the staff of municipal institutions in charge of protection of children’s rights and to consult parents, teachers, ed u ca tors as well as children on the issues relating to pro tec tion of children’s rights, their custody (care), adoption and of fence prevention.

In 2002, along with the implementation of the public administration reform and enforcement of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Public Service, the review and ad-justment of municipal administration structures took place. The function of public administration was del e gat ed to mu-nicipal agencies for protection of children’s rights. In 2002, 60 municipal agencies had 210 public servants re spon si ble

for protection of children’s rights on their staff. With a view to the significance of the work performed

by the agencies and striving to provide them with better financing, in 2002 the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania passed a Law on the Amendments and Supplements to Articles 7 and 8 of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Local Self-Government, under which protection of chil dren’s rights became a public function (delegated to mu nic i pal i ties) and its financing as of 1 January 2003 was provided as a special-purpose donation to municipalities with additional funds al lo cat ed for the purpose of putting 25 new public servants on their staff.

In 2002, the Ministry circulated a questionnaire among the Agencies to find out about changes that took place in their work after 1 July 2001 with entry into force of the new Civil Code and about the tendencies that emerge in the sphere of representation of children and protection of their rights and rightful interests in civil relationships. The re sults of the questionnaire were as follows: during 2002, the Agencies delivered 16,062 opinions, 1,166 ap pli ca tions, 78 requests and 1,144 statements of claim to courts, most of them relating to protection of personal and property rights of children, representing children in family dis putes about divorce, establishing place of residence of a child, es tab lish ing parents’ right to access, establishing a child’s share in prop er ty, and protecting children’s rights in the cases of parents eviction from dwellings. During the same year, 96 lawsuits were initiated by the Agencies against in di vid u als who used vi o lence against children. Data on the work load of mu nic i pal i ties relating to the enforcement of the pro vi sions of the Civil Code are provided in the fol-lowing tables: (see tables 3.3.1-1 – 3.3.1-4)

Number of cases

100% of the total number of cases

Data of municipal Agencies for Protection of Children’s Rights. Table 3.3.1.-1

Representation of children’s rights in civil and criminal judicial proceedings in 2002

No

(Total) Representation of the rights of the child in the court relating to: 11866 100

1 Temporary or unlimited restriction of parental powers 1833 15,4 2 Challenge of paternity (maternity) 679 5,7

3 Living in separation of spouses having common underage children 2341 19,74 Disputes concerning the child 3011 25,4

5 Recognition of marriage null and void when one or both - -

spouses are underage 6 Decrease of marriageable age 182 1,5

7 Recognition of the underage child as being of full legal capacity 17 0,1 (emancipated) 8 Adoption 221 1,9

9 A child being a suspect of crime (and the preliminary investigation 950 8,0

being in process) 10 Other (to be specified) 2643 22,3


In the process of implementation of the Govern-ment Programme of 2000-2004 and trying to improve the work of the Agencies and their assets, a special

Programme was drawn up encompassing allocation of funds for train ing of their staff and augmenting of their resources.

Number of cases

Number of cases

Representation of children’s rights: statements of claim filed with courts in 2002

No (Total) Statements of claim filed with courts relating to: 100% of the total number of cases

1 Temporary or unlimited restriction of parental powers 955 83,5

2 Establishment of paternity 38 3,3 3 Recognition of marriage null and void when entered into in - - violation of the law

4 Failure by underage parents (or one of them) to 91 8,0

discharge their duty to provide for their underage children5 Establishment of descent of a child from a mother - -

6 Increase or decrease of maintenance awarded to the child 13 1,1 7 Use of the child’s maintenance for other purposes than the 1 0,1 interests of the child

8 Other (to be specified) 47 4,1 Total number of claims filed with the court 1144


Representation of children’s rights: opinions filed with courts in 2002

No Opinions filed with courts relating to: 100% of the total number of opinions

1 Disputes between parents concerning the child (children) 2476 15,4

2 Disputes concerning children 936 5,8 3 Decrease of marriageable age 213 1,3

4 Family real estate transactions 10536 65,6 5 Adoption 224 1,4

6 Other (to be specified) 1455 9,1 Total number of opinions filed with courts 16062

Data of municipal Agencies for protection of children’s rights. Table 3.3.1.-3

Representation of children’s rights: applications filed with courts in 2002

No Applications filed with courts relating to: 100% of the total number of applications 1 Modification or cancellation of the permission to perform - - certain actions given by the court to one of the spouses

2 Recognition of the underage child as being of full legal capacity 10 0,9

(emancipated) 3 Placement of a child under permanent custody (care) 654 56,1

4 Appointment of a custodian (carer) when a child is 640 54,9

placed under permanent custody (care)5 Dismissing of appointed permanent custodian when he/she is 17 1,5 conciderd not to ful fill his duties or misuse them

6 Establishment of birth of a foundling 1 0,17 Other (to be specified) 15 1,3

Total number of applications filed with courts 1166


Number of cases


3.3.2. SOCIAL WORK WITH THE CHILDREN FROM SOCIAL RISK GROUP FAMILIES

With a view to the steadily rising number of social risk-posing families during recent years and the number of children in such families, and after the assessment of the re sults of scientific research commissioned by the Ministry for the purpose of evaluation of Lithuania’s institutional child care system, and due to the lack of community ser vic es, espe-cially social work with families, to promote so cial work with such families and cooperation with non-governmental organisations in the sphere of provision of social services, the Ministry has drawn up the National Programme for 2000-2004 of Children’s Day Centres Organised by Non-governmental Organisations, which was approved by Or-der No. 731 of the Government on Na tion al Programme for 2000-2004 of Children’s Day Cen tres Organised by Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs).

Day centres participating in the programme Provide prop er conditions for children’s socialisation, early pre- ven tion of juvenile de lin quen cy and rendering of social ser vic es to problematic families. Social work is carried out with the families of children who attend day centres, par ents are motivated to take better care of their children and children’s education. Psychological and pedagogical as sis tance and consultations are available to parents to a cer tain extent.

600 thousand litas from the state budget were assigned in 2002 to finance operations of day centres. Out of 49 projects that competed in a tender 40 were awarded fi nanc ing. Dur-ing 2002, social services were provided to 1,693 children and their families.

Evaluation of the first-year results of the Programme showed that consistent and comprehensive work with the families of children attending day centres added a lot to the improvement of mutual relationships between the child and his/her parents and helped the families tackle with the arising problems by themselves. We believe that the expanding social work with social risk-posing families will decrease the number of such families and preconditions for separation of a child from his/her family and place ment him/her in temporary custody. This will also cut down the risk of involvement of children in illegal com mer cial abuse - prostitution, pornography, etc.

3.3.3. VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN AND THEIR COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

Under the Government Programme of 2001-2004, at- tempts are required to implement specific preventive mea sures against ex ploi ta tion of children, spread of drugs, in volve ment of children in prostitution and other crime. In 2002, the National Programme Against Commercial Sex u al

Exploitation and Coercion of Children approved by Order No. 29 of the Government on the National Programme Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Coercion of Children dated 11 January 2000 was pursued within the framework of the Declaration and an Agenda for Action adopted by the World Congress Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children that took place in 1996 in Stockholm (Sweden). A strategic aim of the Programme is to create a system of preventive measures against mak-ing children victims of sexual violence and commercial sexual exploitation. A tactic aim of the Programme is to identify the most important reasons of commercial sexual ex ploi ta tion of children and sexual violence against them, the ways of dealing with such reasons, and to choose the most adequate tools to achieve the strategic aim. In the process of implementation of the Programme, the follow-ing was accomplished by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour in 2002:

• Methodological aids have been prepared for ped a -gogues, social and medical workers facilitating their work with children who were subjected to sexual abuse. Spe- cial ists working with children are expected to increase their knowledge about sexual violence against the child and their methodological skills will hopefully improve thus mak ing their work easier under such circumstances. On the other hand, problems still remain in this sphere. It is dif fi cult to disclose such crime since often it is latent. In avoid ance of emotional tension (especially when violators are close relatives of the child) and manifold questioning, vic tims rarely report about the ex pe ri enced wrong.

• A national group of experts has prepared a Uniform Basic and Specialised Training Curricula for specialists: police officers, pros e cu tors, judges, pedagogues, social educators, health care personnel, social workers and psy- chol o gists. Based on such curricula train ing was organised for specialists. More than 350 specialists completed train ing courses in that sphere.

• In order to compile a uniform data base on com mer cial sexual violence against children a Victimised Child Ques- tion naire Project has been worked out the im ple men ta tion of which would allow collection and exchange of in for -ma tion through computerised data bases among in sti -tu tions concerned about sexual abuse of children.

• In 2002, specialised training courses on identification of instances of violence against children and assistance to victims were organised to various specialists (staff of mu nic i pal authorities for protection of children’s rights, ped a gogues, social educators, psychologists, police officers and medical staff) based on the specially compiled cur-ricula. The training was provided to 207 specialists. The major purpose of the training was briefing the specialists about types of violence, teaching them to spot children subjected to violence and offer them any possible help and


as sis tance, and to make the specialists aware of the existing problems in legal framework. Those working with minor victims of sexual violence and their families also received training on the improvement of interagency cooperation skills and practices.

• In its endeavours to implement the recommenda-tions of the Council of the Baltic Sea States concerning struggle against sexual exploitation of children, Lithuania together with other Baltic Sea States participates in a joint mul ti lat er al virtual programme http://childcentre.baltinfo.org, and assisted by NGOs has developed its website Vaiko Namas (Children’s Home) (www.vaikunamas.lt). The goal of this international project is to employ in-formation tech nol o gies for the purpose of developing a uniform regional information system about assistance to risk-group chil dren and enabling mutual communication among various spe cial ists.

The growing public discussions about violence against children, especially in families, and the wish to induce a closer cooperation among public institutions and spe cial ists in detection and investigation of violence against chil dren cases, prompted the development of The Plan of Ur gent Actions in Combating Violence against Children. The Plan was approved by Order No. 125 of the Minister of Social Security and Labour on 16 October 2002 and signed by the ministers of Justice, Interior, Education and Sci ence, and Health Care. The Plan has constituted the basis for re view of office regulations of educational, health care and social security institutions and the police. It also aims at elimina-tion of inter-institutional cooperation barriers and estab-lishment of duties and responsibilities of certain work ers engaged in detection of cases of violence and provision of help to victimised children. There are also intentions to provide education to the public in general about ap pro -pri ate upbringing of children, fostering of public spirit and intolerance towards violent crime against children.

Under the general regulations of the Agencies for Pro- tec tion of the Rights of the Child, such agencies play a ma jor role in collecting reports on victimised children and pro vid ing such children with assistance. Municipal Agen-cies for Protection of Children’s Rights within their com pe -tence provide methodological assistance to the personnel of municipal institutions engaged in protection of chil dren’s rights, consult parents, teachers, educators and children on the issues relating to protection of children’s rights, fos ter placement, adoption and prevention of offence.

The Law on the Amendments and Supplements to Ar- ti cles 59 of the Law on Fundamentals of Protection of the Rights of the Child was adopted on 3 August 2001. Under that law, when parents (either father or mother) or any oth er lawful representative of a child abuse their powers by using violence against the child thus posing danger to the health or life of the child, the state authority for pro tec tion

of children’s rights alone or together with the police shall without delay take the child from the parents or oth er law-ful representatives and place the child in custody (care) as stipulated in the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania. The state authority for protection of children’s rights shall promptly notify the child’s parents or lawful rep re sen t-a tives about the fact of having taken away the child and placed him/her in custody (care).

Three hundred and eighty-nine cases were recorded in 2002 when children were urgently taken away from their families due to violence against them; 213 statements on administrative violations of law were issued against vi o -la tors, and 510 criminal actions were filed against vi o la tors, 96 of which were filed at the initiative of the agencies for protection of children’s rights. In 2002, in 135 cases pre- lim i nary investigations were carried out or the cases were dealt with in the court. In 2002, two hundred and seventy-two lawsuits were heard and violators sentenced, and 70 law suits were closed. In 2002, in the territory of the mu- nic i pal i ty assistance was organised for victimised chil dren: psy chol o gist’s consultations to the child and the fam i ly, as sis tance provided by the social pedagogues of the school, social work with the family, social services (day centres) to children, placement of children in municipal temporary care groups or in temporary custody (care).

For the purpose of effective prevention of violence against children, improvement of cooperation between the police and other institutions concerned in their efforts to guar an tee safety and exercise of the rights of the child, on 3 Oc to ber 2002 the commissioner general of the police signed his instruction on Intensification of Prevention of Violence against Children. In the process of im ple men ta tion of the instruction, police officers together with the ad min -is tra tion of educational institutions hold regular discus-sions about neg a tive processes that take place in schools, com mu ni ca tion problems among children and groups of chil dren as well as other negative factors that cause violence against children; they also record and analyse recorded cases of violence against children, and based on the results of such analyses plan preventive measures to be carried out jointly with the agency for protection of children’s rights, ped a gogues, medical people and NGO rep re sen t-a tives. Moreover, they prepare purposeful preventive and socialisation programmes. Some police institutions carry out active preventive activities, e.g. Mother and Child Pro- tec tion Centre has been established under the aus pic es of the police commissariat of Panevëþys region.

The extent of violence against children is very difficult to establish since this concerns personal relationships be tween the child and the adults who often are relatives. Moreover, the number of cases when children use vi o lence against oth er children without any involvement of adults is growing.

According to the polls “Jaunimo Balsai” (the voice of


the young) organised by the Lithuanian National UNICEF Committee among children and youth, violent behaviour (either psychological or physical) is characteristic to 65 % of Lithuanian families (55 % in West European countries); 14 % of Lithuanian children assert that aggressive behaviour in their families is a frequent phenomenon. Girls (58 %) are more reluctant than boys (70 %) to speak about violence in their families. Cases of violence are more fre quent (68-76 %) in large families and less frequent (57 %) in small families, usually with one child. According to the data, Lithuanian children if compared to those of Western Europe, are more tolerant towards physical and psy cho log i cal violence in their families and assume that violence is a way to solve the arising problems. 29 % of Lithuanian children assume that the arising problems may be settled by means of discus-

Chart 3.3.3.-1

Chart 3.3.3.-2

sion (51 % in Western Europe), while 46 % of Lithuanian children suppose that sometimes prob lems may be settled by shouting (11 % in Western Eu rope).

Based on the data provided by municipal agencies for protection of children’s rights, 1,134 cases of violence against children were recorded in 2002, ninety two of which were sexual violence (see Chart 3.3.3.-1). In 315 cases vi o lence was suffered from people close to the child (see Chart 3.3.3.-2). Other cases are those of minors’ violence against other minors and other types of violence.

NGOs that work with children take an active part in con sult ing families and providing assistance to victimised children. In Lithuania, quite a number of agencies provide psychological assistance on the telephone, and quite a number of various centres work with children of risk groups.

Cases of violence recorded by municipal agencies for protection of children’s rights in 2002

Sexual violence 8%

92%

Violences suffered from close people

22%

78%

Cases of violence recorded by municipal agencies for protection of children’s rights in 2002


For the purpose of dealing with indifference of the public and tolerance towards violence, various in for ma tion al and preventive campaigns are being organised. Vaiko Telefono Linija (a telephone line for children), the division of the RUL Vaiko Raidos Centras (Centre of the Development of the Child), provides psychological consultations on the phone. During 2002, 5,983 telephone consultations were provided (20,509 calls were registered). A large number of consultations were provided relating to one or another type of violence.

Since a victimised child needs a comprehensive help that can be given only by closely cooperating institutions en gaged in preventive activities and rendering various ser vic es, at the initiative of the Ministry of Education and Sci ence materials on informational-pre ven tive matters are being developed for schools dealing with dangers of peo ple-trafficking and prostitution business. Con sul ta tions are offered to risk-group children and teenagers who were subjected to sexual exploitation and a free-of-charge anon- y mous telephone line Mokyklø Linija (school-line) has been put in operation and provides psychological con sul ta tions and essential information to students, parents and ed u -ca tors about the dangers of people trafficking. The Ped a -gog i cal-Psychological Centre of the Ministry of Education and Science constantly provides consultations and in for -ma tion required to psychologists and social workers about the ways they should organise preventive work at schools relating to people trafficking and prostitution.

3.3.4. PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: TEMPORARY DEPARTURE OF THE CHILD TO A FOR EIGN COUNTRY

The right of the child to family ties has been regulated by Articles 3.170 and 3.172 of the Civil Code, which pro vide for: the child’s right to communicate with his father who does not live together; mother’s right to com mu ni cate with the child; the child’s right to directly and con stant ly com-municate with his/her parents wherever they live and with his/her other relatives.

Temporary departure abroad of children with their par ents or custodians or any other persons is regulated by the Procedure of Temporary Departure of the Child to a For eign Country1. According to the Procedure, a child may go abroad with both his/her parents (foster parents), or one of them, or with his/her custodian (carer). If the child’s parents (foster parents), custodian (carer) can not ac com pa ny the child, then the child may go with an autho-rised person or alone provided he/she has valid documents re quired for going abroad.

Before, a fairly strict requirement of parents’ consent with

the child’s departure to a foreign county was applied un der the Procedure of Temporary Departure of the Child to a Foreign Country valid before 2002. For a child to go abroad with one of the parents a written notarised consent of the other parent was required. During the period of validity of that procedure, however, facts showed that very often one of the parents (usually the one who did not live with and did not take any care of the child) abused his/her powers and maliciously refused to give his/her con sent for the child to go on a trip abroad for a certain pe ri od. In a few instances, in consideration for the consent money or refusal from alimonies was demanded from the parent raising the child. It has become clear that it was the child who suffered under such circumstances since he/she could not go for a visit, on a tourist trip, for holidays, sports competitions etc. to a foreign country. Having all this in mind and based on Article 3.165 (3) of the Civil Code say ing that all issues concerning the child shall be settled by mutual agreement of both parents, as well as Article 4.1 of the Law on Funda-mentals of Protection of the Rights of the Child saying that it is the child’s interests that first of all and always should be taken into consideration, in 2002 a new Procedure of a Temporary Departure of the Child to Foreign Countries was adopted aiming at making it closer to the protection of legitimate interests of the child. Under that Procedure consent of the other parent is no longer re quired when there is a court judgment and the child’s place of residence has been established with one of the parents.

3.3.5. PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AGAINST WRONG FUL ABDUCTION

Search in the Republic of Lithuania for individuals, in clud ing children, whose whereabouts are unknown, is car ried out by the Police Department at the Ministry of the Interior and its subordinate institutions as prescribed by laws and regulations of the country.

It is established in the Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania that enforcement of court judg ments passed in civil proceedings concerning search for debtors or children shall be carried out by the police based on the ordinances issued by bailiffs.

Search for individuals by police institutions is regulated by the Instruction on Search for Persons approved by Or der No. 9RN of the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania.

For the purpose of search for missing people, data of state registers and state/municipal information systems may be used as well as means and methods of operational ac tiv i ties, media and any other available methods. The Police Depart-ment at the Ministry of the Interior may announce search

1 Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 302 of 28 February 2002 On the Approval of the Procedure of Temporary Departure of the Child to Foreign

Countries (Official Gazette No. 23-858, No. 75-3233, 2002)


for people through the Interpol channels. Information about people who are being searched for

is collected and processed in the national system of in for -ma tion on objects searched for integrated in the Schengen In for ma tion System.

In 2002, the Seimas ratified the Hague Convention of 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction2. In Lithuania the Convention came into force on 1 Septem-ber 2002 only in respect of the countries that approved Lithuania’s accession to the Con ven tion. The aim of the Convention is prompt return to the country of wrongfully removed and retained children and guarantee of the right of custody and access.

On 21 August 2002, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania by its Resolution No. 1322 appointed the Min is try of Social Security and Labour to carry out the duties of the Central Authority under the Convention.

Any person, institution or organisation in whose opin ion the child has been removed to and kept in other coun try in violation of the right of custody may apply to the Ministry of Social Security and Labour for help in bring ing back the child and enforcement of the right of access.

To date, Lithuania’s accession to the Convention has been approved by Poland, Norway, Belgium, Uruguay, Moldova, Slovakia, China (special administrative region of Macao), Israel, Serbia and Montenegro.

There are forms of applications, approved by Order No. A1-92 of the Minister of Social Security and Labour of 5 June 2003, to request for return of a child who has been wrong-fully removed from the country and retained else where and for enforcement of the right of access, which help to receive detailed information about the child, the applicant, the person suspected of wrongful removal and re ten tion of the child and other important details per tain ing to the application.

Central authorities of the countries members of the Con ven tion must cooperate with each other and promote co op er a tion amongst the competent authorities in their respec tive countries to secure the prompt return of children and to achieve the other objects of the Convention.

In 2002, there were no applications concerning wrong ful removal of children received in Lithuania.

3.3.6. PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD AND LABOUR MARKET

For the purpose of implementation of the requirements set forth in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other in ter na tion al legislation on protection of chil dren from illegal labour and economic exploitation, the min i mum age for admission to em ploy ment set by Lithuanian laws and

regulations complies with that es tab lished by the ILO Con-vention No. 138. Concerning Min i mum Age for Ad mis sion to Employment and Council Di rec tive 94/33/EC of 22 June 1994 On the Protection of Young People at Work.

The Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania that came into force as of 1 January 2003, establishes that a person can acquire full employment-related amenability and ca pac i ty to acquire employment-related rights and create employ-ment-related obligations (em ploy ment-related le gal capac-ity) by his/her actions at the age of 16. The Labour Code and other labour laws also provide for ex emp tions.

The minimum age requirement for admission to employ ment or work established in the Labour Code applies to all categories of work, including those in agriculture, family farms and family businesses. Special employment con di tions apply to persons from 14 to 16 years of age who are employed to do easy works that are on the list approved by Resolution No. 138 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on 29 January 2003. The Resolution requires that young people (under 18) should undergo medical ex am i na tion performed by health care specialists (phy si cians) to establish the ability of the young people to do specific type of work. The conclusion about the ability to do spe cif ic type of work must be recorded in a medical certificate which people under 18 years of age must deliver to their employer. Young people must undergo medical ex am i na tion when being employed and afterwards annu-ally until they reach the age of 18. People may undergo medical examinations during working hours. An average salary for the time spent to undergo medical examination is paid by the employer (Article 265.6 of the Labour Code). Un der Article 277.2 of the Labour Code, the pro ce dure of employment, undergoing medical examination and de ter -mi na tion of the ability to do specific type of work as well as setting working hours, types of work that underage people are not allowed to do and list of harmful and dan ger ous agents are approved by the Government. Lists of works that young people are prohibited from doing and lists of harmful and dangerous agents are compiled based on Ar-ticle 7 of Directive 94/33/EC.

The Labour Code provides for specific circumstances under which employment contracts for easy works may be concluded with persons between 14 and 16. When children from 14 to 16 years of age are employed, employers are bound under Article 104.2 of the mentioned Code, to require their birth certificate, a written consent from the school attended and from one of the parents or any other statutory representative of the child, as well as permission from the child’s physician. Prior to accepting adolescents from 14 to 16 years of age to work the employer must inform them and their parents or statutory representatives

2 Law No. IX-793 passed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania on 19 March 2002 On Ratification of the Hague Convention of 1980 on the Civil Aspects of In ter na tion al Child Abduction (Official Gazette No. 51-1932, 2002).


about potential dangers and ways to avoid such dangers. When signing an employment contract with young peo ple, the employer must brief them upon their signature about their future working conditions, disciplinary rules and oth er regulations on the working conditions of minors, and prior to allowing them access to work must instruct them on the occupational safety matters. Children may be en gaged in easy work during their holidays or other free-from-school time.

The Labour Code also requires that each company should have a list of employees under 18 and that such underage people should work only with one employer at a time if the total duration of the work exceeds that established in the Law on Occupational Health and Safety.

According to the survey Jaunimo Balsai (the voice of the young) launched by the Lithuanian National UNICEF Committee in 2001 among children and youth, 6 % of Lithuania’s children work occasionally (i.e. sometimes all or part of a working day) for re mu ner a tion. The survey demonstrated a few peculiarities: there are more working boys (9%) than girls (3%); there are more working chil dren (9%) from among respondents of a lower social-economic group than from the middle/upper social-economic group (4%); there are more working children in villages (9%) and fewer in cities (5%).

According to the 2001-2002 data of the Statistics De part -ment, the growth of the number of children between 15 and 18 was minute (166.2 thousand in 2001 and 168.7 thou sand in 2002) while the average working activity among that

group of residents remained stable - 0.34% of the av er age number of all working people. Both in 2001 and 2002, there were more working minors in villages than in cities and almost twice as many boys as girls. It is difficult, how ev er, to assess whether employment among children be tween 15 and 18 was long-term or short-term as well as how many of them had permanent jobs under em ploy ment contracts and worked unskilled or low-skilled work that did not require any special training.

The State Labour Inspectorate is responsible for the control of illegal work including that of children under 18. Within the framework of its competence, the State Labour Inspectorate is responsible for prevention of violations of laws, regulations on safety and health of workers, work ing relationships, and must control the abidance by the laws and other acts of law relating to application of safety and health at work guarantees to people younger than 18 years of age. According to the data compiled by the State Labour Inspectorate, there were no cases of illegal employment of minors in 2002.

In 2002, documents were compiled and on 25 March 2003, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania ratified the ILO Geneva Con ven tion of 17 June 1999 Concerning the Pro hi bi tion and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. The aim of the Convention is to draw attention to the existing worst forms of child labour and to promote immediate and comprehensive ac tion in order to put a ban on and eliminate such work.

Employed children according to age groups (2001-2002) 2001 2002 Total Men Women In cities In Total Men Women In cities In villages number villages number

1351789 664468 687321 944227 407562 1405877 707824 698053 973320 432557

15 years of age 316 99 217 0 316 232 150 82 86 146

16 years of age 511 390 121 0 511 563 451 112 107 456

17 years of age 840 770 70 363 477 1439 1247 192 378 1061

18 years of age 2950 1924 1026 1508 1442 2663 1836 827 1292 1371

4617 3183 1434 1871 2746 4897 3684 1213 1863 3034

0,34 0,48 0,21 0,19 0,67 0,34 0,52 0,17 0,19 0,70

Data of the Statistics Department at the Government of the Republic of Lithuania Table 3.3.6.-1

Employed accord-ing to age groups of:15, 16, 17 and 18

All the em-ployed

Total number of the em ployed in the age group of 15-18

% of the total num ber of the em ployed


3.4. SOCIAL INTEGRATION OF THE DISABLED

In the course of the recent years considerable attention has been devoted the development of a new model of complex in te gra tion for the disabled. New priorities have been defined seeking to ensure equal opportunities for persons with disabilities, for ma tion of the State policy in the area of rehabilitation and integration of the disabled, and es tab -lish ment of a long-term framework for the formation of the State policy in this area.

Over the year 2002, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour continued to collect and systemize the in for ma tion on the disabled thus seeking to identify factors having a most significant impact upon the integration of the dis abled into the society. The present section of the Report presents at length the information providing a com pre hen sive over-view of approach towards the issue of disability.

In 2002, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania approved the National Programme for the Integration of the Disabled into the Society for 2003-2012. The un der -ly ing objectives of the Programme is to ensure equal oppor tu ni ties to all disabled people and their possibilities to avail themselves to all social resources, i.e., education, new tech nol o gies, health care and social services, sports and lei sure activates. The main objectives and tasks envisages by the Programme are further described in detail.

Also this section reports on the most important pro-grammes and initiatives implemented by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour in 2002 in the area of social integration of the disabled.

3.4.1. ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT SIT U A- TION

The total number of the disabled persons recipients of the disability pensions in 2002 was 221,577 (representing an increase by 4.1 per cent as compared to 2001), disabled children under 16 - 13,824 (by 0.2 more than in 2001), in di -vid u als with total disability - 1,000, individuals disabled since childhood (16 years and older) - 16,400 (of which dis abled of Group I - 3,793, Group II - 10,368, and Group III - 2,239). The total number of disabled persons of 207,753 by groups of disability and compared to the data of 2001 fall into the following categories: Group I - 28,058 (an increase of 4.7 per cent), Group II - 133,954 (an increase of 3,7 per cent), Group III - 45,741 (an increase of 6 per cent), persons with total disability - 9,556 (an increase of 18 per cent).

In 2002, 31,351 persons were newly registered as dis abled. Within the structure of primary disability persons of the disability Groups I and II prevailed accounting for 74.3 per cent of the total number of the disabled.

An increasing number of persons have been recently recognised as disabled as a result of some kind of diseases. An especially rapid increase has been observed in the number of persons of working age for the first time recognised as disabled. The reasons for that were the general im pair ment in the status of health, but also certain economic and so-cial problems: unemployment, poorly developed sys tem of professional rehabilitation, and the excessive system of social benefits and guarantees.

Data provided by the State Medical Social Expert Ex am i na tion Commission Chart 3.4.1.-1

Structure of Primary Disability according to deseases in 2002 m.

Diseases of the circula-tory system 27,3%

Psychic and other disdorders

8,1%

Traumas, intoxications and other external impacts

14,8%

Diseases of the web and skeleton-muscles

17,1%


The main reasons causing disability are severe health dis-orders of various kinds. Monetary support and the sys tem of benefits subdue the motivation of the disabled to seek employment, rather, people tend to seek the rec og ni tion of the their disability in order to improve their fi nan cial situ-ation or take advantage of benefits granted to them.

In 2002, primary disability was recognised in respect of 12,237 unemployed persons of working age. This proves that the disabled are poorly positioned in the labour mar ket, and to an extent shows that persons in question often lack initiative and motivation to seek employment. A num ber of such persons had lost their jobs even before they were recognised as disabled or had never participated in the labour market. In 2002, over a half of all disabled per sons of working age were unemployed.

Currently, 28,000 disabled people with various Groups of disability are employed. However, the disabled par tic i -pat ing in the labour market is steadily declining due to both objective and subjective reasons.

The main objective obstacles for the disabled to in te grate into the labour market are the insufficiently adapted pub lic and information environment in education and labour The main reasons causing disability are severe health dis or ders of various kinds (Chart 3.4.1.-1). Monetary support and the sys tem of benefits subdue the motivation of the dis abled to seek employment, rather, people tend to seek the rec- og ni tion of the their disability in order to improve their fi nan cial situation or take advantage of benefits grant ed to them.

In 2002, primary disability was recognised in respect of 12,237 unemployed persons of working age. This proves that the disabled are poorly positioned in the labour mar ket, and to an extent shows that persons in question often lack initiative and motivation to seek employment. A num ber of such persons had lost their jobs even before they were recognised as disabled or had never participated in the labour market. In 2002, over a half of all disabled per sons of working age were unemployed.

Currently, 28,000 disabled people with various Groups of disability are employed. However, the disabled par tic i -pat ing in the labour market is steadily declining due to both objective and subjective reasons.

The main objective obstacles for the disabled to in te grate into the labour market are the insufficiently adapted pub lic and information environment in education and labourmar-ket training services, the same holding true of in for ma tion al and working environment; lack of pro fes sion al qualifica-tion, loss of links to the labour market, ab sence of profes-sional rehabilitation or its low efficiency, age and the degree of the disability.

Furthermore, there is a number of subjective factors pre vent ing the disabled from integrating into the labour mar ket: lack of motivation to work preferring to remain

as re cip i ents of unemployment benefits, lack of personal ini tia tive, and inability to objectively assess the situation in the labour market.

3.4.2. NATIONAL PROGRAMME OF THE IN TE -GRA TION OF THE DISABLED INTO THE SOCIETY FOR 2003-2012

The growing number of the disabled highlighted the necessity to initiate reforms. Reforms of the social sphere trigger off changes in the process of social integration of the disabled into the society. While further developing the model of the complex rehabilitation of the disabled the National Programme of the Integration of the Disabled into the Society for 2003-2012 was drafted and approved. The Programme represents the National Programming doc u ment of the Government of the Republic of Lithu-ania es tab lish ing the State policy in respect of medical, pro fes sion al and social rehabilitation and integration of the dis abled, the priority objectives and actions (measures) un der the policy for a period of ten years to be undertaken by the government of the Republic of Lithuania and other public institutions in their continuing efforts to progress in the social integration of the disabled as set forth in the Law on the Social Integration of the Disabled.

The purpose of the Programme is to seek equal possi bil i ties for persons suffering from disabilities by plan-ning measures of social integration complying with the in ter na tion al and internal objectives and obligations of the State and setting forth the strategy for the implementation of such measures.

The Strategy of the Programme defines the principles underlying the national policy in the area of the social in te gra tion of the dis abled, i.e., continuity of rehabilita-tion measures, equal opportunities, compensation of the dis abil i ty, accessibility, decentralisation, pre ven tion of dis crim i na tion, participation of the disabled in the social life. The strategy also defines the indicators assessing the ex tent of attainment of the objective of the Programme: legal enforcement of the rights of individuals with disabilities, defined measures for identifying the needs for different ser-vices, continuity of rehabilitation measures, the in creas ing employment among persons with dis abil i ties, phys i cal and information environment adapted to the needs of the dis-abled, the decentralised provision of social services to the disabled, a set of special educational services tai lored for the education of disabled children, active par tic i pa tion of the disabled in all areas of public life and re ha bil i ta tion of persons with mental disabilities in the com mu ni ty.

The above principles constitutes the basis for the for ma tion of the main objectives and tasks of the Programme. Measures envisaged and designed to attain the general objectives of the Programme are described in more detail below.


Social services. Efforts to satisfy the special needs of the disabled, promotion of the provision of community ser vic es alternative to the in-patient social services, al lo -ca tion of functions and responsibilities for the provision of social services to authorities of different level, distinction be tween the support from the part of non-governmental organisations and procurement of services from such or-ganisations.

Professional rehabilitation. Development and in tro -duc tion of a methodology enabling to identify the profes sion al (working) skills of individuals with disability, restoration of such skills or training to gain new skills, promotion of professional mobility of the disabled in the labour market, training or retraining services so that the persons in ques tion could acquire a profession in demand in the labour market.

Psychological rehabilitation. The provision of tailored services to persons with mental disorders in the com mu ni ty level, iden ti fi ca tion of cases where it is necessary to pro-vide services in the in-patient care and nursing in sti tu tions; early identification of developmental disorders of children; organisation and development of the system of services of early rehabilitation; change of the negative pub lic attitude towards persons with mental disabilities; psy cho log i cal as-sistance to persons with other types of dis abil i ties suffering from mental crisis and psychic dis or ders.

Adaptation of the environment. Ensuring that de sign ing of items is based on the principle “designing for all”, adap-tation of public facilities, means of transportation and their infrastructure, as well as housing and the living environed of the disabled to their specific needs, dif fer en ti a tion of costs of the adaptation of the housing according to the person’s property and income, differentiation of the adaptation of facilities into basic and auxiliary adaptation.

Education. Tailoring of the training programmes to the needs of the disabled, adaptation of educational methods and forms with due regard to the capacities and needs of the disabled, provision of social services in educational institutions, adaptation of informational and physical en vi ron ment for the participation of the disabled in the programmes of general education, improvement of the quality of ed u ca tion al services, ensuring the necessary qualification of specialists working with the disabled.

Implementation, monitoring and management of the Programme

Tasks and objectives of the Programme will be im ple -ment ed through the improvement of the relevant legal ba-sis, implementation of national and regional programmes, training of the personnel and improving its qualifications, targeted scientific research. In the area of social services the action plan includes a task to develop a methodology of the identification of special needs of the disabled, provide

permanent care and nursing at homes of the disabled, de-velop the centrally operated procedure for the provision of residents with technical assistance means, and support targeted programmes of the pro vi sion of social services to people with disabilities.

The entity in charge of monitoring over the im ple -men ta tion of the Programme is the Lithuanian Council for the Affairs of the Disabled under the Government of the Re pub lic of Lithuania. In addition, the Council is obli-gated to assess the progress of the implementation of the Programme and perform the reporting functions.

Sources of Funding of the ProgrammeThe Programme is based on the assumption that fund-

ing of measures aimed at social integration of the disabled is an investment, which will facilitate savings of costs in the medium and long-term perspective. The main sources of funding of the activities envisaged in the Programme are the State budget, State Social Insurance Fund, the Com pul so ry Health Insurance Fund, Employment Fund, mu nic i pal and other resources.

There are other programmes facilitating the integration of the disabled implemented on the national and mu nic i pal level, aimed at development of the infrastructure of so-cial services, provision with technical assistance means, employment programme, professional and social re ha -bil i ta tion, adaptation of housing and environed, cultural and sports activities.

3.4.3. PROGRAMME FOR THE PROVISION OF THE POP U LA TION WITH ORTHOPAEDIC APPLIANCES AND COMPENSATORY EQUIPMENT

In view of increasing numbers of persons suffering from disabilities, and also the accelerating process of in te gra tion of the disabled into the labour market, science, public life, an ever growing g number of people require or tho paedic appliances for treatment or disability prevention purposes. According to the data of the Lithuanian Health Information Centre about 400,000 persons need or tho paedic ap pli anc es of one type or another.

In 2002, in cooperation with orthopaedic appliances enter pris es the Ministry of Social Security and Labour was carrying out the Programme for the Provision of the Pop- u la tion with Orthopaedic Appliances and Compensatory Equipment. Agreements were con clud ed with enterprises at which interested persons could acquire the required or tho paedic appliances. By providing such persons with the orthopaedic appliances a tangible economic effect is achieved in terms of shorter duration of treatment and re ha bil i ta tion, and en abling the patients to return to work much earlier, etc.

While implementing the Programme for the Provision


of the Population with Orthopaedic Appliances and Com- pen sa to ry Equipment in 2002 the orthopaedic enterprises services over 91,000 patients. The enterprises produced and supplied to the persons concerned over 114,000 items of orthopaedic appliances. For that purpose an allocation of LTL 20,364 was provided for in the State budget. Ac cord ing to the data of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, 46 per cent of all those requiring orthopaedic appliances were provided with the necessary technique.

Seeking to ensure more expedient distribution of re- sourc es of the State budget to the enterprises in question the Ministry is carrying out an ongoing analysis of the activ i ty of the enterprises according to the following criteria: items of the manufactured orthopaedic ap pli anc es taking due regard to the complexity of such items, the number of persons requiring orthopaedic appliances also in terms of social groups, and other characteristics, the regions serviced, production capacitates of the enterprises, spe cial ists available and other criteria.

Late in 2002 the Ministry of Social Security and Labour implemented the orthopaedic appliances accounting sub-system which enables the Ministry to control the ac count ing of the provision of the population with orthopaedic ap-pliances.

An important role in the implementation of the said programme is assigned to the National Centre for Com- pen sa to ry Technique (further - the Centre). The purpose of the Centre is to organise and ensure the timely pro vi sion of the disabled with the compensatory equipment. The Centre carries out the analysis of the need for com pen sa to ry equip-ment and develops prognosis, accumulates in for ma tion and develops the methodological material, the main purpose of the activities of the Centre being the im prove ment of eth re ha bil i ta tion of the disabled by pro vid ing them with the necessary compensatory technique. This objective is most closely related to the Programme for the Provision of the Population with Orthopaedic Appliances and Compensa-tory Technique. The Centre purchases items of com pen -sa to ry technique in accordance with the Law on Public Procurements of the Republic of Lithuania. Pro cure ment following the said procedures ensures the most eco nom i cal way of acquisition of the necessary items, how ev er, creates certain difficulties in cases of more complex items which need to be individually designed in a most expedient way, since in a number of cases after-trauma patients need the compensatory equipment already dur ing the rehabilita-tion period.

In 2002, an allocation from the State budget in the amount of LTL 2.7 m was earmarked for the acquisition of com pen -sa to ry equipment that made it possible to provide 7,000 applicants with the necessary compensatory equipment, in total 15,651 items of different kinds. According to the data provided by the National Centre for Compensatory

Technique, in 2002 the provision of the population with the necessary compensatory equipment covered 67 per cent of the total need. Since there is no single procedure for re cord ing of applications for such equipment and control it is impossible to determine the exact rate of meeting the need for compensatory equipment.

Order of the Minister of the Social Security and Labour of April 18, 2002 “On the order of the provision with the compensatory equip ment and the approval of the no men -cla ture list of compensatory equipment for persons with mobility disorders” to an extent stan dard ized the process of the provision of such equipment and provided a basis for municipalities to develop a system of accounting of the obtained compensatory equipment and monitoring and control over the use of such equipment. A required ef fi cien cy in provision of the population with the com pen -sa to ry equipment will be ensured only after the system for control of provision and accounting of such equipment is put in place. For that purpose in 2002 the Ministry of So cial Security and Labour commissioned scientific research “De- vel op ment of the methodologies for planning and re gion al distribution of the need of the disabled for com pen sa to ry equipment”, which was carried out by the Labour and Social Policy Research Institute.

The findings of the research showed that as the priority task is the further standardisation of provision with the compensatory equip ment which would include:

• Approval of the methodology for planning of the needs on the municipal and national level;

• Approval of the methodology for regional dis tri bu tion of compensatory equipment;

• Development of standardised forms necessary to imple ment an efficient accounting of compensatory equip-ment and monitored process of the provision with such equip ment.

3.4.4. ACTIVITY OF THE LITHUANIAN COUNCIL FOR THE AFFAIRS OF THE DISABLED IN 2002

In 2002, the State budget approved an allocation of LTL

22,923,000 to the Lithuanian Council for the Affairs of the Disabled to im ple ment the programmes of medical and professional rehabilitation and social integration of the disabled (further - the programmes) in accordance with 7 priority directions of the programmes.

The programmes in accordance with 7 priority di rec tions were implemented by 30 national public or ga ni za tions of the disabled, 7 health care and 1 research in sti tu tion, as well the Council itself. Based on the applications filed by public organisations of the disabled and con sid er ing the requests for resources, appropriate funding was approved in respect of each programme. As evident from the data provided in Table 3.4.4.-1, as was the case in pre vi ous years, most


significant resources were allocated to the programmes aiming at formation of working skills and independent life of the disabled. In 2002 considerably larg er resources were awarded to medical re ha bil i ta tion of the disabled, i.e., by nearly 60 per cent more than 2001.

The programmes were designed to render assistance to persons suffering from most severe forms of disability (dis abled children, persons with total disability, mobility dis abil i ty, visual or hearing impairment, mental disorders of Groups I and II) through programmes of social services, professional rehabilitation, and formation of skills of in de -pen dent life, medical rehabilitation, and com mu ni ca tions and information accessibility.

Within the framework of implementation of the Na tion al Programme efforts were made to formulate the policy meet-ing the special needs of the disabled, the efficiency of reha-bilitation and integration of the disabled was con sid er ably enhanced, appropriate funding was provided to the alterna-tive services established within communities - ed u ca tion al groups in pre-school institutions, day-care, em ploy ment and social services centres, homes of in de pen dent life, sup-port to vocational training, retraining, en ter pris es of public organisations of the disabled.

While summarising the achievements of 2002, it is neces sary to point out that during the year training services were provided to 13,547 disabled persons, 18,353 persons with disabilities were employed through various em ploy -ment services, including 1,834 disabled work ing within the labour market. Measures designed to adapt facilities for the needs of the disabled were implemented in 253 sites, including 220 apartments for the disabled and 33 public sites. During 2002, social services were provided to 10,832 disabled persons, 37,156 dis abled persons were provided with publicly available information. 1,688 disabled per sons

were provided treatment the purpose of which was re store their vital functions and compensate the lost functions. In addition, the Programme created new jobs for both the dis abled and healthy persons. During 2002, 1,320 persons were working within the programme, including 650 dis-abled persons, 1,654 persons were working in the public or-ganisations of the disabled, including 607 individuals with disabilities. From external spruces those re spon si ble for the implementation of the programme managed to at tract LTL 6,312,300, in addition to allocations of LTL 3,691,000 from mu nic i pal and county budgets approved for services and enterprises established at community lev el.

Since 1998, the Lithuanian Council for the Affairs of the Disabled has been implementing the housing programme. In order to meet the needs of the disabled in this respect every year it is necessary to adapt the housing facilities for over 3,500 disabled persons. Altogether, 24,000 disabled persons need to have the housing facilities entirely or partial ly adapted for their special needs. Obviously, the needs of the disabled in this respect are not satisfied to full ex tent. Adaptation of information environment also en coun ters a number of difficulties that prevent the disabled per sons from accessing the information and information sourc es that are available to the healthy part of the society. Adapta-tion of the physical environed alleviates the con flict of the disabled person in the area of information en vi ron ment. The adaptation of the information environment for the needs of the disabled should be further pursued, further-more, the disabled persons should be ensured equal op-portunities to participate in the life of the society.

Facilities in the environment of the disabled have not yet been adequately adapted to their special needs. The over view of de vel op ments in this area shows that the le-gal ba sis for the adaptation of the environment has been put in place, however, progress in individual sections is

2001 2002

Allocations (LTL million)

Change in per cent

The use of the funds al lo cat ed to the Lithuanian Coun cil for the Affairs of the Dis abled for the im ple men ta tion of medical and pro fes sion al rehabilitation and social in te gra tion of the disabled in 2001-2002

Name of the programme

Education of the disabled 2,7 2,5 - 7,4

Employment of the disabled 7,2 7,8 + 8,3

Adaptation of environment for the needs of the disabled 1,8 2,0 +11,0

Formation of independent life of the disabled 4,2 4,9 +16,0

Accessibility of information and communications 1,8 1,8 0,0

Medical rehabilitation 2,2 3,5 +59,0

Formation and implementation of policy of social integration 0,3

of the disabled

Total: 22,1 22,9 + 3,6

Data of the Lithuanian Council for the Af fairs of the Disabled Table 3.4.4.-1


very dif fer en ti at ed. There is an urgent need to accelerate the pro cess es related to the adaptation to the needs of the dis abled of public roads, railroads, means of air and water trans port. Services provided to the disabled by means of public transportation fail to meet the modern standards. Al though each municipality and some non-governmental organisations operate specially adjusted minibuses pur- chased for the funds form the State budget for trans por -ta tion or elderly and dis abled persons, in general, there is a considerable need to pro vide such services to a much wid er extent.

Training of skills of independents life is the least de vel -oped method of rehabilitation of the disabled. This meth od of rehabilitation should be further fostered as being es pe -cial ly instrumental in assisting the disabled to adapt in the regular environment. In particular, assessing the current situation where following the treatment or rehabilitation in case of severe traumas or diseases the disabled person is not able to operate in the society unless specially trained, he does not have the skills necessary for independent being in the regular environment. Hence, the mater should be addresses as the matter of primary importance. Also, measures should be taken to ensure appropriate ed u ca tion of disabled children, such as adaptation of en vi ron ments in educational institutions, specially adjusted train ing pro-grammes, and training and employment of the re quired number of pedagogues specially trained to work with the children in ques tion.

There is a number of other issues that need to be addressed, such as insufficient public awareness and acces si bil i ty of information for the disabled, the decreasing num ber of programmes in TV and radio highlighting issues related to the life of the disabled, adverse attitude of the public fostered by mass media; educational institutions fail to meet the special needs resulting from the disability; the environment and learning aids are not sufficiently adapt ed to the needs of the disabled failing to ensure the disabled children adequate tools to access the training and ed u ca -tion al services.

At the close of 2002, the first centre for professional re ha -bil i ta tion of the disabled was opened equipped to as sess the professional skills of the disabled person, also to restore such skills, or train new required skills. Fur ther more, the centre takes measures to employ the disabled persons.

3.4.5. YEAR OF THE DISABLED IN LITHUANIA

The Council of the European Union designated 2003 the European Year of People with Disabilities. In support of this initiative of the European nations, on April 18, 2002 the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania announced 2003 the Year of Disabled People in Lithuania thus opening ways to im prove the conditions for the disabled by targeted

measures, increase the awareness of the public about dis- abil i ties, their prevention, rehabilitation and satisfaction of special needs. To achieve the designated objectives the Ac-tion plan for the Year of Disabled People in Lithuania was drawn up. The Action plan places a specific emphasis on the following is sues: improvement of legal acts gov ern ing different areas of life and activity of the disabled, enhance-ment of public awareness, i.e., formation of pos i tive public approach to wards disability, adaptation of phys i cal envi-ronment in educational and social in sti tu tions to the specific needs of the dis abled, also enhancement of possibilities of the dis abled to study and lead independent life.

ConclusionsThe legal status of people with disabilities in Lithuania is

governed by laws of the Republic of Lithuania, the Con sti -tu tion of the Republic of Lithuania, while certain spe cif ic areas fall within the scope of individual laws and acts of secondary legislation establishing specific legal norms.

The trend of the increasing number of the disabled in the society remains a very acute problem. Over half of per sons suffering from disability of working age are un em ployed. Such situation was determined by a number of objective factors - lack of professional qual i fi ca tions, loss of links to the labour market or absence of such relations whatsoever, age or the assigned disability group. Among reasons of subjective character are the lack of initiative and motiva-tion to seek employment, inability to objectively assess own status in the labour market.

In 2002, the National Programme for the Integration of the Disabled into the Society was developed and ap proved. The Programme represents a measure furthering the de vel -op ment of the complex model for the rehabilitation of the disabled and reflects efforts to ensure more efficiency utili-sation of the potential of rehabilitation. The Programme is the National Programming documents of the Gov ern ment of the Republic of Lithuania establishing the State policy in the field of medical, professional and social re ha bil i ta tion and social in te gra tion of the disabled, its priority objectives and actions (measures) to be undertaken by the Govern-ment of the Republic of Lithuania and other public authori-ties within the period of the next 10 years, in an attempt to ensure the continuity of the social integration of the disabled as set forth by the Law on the Social In te gra tion of the Disabled of the Republic of Lithuania.

Reforms in the area of monetary support to the disabled, social security of such persons and social services pro vid ed to persons with disabilities are further on the agenda of institutions and authorities concerned.

Measures of support granted to a job proved rather inef fi cient, in addition, funds collection and appropriation sys tems, rigid systems of benefits and privileges failed to turn into ef fi cient incentives for the employers to create jobs


In ac cor dance with the said Resolution, upon death of a volunteer fighter the allocated funeral benefits amounting to 20 MLS were paid by the transfer made by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour to mu nic i pal i ties according to the applications submitted by the rel e vant municipal-ity. Under this procedure the benefits would reach the recipients with a time lapse of several weeks. Therefore, it was provided for that ben e fits for funerals of participants of armed op po si tion (resistance)- volunteer fighters” shall be paid by Mu nic i pal i ties from their own resources on the basis of a request and supporting doc u ments filed to the Municipality, which subsequently file a request to be re-imbursed for the amounts of the benefits by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour from the tar get ed funds of the State budget (Resolution No. 1625 of October 15, 2002 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania “On the amendment of the Resolution No. 177 of February 12, 1998 of Gov ern ment of the Republic of Lithuania “On State support to participants of armed op po si tion (re sis tance) - volunteer fighters”.

Seeking to resume the payment of compensations to for-mer political convicts an amendment was in tro duced in Resolution No. 327 of August 12, 1991 “On com pen sa tion of material damage to persons during the WWII brought to Germany for forced labour camps, former pris on ers of ghetto, and other places of imprisonment, and persons who in1951-1952 were unlawfully displaced from a locality in Lithuania to another localities” (Official Ga zette, 1991, No. 26-706). Having passed this Resolution the payment of com-pensations was renewed after Resolution No. 160 of July 24, 1989 of the Council of Ministers of the Lithuanian SSR was abolished on De cem ber 31, 1999 as a legal act adopted during the Soviet regime. The Res o lu tion set forth that for

for the dis abled. Persons suffering from light disabilities are much more often employed, it very seldom being the case for persons with severe disabilities, and even then on the initia-tive of public organisations with people with dis abil i ties.

The issue of the provision of the population with the or tho paedic appliances persists to remain very acute. Ac- cord ing to the data of Ministry of Social Security and La-bour in 2002, the total demand for orthopaedic appliances was sat is fied to the extent of 46 per cent.

According to the data provided by the National Centre for Compensatory Technique Centre, in 2002 the pro vi sion of the population with the necessary compensatory equipment covered 67 per cent of the total need. Since there is no single mechanism for recording and control of ap pli ca tions for such equipment it is impossible to determine the exact rate of meeting the need for compensatory equip ment.

In 2002, the State budget approved an allocation of LTL 22,923,000 to the Lithuanian Council for the Affairs of the Disabled to im ple ment the programmes of medical and professional rehabilitation and social integration of the disabled (further - the programmes) in accordance with 7 priority directions of the programmes.

3.5. SOCIAL POLICY IN RESPECT OF VICTIMS AND SOCIAL RISK GROUPS

3.5.1. LEGISLATION GOVERNING THE MON E TARY ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS

In 2002, some relevant improvements were in tro duced to Resolution No. 177 of February 12, 1998 of the Gov ern ment of the Republic of Lithuania “On State support to partici-pants of armed opposition (resistance) - vol un teer fighters”.

Vilnius

Department of Supervision and Au dit of Social Institutions under the MSSL Chart 3.5.2.-1

Families of political prisoners and deportees seeking to be provided with residential premises on the basis of lease: break down by municipalities.

Rajonai

Kaunas

Klaipëda

Ðiauliai

AlytusPanevëþys Marijampolë


the period of time of confinement in prisons, ghettos and other places of imprisonment, as well for the period of time in forced labour camps the persons concerned shall be entitled to compensations of LTL 20 per each month of im pris on ment and for a period up to De cem ber 31, 2003.

3.5.2. DEVELOPMENT AND IM PLE MEN TA TION OF SOCIAL PROGRAMMES FOR VIC TIMS AND SO CIAL RISK GROUPS

During the year 2002, the Ministry of Social Se cu ri ty and Labour was further implementing the Programme of Re turn of Deportees and Political Prisoners and their Fam i lies to Lithuania for 202-2007, approved by Res o lu tion No. 320 of March 5, 2002 “On the Approval of the Programme of Return of Deportees and Political Pris on ers to Lithuania for the year 2002-2007 and the Procedure of Provision of Re turn ees for Permanent Residence and their Families with Residential Premises on the basis of Lease” (Official Ga zette, 2002, No.26-930). The entity responsible for the im ple men ta tion of the programme was the Department of Su per vi sion and Audit of Social Institutions. In addition, the Stand ing Commission for the implementation of mea sures en vis aged in the Action guidelines of the Gov ern ment of the Re pub lic of Lithuania ap proved by Resolution No 19 of Jan u ary 11, 1992 of the Gov ern ment duly contributes to the im ple men ta tion of the programme. Among members of the Com mis sion are rep-resentatives of public au thor i ties and public organisations, - the Ministry of Social Se cu ri ty and Labour, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Finance, The Fund of the Return-ing Deportees, As so ci a tion of Lithuanian Mu nic i pal i ties, as

well as the De part ment of Supervision and Audit of Social In sti tu tions un der the MSSL.

The purpose of the programme is to further ensure condi tions for former deportees and their families to return to the Moth er land, and ensure their social guarantees. The programme is being effected by clearly defining the meth ods of solution, the terms for implementation and the nec es sary funding. The decision was taken to analyse the so cial and pro fes sion al needs of the persons concerned in an attempt to identify the problems of social adaptation of such persons, find solutions for their employment and so cial integration. Therefore, in late 2002 the rel e vant sur-vey was launched followed by a so cio log i cal survey of the re ha bil i tat ed political prisoners and deportees. The purpose of such survey was to assess the conditions for meeting the basic social needs of the returnees (housing, social sup port, etc.), and the related problems to be addressed. The survey also sought to assess the preparedness of such per sons to integrate into the labour market. A questionnaire survey will be conducted among the rehabilitated po lit i cal prison-ers and deportees and their families who had returned to Lithuania for permanent res i dence in 1998-2002, also those willing to return to Lithuania and included into the lists of mu nic i pal i ties as entitled to housing. The con duct ed analysis of social and professional needs will iden ti fy the social standing of the persons in question, the main ob-stacles for their integration into the social life. It will also make it possible to provide for measures facilitating their adaptation in Lithuania, integration into the society and encouraging such persons to seek possibilities to ensure their fully-fledged life.

The use of the funds for purchase and construction of flats for families of deportees in 1992-2002Year Registered as Allocations Allocated Notes willing to return to apartments Lithuania (families) 1992 250 Rb 34.15 m 95 1993 750 310 m coupons 101 1994 850 LTL 3.1 m 110 1995 833 LTL 3.1 m 112 1996 717 LTL 8.6 m 146 Temporary accommodation centre was built 1997 656 LTL 8.122 m 124 State Budget LTL 4 m 79 Funds of the CEDB loan 1998 654 LTL 11.33 m 121 State Budget LTL 10 m 148 Funds of the CEDB Loan 1999 710 LTL 2.63 m 88 Funds form the Privatisation Fund2000 836 LTL 0.80 m 25 Funds from the Privatisation Fund 2001 954 LTL 3.39 m 78 State budget and CEDB loan2002 856 LTL 3.73 m 78 State budget and the CEDB loanTotal: LTL 63.93 m 1505

Department of Supervision and Au dit of Social Institutions under the MSSL Table 3.5.2.-1


In 2002, 78 families of the returnees were provided with flats, their social guarantees were ensured, necessary as sis -tance was provided in dealing with their employment and social integration issues. During 1992-2002, total LTL 63.93 million were allocated and used for the provision of the re turn ees with flats, LTL 44.68 million were allocated form the State budget, and LTL 19.25 million were part of the loan grant ed by the CEDB (Council of Europe De vel op ment Bank). Using these funds 1505 fam i lies of re turn ees were provided with flats. In 2002, municipalities reg is tered 856 families of formed political prisoners and deportees (see Chart 3.5.2.-1) willing to return to Lithuania and acquire housing facilities. Mu nic i pal i ties are ac cept ing applications with the necessary supporting doc u ments to be included into the list of re turn ees until December 31, 2002. The State will continue to grant sup-port to such fam i lies by leasing to them municipal res i den tial premises un til December 31, 2007.

Since 2001, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour has been implementing the “2001-2004 Programme of So cial Adaptation of Convicted Individuals who were Re leased from Places of Imprisonment, Institutions of Cor rec tion al Labour and Social and Psy cho log i cal Re ha bil i ta tion”.

According to the data provided by the Department of Prisons under the Ministry of Justice, in 2001, 4.390 per sons were released from places of imprisonment. How ev er, in view of the amendments of the Criminal Code, in 2002 6.490 persons will be released from places of im pris on ment prior to the expiry of the term of sentence.

According to the data of the Lithuanian Labour Mar-ket, during 2001, 3715 former prisoners applied to labour ex chang es, and during 2002 the number increased to 4769. During 2002, 858 persons were employed in jobs of lim it ed or unlimited term, they also participated in the labour market measures: vocational training programme - 257 persons, 891 persons were participants of the labour clubs, and 447 persons were enrolled in the employment sup port programmes. 50 persons were employed in new jobs which were created by virtue of employment support sub si dies. The experience of the labour exchanges show that persons of this category often choose to stay supported by unemployment benefits, rather than take efforts to seek employment.

In 2002, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour collect ed the data from cities and regional municipalities on social support rendered to former prisoners during 2001 and 2002. The analysis of the data thus obtained allowed a conclusion that despite their rather con strained financial situation municipalities were quite successful in ren der ing social assistance to the former prisoners as defined by the relevant resolution of the Government of Republic of Lithuania. In 2001, 2755 persons released form places of imprisonment were granted one-off benefits, accounting for 97.5 percent of the total applicants, and in 2002 - 3250

applications for one-off benefits were awarded, or 98.9 per-cent (with an exception of the Vilnius Municipality which did not provide any data on one-off benefits grant ed to former prisoners). Free meal coupons were delivered to 1211 persons, and in 2002 - the number of recipients of such coupons reached 1523. However, it needs to be noticed that most former prisoners receive their meals in charity can teens which fully meet the needs of persons willing to re ceive such services.

Issues of housing for the persons in question remain among the most acute issues to tackle. According to the data of the Department of Statistics, in early 2001, there were 22 common lodging-houses with a capacity to ac com mo date 738 lodgers, while there were 1508 persons will ing to use the facilities of such lodging houses. In total 1754 persons were using the lodging-houses during 2001, and in general the need for lodging facilities by far exceeds the vacancies provided by existing premises.

Over 2001, 781 applications for accommodation in lodging houses were awarded, while only 50 persons released from places of im pris on ment were provided other types of residential premises (apartments form the manoeuvre fund, hostels, care houses, etc.). In 2002 the common lodging-houses provided accommodation for 849 former prison ers, and only 36 former prisoners were provided with other types of accommodation facilities. Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipïda, àiauliai and Panevï?ys common lodging-houses provided the facilities for a largest number of applicant former prisoners.

The issue of social adaptation of the convicts and per sons released from the places of imprisonment remains espe-cially important. The programme for social ad ap ta tion of former prisoners has been established by Res o lu tion No. 1179 of October 25, 1999 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania “On the Approval of the 2001-2004 Programme of Social Adaptation of Convicted In di vid u als, who were Released from Places of Imprisonment, In sti tu tions of Cor-rectional Labour, Social and Psy cho log i cal Rehabilitation” (further - the Programme). Within the framework of the Programme the Ministry of Social Se cu ri ty and Labour is responsible for the implementation of four measures: mea-sure I of Stage I of the Programme, - “Identify the needs for social assistance of former convicts and needs of organisa-tions and institutions providing such assistance” (imple-mentation term - 2001, funding need - LTL 12,000), measure 11 under Stage II of the Programme “Conduct sociological surveys of social and professional needs of convicted indi-viduals” (implementation term - 2001, funding need - LTL 45,000), measure 15 “Develop the vocational training and employment programme for former convicts” (implemen-tation term - 2001-2002, fund ing need - LTL 300.000, the implementing institution - the Lithuanian Labour Exchange and the Labour Market Train ing Service), and measure 16


- “Develop psychological measures improving the social and professional ad ap ta tion (implementation term - 2001-2002, funding need - LTL 150.000, implementing institution - the Labour Market Train ing Service).

Among other tasks of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour within the framework of this Programme was the provision of vocational guidance to convicted in di vid u als, also those who were released from places im pris on ment, institutions of correctional labour and social and psycho-logical rehabilitation.

While implementing the measure “Develop the vo ca -tion al training and employment programme for former convicts” in 2001-2002 the Lithuanian Labour Exchange, under the agreement concluded between the Ministry and the Labour Exchange developed and im ple ment ed the programme for employment of former convicts. The programme enabled 268 former prisoners to acquire a profes sion in demand at the labour market, obtain em ploy ment and return to the society.

In the course of implementation of the programme the territorial labour exchanges were cooperating with impris on ment institutions, police commissariats, municipal de part ment of social care, social adaptation institutions.

Over the year 2002 the territorial labour exchanges re ferred 159 former convicts to vocational training programmes. 70 per cent of the trainees earlier lacking any working skills or professional qualifications were en rolled in primary training programmes, 20 per cent were im prov ing their pro fes -sion al qualification. 137 former convicts (22 terminated their training activities) graduated from the vocational training programmes, acquired new pro fes sions or professional competences, 32 of them obtained em ploy ment.

While implementing the programme the employees of the territorial labour exchanges encountered difficulties in guiding the former convicts to return to the labour mar ket. Quite a number of persons receiving counselling, al though not having any professional ed u ca tion, refused to undergo training in the coursed funded by the labour ex change and acquire a profession in request at the labour market. They do not apply to labour exchanges, many of them do not have any permanent residence and their where abouts are difficult to establish. Having enrolled to the training course some of them ceased attending the class es without due reason. Difficulties for the former con victs to obtain employment stem not only from the neg a tive attitude of the employers towards them, - not in fre quent ly former convicts themselves fail to show initiative in seeking employment, improving their employability, and often they simply lack skills to properly communicate with potential employers. The individuals released form places of imprisonment need an additional programme facilitating their integration into the labour market, as well as the special psychological as-sistance.

Total allocations from the State budget for the vo ca tion al training of former convicts during 2001 amounted to LTL 136,000, and in 2002 - LTL 174,200.

Within the framework of the measure “To develop psy cho log i cal measures aimed at improvement of so-cial and professional ad ap ta tion”, the Panevï?ys labour market train ing centre in 2001-2002 was carrying out the programme for the professional and social ad ap ta tion of convicted individuals. Training was provided to 98 fe male convicts in the correctional labour institutions, in 2002 the number of trainees increased to 245, in addition, four new training programmes were introduced. In 2001, LTL 76,000 were allocated for the im ple men ta tion of this measures, and in 2002 - LTL 190,000.

The programme provided for measures to be im ple -ment ed during 2001-2002. The authorities responsible for the implementation of these programmes were the admin is tra tions of Kaunas and Vilnius County Governors, and Vilnius Municipality. The programmes envisaged to es tab lish the social adaptation divisions for persons re leased form the places of imprisonment, establish care in sti tu tions for persons suffering from the open form of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, open a day centre for former prisoners at the Mu nic i pal i ty of Vilnius, and other in i ti a tives. Since no allocations were provided for in the State budget for the implementation of measures planned for 2001-2002, the administrations of Vilnius and Kaunas Coun ty Governors, and the Municipality of Vilnius failed to im ple ment the above measures. Further, in 2003, the institutions concerned were not allocated any funds for the implementation of the programme in question.

Since 2000 the Ministry of Social Security and Labour has been carrying out the National Programme for the Drug Control and Drug Addiction Prevention for 1999-2003. The main objective of the programme in view of the urgency of the drug addiction in Lithuania is to identify the main prob lems related to drug control and prevention of drug abuse, and to establish the principal tasks of the national drug control policy and measures to address the problems. To achieve the objective main action guidelines have been defined in the form of measures of the programme, name ly, the further improvement of the formation of the drug control policy and its implementing mech a nism, reduction of the supply of, the need for drugs and alleviation of damage produced thereby. The Ministry of Social Security and Labour is responsible for a number of measures to be imple ment ed in the areas of the reduction of drug addiction, the most important being the rehabilitation and integration of drug addicts. Total LTL 679,000 were allocated fro the im ple men ta tion of the above measures.

The implementation of the programme focused on support to projects designed for rehabilitation of drug addicts and prevention of drug addiction. Total LTL 460,000 were


used for the implementation of the measure “Support to projects developed by organisations in the area of pre ven -tion of drug addiction and rehabilitation of drug addicts”. Financial support was granted to 18 projects designed for rehabilitation of drug addicts and prevention of drug ad- dic tion. As a result, four new communities for long-term rehabilitation of drug addicts (in àiauliai, Kaunas, Ignalina and Druskininkai region) were established in addition to one rehabilitation day centre at Panevï?ys Centre for Ad- dic tive Disorders. Certain support was also granted to the earlier established drug addicts rehabilitation com mu ni ties and three day centres. As of today, communities for the rehabilitation of drug are attended by 223 customers, and 199 drug addicts are enrolled as attendees of day cen tres. All projects included such measures as consultations and work with parents of drug addicts.

LTL 150.000 were allocated for the implementation of the measure under the programme “To support the drug prevention projects of non-governmental organisations”. The tender organised allowed to select the winners, and eventually agreements were concluded with 45 project owners. Funds allocated for the implementation of the projects were transferred to the Council of Youth Affairs.

The measure of the programme “To organise camps of psychological-pedagogical rehabilitation for children and youth victims of drug substances, also events dedicated to prevention of drug addiction, organise the free time for children and the youth” was allocated LTL 20,000. The Ministry of Education and Science organised the tender, and the MSSL concluded contracts with 4 winning projects, the funds were transferred to project owners. The projects were successfully implemented.

Particular attention is devoted to training and improve ment of qualifications of staff members working with per sons belonging to risk groups and members of their fam i lies. Such training activities are organised by the Social Workers Training centre. LTL 49.000 were used to im ple ment the measure “Train and retrain employees working with risk groups persons and their family mem-bers”, 11 workshops were held, training was provided to 325 em ploy ees working with individuals attributable to risk groups.

In view of the reform of social services, and there being no unanimous requirements to the institutions of re ha bil i ta tion of drug addicts, also newly established centres, the quality and nomenclature of services provided thereby, qualifica-tion of the personnel, the Ministry of Social Se cu ri ty and Labour initiated the drafting of minimum set of require-ments to the rehabilitation centre. An interagency group was established for that purpose which in 2002 de vel oped the set of requirements for such centres and the rules on referring persons to such centres. “Requirements to institu-tions of psychological and social rehabilitation rendering services to persons addicted to psychotropic substances” were approved by Order No. A-25 of Feb ru ary 11, 2003 of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour.

Persons addicted to psychotropic substances need sub- stan tial medical, psychological and social assistance. A variety of organisations contributed to the establishment of communities and centres for long-term rehabilitation of drug addicts, day centres for drug addicts which also pro vide social and labour rehabilitation for drug addicts.

In an attempt to provide a more comprehensive assess ment of the activities of organisations engaged in the

Breakdown of institutions providing services to drug addicts by main funding sources as of July 2002.

Labour and Social Research Institute Chart 3.5.2.-2

State budget

Municipal budget

Different funds

Projects unprogress

Other financing sources


re ha bil i ta tion of drug addicts and thus substantiate the fund ing of projects implemented by such organisations ac cord ing to the National Programme for the Drug Con-trol and Drug Addiction Prevention, the Labour and Social Re search Institute produced the report of scientific research “Cri te ria for the assessment of activities of organisations involved in the rehabilitation of drug addicts, definition of the main social and psychological services”.

The survey of institutions providing rehabilitation ser- vic es to drug addicts in Lithuania produced the following conclusions:

• Many institutions providing services to drug addicts (except the two funded from the State budget) are quite new organisations, many of them are still in progress of ar-ranging their residential premises, they lack an es tab lished staffing, or number of serviced cus tom ers, etc.

• insufficient official (based on relevant documents) in for ma tion on their activity (financing sources, services of fered, personnel, etc.);

• Each institution follows its individual understanding of the concept of social, legal or psychological services, responsibilities and functions of individual staff members (particularly, duties of a social worker and a consultant are more than often confused or simply identified);

• the major part of the respondents fit a similar pattern of limited staff including the manager, accountant and 1-3 consultants; the institutions reported essentially different numbers of staff members assigned to 10 customers, it vary ing from 1 to 12 employees;

• funding of the surveyed institutions also differ es sen -tial ly, in the two institutions funded from the State budget average monthly expenses per customer are in excess LTL 1.000 (in this respect the Rehabilitation division of the Vilnius Centre for Addictive Disorders is in a particularly beneficial position, allowing LTL 1.700 as monthly ex pens es per customer);

• 9 of 11 respondents charge a membership fee which ranges from 100 to 900 LTL/month (in some institutions some low-income customers are exempted from such charg es; in general fees are of differentiated rates);

• in most of the surveyed (9 out of 11) institutions pro- vid ing the rehabilitation services to the drug addicts cus- tom ers are men of 18-40 (age average - 25 years), suffering from addiction to drugs or alcohol. Part of the customers have records at law enforcement institutions, or are sick with hepatitis, or HIV positive. As a general rule cus tom ers are admitted to the communities only provided they are sober, often - following the detoxification;

• In general, in Lithuania there are no institutions for the rehabilitation of drug addicts having some special needs - suffering from mental diseases, HIV/AIDS, moth ers with children, teenagers, prisoners, and persons serv ing the sentence in places of imprisonment, etc.

The survey suggested the following proposals: 1. It is recommended to promote the establishment of

institutions for the rehabilitation of drug addicts exposing some special needs (suffering from mental disorders, HIV positive or AIDS infected, mothers with children, teen ag ers, prisoners, serving the sentence in places of im pris on ment,

Average monthly expenses per customer and average contributions per customer in 2002

Labour and Social Research Institute Chart 3.5.2.-3

Average monthly fees per customer

Monthly expenses per customer


etc.), while involving into the activity centres for addictive disorders (as having the largest number of spe cial ist in the area), and the places of imprisonment (as cur rent place for a number of potential future customers of the rehabilitation centres), other public authorities and organisations.

2. The following criteria were suggested for the eval u a tion of performance of institutions providing the re ha bil i ta tion services to drug addicts:

Service structure (both provided in the community, and medical, social, psychological and other services offered within the com mu ni ty);

Qualification level and structure of the personnel (the number of staff members per customer, their experience and education);

Economic efficiency of the operation of the institution (the structure and efficiency of the use of financial re sourc es);

The level of relapse/sobriety of the customers (number of customers who have relapsed during or following the rehabilitation process, the duration of abstinence of per sons following the rehabilitation, etc.).

3. Recommended personnel to serve a group of 10-15 persons undergoing the rehabilitation:

head of the community (administrator), - responsible for the organisation and operations of the community, im ple men ta tion of the programme, supervision over the re al iza tion of the programme and its improvement. The Head of the community should be present at the commu-nity for a bigger part of his working day;

psychologies (psychotherapist) - responsible for the di ag nos tic assessment of the patients, therapy classes, in di vid u al counselling, education on the subject of ad-diction, motivation of the patients to seek treatment and re ha bil i ta tion, crisis warning, and a timely in ter ven tion in crisis situations in the community. The psychologist (psycho ther a pist) should be visiting the community not less fre quent ly than 2-3 times a week;

2-3 consultants - former drug addicts having graduated from the rehabilitation course and abstained from drugs for at least three years, attending the AA (anonymous al co hol ics) or AD (anonymous drug addicts) groups, un der go ing training on primary psychological assistance to per sons addicted to psychotropic substances, and respon si ble for the diligent performance of their duties by the patients of the community. Such consultants shall encour-age the patients to join the AA or AD groups, the activities where of fully reflect the basic ideas of the programme for the re ha bil i ta tion of drug addicts, and help the graduates to con tin ue living in sobriety upon graduation from the re ha bil i ta tion course. In rotation the consultants should also work as night watchers (there being no possibility to hire the night watchers for the position);

Social worker - responsible for collection and ac cu mu l-a tion of information on social issues related to the patient

and his environment, application of specific measures and methods for patients of social assistance. The social work er provides information and guidance to the patients on leg is -la tion on social guarantees and other methods of sup port, about his rights and possibilities in specific cases, ways of behaviour in specific problematic or conflict sit u a tions, also information on assistance institutions nec es sary for the patient, and helps the patient to select the nec es sary assistance institution. The social worker also helps the patient to obtain personal documents and those re quired receiving benefits and pension. He shall provide informa-tion to the relatives of the patient on the need of assistance to the patient and methods of such assistance, and will take measures to involve the patient into the as sis tance process. The social worker will cooperate with other institutions and will coordinate his operations with them, control the provision of social services and provide guidance as to the possibility of the patient to avail him self to such services.

Accountant - a specialist who will not be involved in the work directly with the patients undergoing rehabilitation, rather be re spon si ble for the organisation and conducting of the financial accounting of the community;

Where possible, it would be preferable for a community to employ a therapist responsible for the labour therapy in the community, appropriate selection and distribution of assignments; he shall also be responsible for labour con di -tions and compliance with the labour safety regulations.

4. The analysis of the experience accumulated in foreign countries and the status of institutions providing the re ha -bil i ta tion services to the drug addicts suggests that in the optimal scenario the personnel of the rehabilitation commu ni ty should include both professionals and graduates of the rehabilitation treatment (depending on each in di vid u al situation, the ratio between professionals and staff members suffering from addiction may vary from 1:2 to 2:1, i.e., professionals should make up not less than 30%, but not more than 70% of the personnel of the community staff).

5. It is recommended that the head of an institution pro vid ing the rehabilitation services to drug addicts has a term of abstaining not shorter than 5 years, and that there is a time lapse not less than 5 years from his most recent con vic tion; and that the consultant must have been abstain-ing for a period not shorter than 3 years.

In 2002, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour start ed implementing the 2002-2004 Programme for the control and Prevention of People Trafficking and Prostitution.

Trafficking in women is a world-wide phenomenon gen- er at ed primarily by social and economic conditions, and it has long ago stopped being an internal problem of each State, having become an international problem ad dress ing of which requires closer cooperation and coordination of ac tions.

Most States of former Eastern block are currently un der -


go ing economic reforms and transition from the centralised management of economy to economies developing under market conditions. The transition period and economic re-forms always are related to dif fi cul ties which are es pe cial ly painful to those who failed to adapt to new eco nom ic condi-tions. In order to earn their living such persons often take any odd jobs, even rendering sexual services. Traders take advantage of such helplessness and sell women as cheap labour force. Thus women become live goods en trapped in the “modern” slavery.

People trafficking especially trafficking in women and children is a problem which is being addressed by the Gov- ern ment of the Re pub lic of Lithuania with particular at ten -tion. Thus, in view of the urgency of the issue of traf fick ing in people and seeking to es sen tial ly improve the pre ven tion of such activities, as well as control and sup port to vic tims, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania by its Reso-lution No. 62 of January 17, 2002, ap proved the 2002-2004 Programme for the Control and Pre ven tion of Traf fick ing in People and Prostitution. The Programme has al ready been launched for im ple men ta tion. The strategic ob jec tive of the Programme is an over all elimination of rea sons and condi-tions for prostitution and people trafficking, and develop-ment of the system of measures preventing such unlawful activities. The Programme also plans to improve legislation, conduct sci en tif ic and analytical surveys, im prove educa-tion, pre ven tion, social integration of victims, realise the organisational measures combating organisations engaged in people traf fick ing.

The Ministry of Social Security and Labour also con- trib ut ed to the development of the Programme and was re spon si ble for the im ple men ta tion of three measures: “Sup port projects and public authorities and non-gov ern -men tal organisations aimed at social assistance and social re in te gra tion of victims of forced prostitution”, “Develop and implement special programmes for psychological re ha bil i ta tion, professional guidance and employment (in 6 mu nic i pal i ties) for victims of people trafficking and forced prostitution”. “Develop mea sures for implementing the statements of the 4th Global United Nations Women’s Conference”.

An open tender was announced for the implementation of the measure “Support projects and public authorities and non-gov ern men tal organisations aimed at social as sis tance and social reintegration of victims of forced pros ti tu tion”. As a result, contracts were signed with five organisations of Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipïda. Funding allocated for such projects constituted a substantial support to the activities of non-governmental and gov ern ment organisations. Total LTL 90,000 were allocated for the imple men ta tion of this measure.

Within the framework of such projects an appropriate and accessible social-rehabilitation assistance was offered

to tens of young women who had fallen victims of people trafficking. Other initiatives within the project were the analysis of the psychosocial en vi ron ment of such young girls and women, development of the methodology for spe-cialised training of social workers on the subject of women trafficking, pilot training to social workers from different regions of Lithuania using the developed meth od ol o gy. Further, wom en victims of prostitution and peo ple traf-ficking were consulted by telephone, in for ma tion material was developed and published (leaflets to women subject to domestic and sexual violence; victims and prostitution and trafficking of people), followed by other preventive initiatives.

In order to implement the measure “Develop and im ple ment special programmes for psychological re ha -bil i ta tion, professional guid ance and employment (in 6 mu nic i pal i ties) for victims of people trafficking and forced pros ti tu tion” the Minister of Social Security and Labour by her Order No. 147 of November 19, 2002 set up a working group including representatives of institutions re spon si ble for the implementation of the measure.

For the implementation of the measure “Develop measures for implementing the statements of the 4th Global United Nations Wom en’s Conference” specific measures recommended for enforcement of the statements of the Conference were developed and submitted to the In ter -agen cy working group monitoring the implementation of the 2002-2004 Programme for the Control and Prevention of Trafficking in People and Prostitution. An allocation of LTL 10.000 was provided for the implementation of this measure.

Refugees are essentially a new phenomenon in the life of the Lithuanian State, therefore appropriate regulations were adopted to address the relevant issues.

The 12 months programme for social integration of ref- u gees granted asylum was launched by Resolution No. 572 of May 17, 2001 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania “On the approval of the procedure for social in te gra tion of foreigners who were granted asylum”, and is currently in progress.

Main guidelines of social integration of foreigners who were granted asylum are as follows:

- Provide temporary residence (lease residential pre mises for the duration of the programme, organise the ac qui si tion of most nec es sary housing appliances and furniture on the account of the granted one-off benefit);

- Arrange training (190-290 hours Lithuanian language courses for adults, education of pre-school and school age children);

- Arrange employment (assistance in obtaining employ ment, receiving retraining, etc.);

- Ensure social security (monthly benefits for most vital needs);


- Ensure health protection (funds to compulsory health insurance);

- Inform the society about foreigners who were granted asylum, seeking to prevent exclusion, public xenophobia and promote tol er ance.

Order No. 142 of November 12, 2002 of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour obligated the Department of Su-pervision and Audit of Social Institutions under the MSSL (further - the Department) to coordinate and mon i tor the implementation of the programme for social in te gra tion of foreigners who were granted asylum.

Acting in accordance with the said Order the De part ment takes decisions concerning the involvement of for eign ers who were granted asylum into the State sup port ed pro-gramme of social integration of such individuals, con cludes cooperation agreements with mu nic i pal i ties and non-gov-ernmental organisations concerning social in te gra tion of foreigners who were granted asylum, monitors in di vid u al social integration activities pursued by said organisations, and the use of funds allocated to social in te gra tion.

Currently in the area of social integration of foreigners

Number of asylum ap-plications

Number of decisions to grant asylum:

Asylum granted on human i tar i an considerations

Refugee status granted

Foreigners seeking asylum and those who were granted asylum Year

1997 242 6 -

1998 159 28 -

1999 143 11 -

2000 303 15 73

2001 425 3 192

2002 546 1 220

Total 1818 64 485

Migration Department under the Min is try of the Interior Table 3.5.2.-2

the Department is maintaining cooperation relations with Municipalities of Klaipïda, Kaunas, Vilnius, Marijampolï and the region of Tel iai; the Lithuanian Red Cross So ci ety, “Caritas” of Vilnius diocese, and the public foun da tion ,,Eupro”.

An important role in preparing the asylum seekers for integration into the Lithuanian society is assigned to the Refugee reception centre (RRC) which is responsible for ac-commodating the foreigners who have filed an ap pli ca tion for asylum in the Republic of Lithuania and were grant ed a temporary territorial asylum.

The Refugee reception centre which was in 1996 es tab -lished in Rukla town (Jonava region) is so far the only cen tre of the type in Lithuania. The RRC is established as a social institution providing the asylum seekers with the support and services as established by the State. The founder of the RRC is the Ministry of Social Security and Labour. According to the Regulations of the Refugee re cep tion centre approved by Order No. 45 of March 29, 2002 of the Minister of Social Security and Labour, an oth er func tion of the centre is to organise and im ple ment the so-

State budget allocations for implementation of the in te gra tion

programme (LTL 000)

Year Number of foreigners received and participated in the social integration

programme

The use of funds for social integration of foreigners who were granted asylum

1999 29 742 2000 51 529 2001 126 346 2002 185 914

Department of Supervision and Audit of Social Institutions un der the Ministry of Social Security and Labour

Table 3.5.2.-3


3.5.3. CONCLUSIONS CONCERNING GRANTING STATE SUPPORT TO VICTIMS AND SOCIAL RISK GROUPS IN 2002, AND THE PROJECTED GUIDE LINES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL SUP PORT SYSTEM

The legal basis of social support to victims will be further improved seeking to eliminate the contradictions be tween the currently effective legislation and the pre vi -ous ly passed Resolutions of the Government, and provide for more accurate definition of the group of victims and their legal status. Proposals concerning improvement of the rel e vant regulations will be submitted to the Govern-ment of the Republic of Lithuania following the estab-lished pro ce dure.

Number of foreigners who have received asylum and granted State socialinei sup-port for social integration

Foreigners who have received asylum and granted State support for social integration by countries of origin

Country 2000 m. 2001 m. 2002 m.

Afghanistan 38 33 16

Russian Federation 9 67 150

Iran 6 6 -

Iraqi 4 - 1

Somalia - 13 10

Sri Lanka - 4 3

Pakistan - 4 4

Congo - - 1

Others 3 2 1

Total: 60 129 185

Department of Supervision and Audit of Social Institutions under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour

Table 3.5.2.-4

While implementing the programme approved by Res o -lu tion No. 1179 of October 25, 1999 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania “On the Approval of the 201-2004 Programme of Social Adaptation of Convicted In di vid u als who were Released from Places of Imprisonment, Insti-tutions of Correctional Labour, Social and Psy cho log i cal Rehabilitation (Official Gazette, 1999 No.91-2676;) some measures under the programme were not im ple ment ed during 2001-2002, mostly those assigned to mu nic i pal i ties and administrations of County Gov er nors, which failed to establish social adaptation di vi sions for former convicts, - day centres, as well as ser vic es and hos tels. The munici-pal authorities were not allocated the funds required to im ple ment the mea sures envisaged in the programme, nei ther they made any allocations from their own budgets. An al lo ca tion of LTL 2.433.000 was planned for the im ple -men ta tion of the programme during 2001-2002, although the actual amounts granted from the State budget totalled only LTL 507.000 ac count ing for merely 21 percent of the es ti mat ed funding re quire ments.

While implementing the programme specialists of the territorial labour exchanges encountered some dif fi cul ties in guiding former prisoners to rejoin to the labour market. A number of persons of the category, although not having any professional education, refused to join the training courses funded by the Lithuanian Labour Exchange and acquire a profession demanded on the labour market. Hav ing started to attend such courses many of such persons ceased training without due rea son. They do not contact labour exchanges, many do not have permanent res i denc es and thus are hard to locate. The reasons underlying dif fi cul ties for former prisoners to obtain em ploy ment often stem not only from

cial integration of foreigners who were grant ed asylum. In September 1998, 197 foreigners from 12 coun tries were

residing in the centre, most of them being ref u gees from Afghanistan and Somalia, in February 2000 - 188 for eign ers, mostly from Afghanistan and So ma lia, in October 2001 - 150 foreigners, most of them (127) - citizens of Russia, and in October 2002 - 207 foreigners, most of them (166) - citizens of Russia.

The Refugee reception centre provides ac com mo da tion for foreigners who have filed an asylum ap pli ca tion. For- eign ers who were in the manner pro vid ed by laws grant ed the status of the refugee or were granted a permit to tem po -rari ly reside in the Republic of Lithuania for hu man i tar i an con sid er ations are trans ferred to reside in mu nic i pal i ties where they are grant ed State support for social in te gra tion into the Lithuanian so ci ety.


the adverse attitude of employers to wards former prison-ers, they often lack initiative to seek jobs, im prove their employability, or simply skills to sim ple com mu ni ca tion with employers. Persons released from places of impris-onment need a supplementary programme for adapta-tion into the labour market, and specific psy cho log i cal assistance.

Having concluded that in view of the shortage of funds the social adaptation and that prevention ac tiv i ties are being conducted to unsatisfactory standards, and re-sociali-sation of former prisoners is an on-going process requiring constant attention and funding, it was decided to develop a new plan for measures under the Programme. The pre-viously envisaged measure to es tab lish new di vi sions for former prisoners was re placed by the initiative to focus

on support social services of fered to such in di vid u als. An amendment to Res o lu tion No. 1179 of October 25, 1999 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania will be introduced in the course of 2003.

The implementation of the 1999-2003 National Pro-gramme for the Drug Control and Drug Addition Pre- ven tion will be completed in 2003. In 2002, the in ter agen cy working group started working on the Na tion al Strategy for the Drug Control and Drug Ad dic tion Pre ven tion. The plan of measures implementing the Strategy is also being developed. The Ministry of So cial Security and Labour has provided for a number of measures aimed at social re ha -bil i ta tion of drug ad dicts, enhancement of qualifications of employees, research on the efficiency of such measures.

77S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

4.1. MAJOR AREAS OF ACTIVITY IN THE CONTEXTOF LITHUANIA’S INTEGRATION INTO THE EURO-PEAN UNION

4.1.1. EU ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS AND RE-SULTS

The Ministry of Social Security and Labour was respon-sible for two negotiating chapters: Free Movement of Per-sons and Social Policy and Employment. Negotiations onthese chapters were rather smooth, no major problems orobstacles impeded the process of negotiations and theywere officially completed at the meetings of chief negotia-tors on 28 November 2001 and 30 March 2001 respectively.

Results of Negotiations

Free Movement of PersonsFree movement of persons is one of the fundamental free-

doms embedded in the founding treaties of the EuropeanUnion and other legislation of the Union. When puttingthis freedom into practice upon the accession of Lithuaniato the EU, Lithuanian residents will have a right to movefreely in the EU (except for certain restrictions in GreatBritain and Ireland). Real opportunities open up for boththe highly qualified labour force and workers with lowqualifications to become employed in the EU member statesas well as receive respective social support and guarantees.

Lithuanian citizens who travel to any other EU memberstate to work or establish their own undertakings as wellas their family members and students and pensioners willbe ensured:

1. the right to freely cross the borders of the member states,2. the right to take up residence in any member state,3. the right to become employed or take up independent

working activity according to the education and profes-sional qualification acquired in their country,

4. the right to vote and run for the European Parliamentand municipal elections,

5. the right to respective social protection and guarantees.Education and qualification acquired in Lithuania will

be recognised in all member states of the EU, which willnot only allow continuing studies in any EU country butwill also provide possibility for setting up a legal business

4. Activities of the Ministry in the Fields of EuropeanIntegration and International Co-operation

and working according to one’s qualification. Thus, theentire society will benefit, as the free movement of labourwill contribute to the solving of the unemployment issueand improvement of conditions for qualifications’ upgrad-ing. Lithuanian citizens will have access to information onvacant jobs in the Union, living and working conditions inthe EU member states, study opportunities, social protec-tion and tax system.

As regards the negative effects of the free movement ofpeople for Lithuania, it should be noted that the possibil-ity of “brain drain” is related to the free movement of labourforce. On the other hand, real opportunities for a signifi-cant share of labour force to become employed in the othermember states will result in the increase of real wage. Itshould also be noted that the implementation of EU legis-lation will result in an increased financial burden of thePatients’ Fund as it will have to cover health care expensesof the insured citizens of the Republic of Lithuania in theEU member states as well as the losses incurred due tohealth care services rendered to uninsured and insolventEU citizens in Lithuania. Residents of the Lithuanian-Belarusian and Lithuanian-Kaliningrad border region willalso feel the effects (due to the cancellation of mutual visaprivileges).

In the negotiating chapter on the free movement of per-sons, the European Union asked for a transition period from2 to 7 years as of the accession of Lithuania (according tothe formula of 2+3+2 years), during which the EU mem-ber states will be able to restrict the movement of labourforce from Lithuania. Lithuania, in its turn, will have apossibility to restrict the movement of labour force fromthose member states that apply restrictions to Lithuania.Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands and GreatBritain have announced that they will not introduce anyrestrictions, thus, our citizens will be able to become em-ployed in these countries as of the accession of Lithuaniato the European Union. As regards the remaining memberstates, Lithuania has a possibility to discuss the cancella-tion of transition periods in bilateral negotiations.

Social Policy and EmploymentAs regards the results of accession negotiations in the

field of social policy and employment, the following posi-tive effects of Lithuania’s integration into the European

ACTIVITIES OF THE MINISTRY IN THE FIELDS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION

78 S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

social policy and employment system could be identified:• more and better jobs will be generated, efforts will be

undertaken to avoid and reduce unemployment, livingconditions will improve;

• the skills of labour force will be developed and theirqualifications improved;

• the employees of companies going bankrupt or alreadybankrupt will also feel the positive effects as they will re-ceive allowances in case the employee is insolvent;

• employees will be ensured better guarantees and theirrights will be protected in the case of the transfer of busi-ness;

• employee-favourable consultation and informationpractice will be adopted, in particular in the case of collec-tive layoffs;

• equal gender opportunities will be put into practice;• more funds for the re-qualification of employees and

qualification upgrading will become available;• consultations and co-operation between partners will

be enhanced and social partnership institutions will bedeveloped;

• trilateral dialogue on the issues of employment andsocial policy will become more active;

• in line with the European Social Charter, the rights ofwage earners, each and every individual and separategroups of residents will be ensured in Lithuania;

• as the EU requirements of occupational health andsafety are implemented, the number of accidents at workand professional diseases will decrease and the workingenvironment will be improved;

• employers will also see the positive effects - workingefficiency will grow and the number of accidents at workand professional diseases will decrease, which will cutpayments to compensate for damage;

• employers will have to set up anew those workingplaces that fail to meet the requirements of protectionagainst the effects of chemical substances and their prepa-rations or other provisions regarding obligatory health andsafety requirements, also, employers will have to allocateadditional funds for the acquisition of protective equip-ment;

• the State Social Insurance Fund will make less pay-ments related to the employee sickness rate.

In a summary of the results of EU accession negotiationsin the field of free movement of persons, social policy andemployment, the positive effects for Lithuania in this areaby far exceed the negative consequences. Integration intothe European social model that is based on good economicindicators, high standards of social security and educa-tional and social dialogue will allow Lithuania to ensurebetter preparation for meeting the competitive challengesunder the conditions of the EU’s internal market andglobalisation.

4.1.2. REFERENDUM ON LITHUANIA’S MEMBER-SHIP OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE PUBLICINFORMATION CAMPAIGN

Referendum on the membership of Lithuania in the Eu-ropean Union was held on 10-11 May 2003, and the periodup to the referendum was extremely important in terms ofall-round and exhaustive information of the society on thebenefits of membership. In late 2002, and in the last monthsbefore the referendum in particular, specialists of the Min-istry of Social Security and Labour actively joined the publicinformation campaign held in the entire country in prepa-ration for the referendum on Lithuania’s EU membership.

Taking into account that the Ministry’s area of com-petence covers dealing with such sensitive groups ofthe society as pensioners, jobless and disabled people,choosing the most appropriate means and measures forinformation dissemination was extremely important soas to ensure that the recipient has the most exhaustiveand relevant information that would encourage him orher to make the decision on the future of our country.

A co-ordinating group for the public information cam-paign was set up by the order of the Minister of SocialSecurity and Labour. After an information action planwas adopted, the group engaged in such activities asorganising different events and participating in them,took part in TV and radio programmes, prepared infor-mation to be disseminated, articles for the press, leaf-lets, etc. Representatives of the institutions subordinateto the Ministry, Lithuanian Labour Exchange, State So-cial Insurance Fund, State Labour Inspection andLithuanian Labour Market Training Authority also ac-tively joined the public information campaign.

In late March 2003, the Ministry published leaflets ex-plaining to the most vulnerable social groups, the un-employed, disabled and pensioners, the effects of EUmembership and the opportunities it offers. In April,the Ministry published a leaflet on the free movementof persons in the European Union. The Ministry sup-plied the leaflets to the Lithuanian Labour Exchange andits territorial divisions, the State Social Insurance Fundand its divisions, the European Committee, the Delega-tion of the European Commission in Lithuania and thecouncils dealing with the affairs of pensioners and thedisabled. Leaflets were also distributed at differentevents and meetings with the public organised by theMinistry. The leaflets can be found on the Internetwebsite of the Ministry. During the same period, theMinistry published articles in national and regionalpress and the Ministry’s specialists commented in dif-ferent issues of interest to the public.

The Minister of Social Security and Labour, the StateSecretary of the Ministry, secretaries of the Ministry and

79S O C I A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 2

other specialists on a regular basis took part in TV and ra-dio programmes dealing with the prospects for social policyafter support from Lithuania’s to the EU accession, the ef-fects of the free movement of persons for Lithuania, theuse of the Structural Funds, the opening opportunities forincreasing employment, the social integration of the dis-abled, occupational health and safety, problems that mi-grant workers are faced with, etc.

A cycle of seminars for the disabled on the opportunitiesthat the membership of the European Union will open up,held in co-operation with the organisations of disabledpeople, proved to be important, useful and informative.During the seminars, meetings were held in the entireLithuania for the representatives of the Lithuanian DisabledSociety, disabled young people, Lithuanian society of men-tally disabled people “Viltis”, Lithuanian Union of Blindand Weak-Sighted People, Lithuanian Union of Blind andSight-Impaired Persons, Lithuanian Society of Hearing-Impaired People and other NGOs of the disabled.

The prospects for Lithuania as the member state of theEuropean Union were also discussed at meetings withpensioners, organised together with the territorialbranches of the State Social Insurance Fund; solutionsto the problem of the unemployed and the opportuni-ties that open up for promoting employment were pre-sented at the Days of Labour Market, which were heldthroughout the entire Lithuania; opportunities foryoung people in the enlarged EU were discussed at con-ferences held by youth organisations with the partici-pation of specialists from the Ministry.

In the period from March 2003 to the referendum onLithuania’s EU membership, held on 10-11 May, the Min-ister of Social Security and Labour, the State Secretary andSecretaries of the Ministry and other specialists participatedin 10 TV and 11 radio programmes; around 20 articles werepublished in national press, and brief comments on the is-sues in the Ministry’s area of competence were presentedon a regular basis on the TV, in the radio and in the press.In the framework of the cycle of seminars on opportuni-ties for the disabled that will open up after Lithuania’s ac-cession to the EU, a total of 10 events were held; 6 meet-ings were held to discuss the relevant issues with pension-ers, and another 16 events were organised for the othergroups of society to discuss different aspects of EU inte-gration in terms of social policy and employment.

In a summary, a conclusion can be drawn that the activepublic information campaign, which covered the entireLithuania, generated positive results; the referendum heldon 10-11 May 2003 was attended by 64 per cent of the elec-torate, out of whom 91.07 per cent supported Lithuania’smembership in the Union. This was the best result amongall candidate countries, which had already held referendaon EU membership.

4.1.3. DRAWING UP AND SIGNING OF THE TREATYOF ACCESSION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION

In 2002 and early 2003, the Ministry of Social Securityand Labour took an active part in drawing up and co-ordinating the text of the Accession Treaty, which wassigned on 16 April 2003 in Athens. The Treaty of Acces-sion of ten countries (including Lithuania) to the EuropeanUnion is a document formalising the membership of thesecountries in the European Union. The entire package ofaccession documents comprises around 5,000 pages. Thepackage of Accession Treaty documents is comprised of:

• The Accession Treaty - a document comprised of thepreamble and 3 articles that formalise the accession of 10countries, lay down the date and procedure of accessionas well as the effects of non-accession, and the 21 languagesin which the Treaty is drawn up;

• The Act of Accession - a document with 18 Annexesthat sets forth in detail the conditions of membership inthe Union for all the acceding countries (transitional peri-ods, special clauses and agreements), provides for adapta-tions and adjustments to the treaties on which the EU isfounded and sets forth the provisions related to the imple-mentation of this Act. This is the largest part of the pack-age of Accession Treaty documents (over 4,700 pages);

• 10 protocols which lay down the specific legal issuesrelated to the application of the EU acquis in particularsectors of economy or politics (e.g. Protocol No 4 deals withthe Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania, and Proto-col No 5 - with the transit of persons by land between theregion of Kaliningrad and other parts of the Russian Fed-eration).

• The Final Act that formalises the adoption of all Acces-sion documents.

The Treaty of Accession, the legislative acts and otherinstruments reflect all the conditions of Lithuania’s acces-sion to the EU and the agreements reached in the processof negotiations. Also, the text of the document includes 9declarations of relevance for Lithuania, of which the dec-laration on the opening of labour markets to Lithuania inless than 7 years is most important one in terms of socialpolicy and employment.

It is planned that the parliaments of all the EU memberstates and acceding countries will ratify the Treaty by 1May 2004 and the Treaty will thus come into force.

Annex II of the Accession Treaty lays down the technicaladaptations to the acts adopted by the EU institutions. TheAnnex is drawn up according to the list of policy areasreferred to in Article 20 of the Act of Accession. Part 2 ofAnnex II deals with the adaptations of legal acts regulat-ing the free movement of persons and social security.

Part 2 of Annex IX of the Act of Accession lays down theconditions of Lithuania’s accession that are related to the

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free movement of persons. Part 2 regulates the applicationof EU legislation related to the free movement of workersand the freedom to provide services, involving temporarymovement of workers as well as the exceptions to its appli-cation. The document provides for transitional periods anda possibility for the member states to apply national mea-sures or measures resulting from bilateral agreements, regu-lating access to their labour markets by Lithuanian nation-als, for a period of up to 5 years. Part 2 of Annex IX alsodefines the rights that Lithuanian nationals admitted to thelabour markets of EU member states will enjoy or not enjoy,related to exceptions in the application of the EU acquis, aswell as the application of national measures, transitionalperiods and other specific conditions of the EU accession.

Protocol No IV of the Accession Treaty lays down theconditions for the closure of Lithuania’s Ignalina nuclearpower plant. In the Protocol, the EU commits to allocateadditional financial assistance in the period from 2004 to2006 for Lithuania’s effort to decommission the plant andaddress the challenges related to the consequences of theplant decommissioning (Ignalina Programme). The IgnalinaProgramme covers measures for supporting plant person-nel, aimed at maintaining a high level of operational safetyat the Ignalina nuclear power plant up to the final closure ofthe reactor units and during their decommissioning.

Declaration No 11 “On the Free Movement of Workers:Lithuania” of the Treaty of Accession says that the EUstresses the strong elements of differentiation and flexibil-ity in the arrangement for the free movement of workers.Member states shall endeavour to grant increased labourmarket access to Lithuanian nationals under national law,with a view to speeding up the approximation of the acquis.As a consequence, the employment opportunities in theEU for Lithuanian nationals should improve substantiallyupon Lithuania’s accession. Moreover, the EU memberstates will make best use of the proposed arrangement tomove as quickly as possible to the full application of theacquis in the area of free movement of workers.

After the Treaty of Accession is signed, the Commissionwill continue monitoring how the candidate countries aremeeting the commitments they had taken on during theaccession negotiations, and 6 months left to the planneddate of accession, the Commission will issue the Compre-hensive Monitoring Report on the countries’ state of pre-paredness for EU membership. Since the EU has said itwould be ready to accept new members as of 1 May 2004,the Report should be issued by late 2003.

4.1.4. DRAFTING OF THE EU CONSTITUTIONALTREATY

Having adopted concrete decisions on enlargement, theaccession of new member states, the European Union was

faced with the need to revise its institutional framework,principles of activity and provisions regulating the decision-making and other issues, and to adapt them to a newenlarged Union of twenty-five. To this end, the LaekenEuropean Council, which was held on 28 February 2002,decided to convene a Convention on the Future of Eu-rope, bringing together representatives the present andthe future members states of the Union; the Conventionwas to draft, holding sessions on a regular basis, a pre-liminary document, the draft Constitutional Treaty of theEuropean Union. The draft text of the Treaty had to bedrawn up with a view to the new circumstances, emerg-ing as a result of the EU enlargement, such as the needfor institution reform, amendment of the decision-mak-ing principles as well as the need to narrow or broadenthe policy areas regulated at the EU level, etc.

The Convention works not via negotiations in whichthe countries would express their official positions, nei-ther is it some open and non-binding discussion forum.The Convention is a new form of debate in the EU his-tory: the major issues are discussed not in a closed circleof “the wise” or at the Intergovernmental Conference butat an assembly which is attended not only by the headsof state or government.

The Convention adopts decisions by way of consen-sus - common agreement. The Convention has adoptedits regulations, reflecting the organisational issues ofthe Convention’s activities. Also, it has been agreed thatthe Convention may review the application of the regu-lations and introduce amendments, if need be.

The Convention plays a particular role in holding dis-cussions with civil society. The Convention has adopteda decision to hold a public forum on the future of theEU. Such a civil society forum is held in each of the coun-tries represented at the Convention as a supplement tothe Convention and takes various forms: discussions,seminars, conferences, publications, Internet websites, etc.

The Convention concluded its work in late June 2003, whenthe draft Constitutional Treaty of the European Union waspresented at the Thessaloniki European Council. The Inter-governmental Conference, starting in October 2003, willadopt the final decisions on the future of the EU. Lithuanianrepresentatives will attend the Intergovernmental Confer-ence on equal basis with the other countries.

Specialists of the Ministry of Social Security and Labourparticipated in the review and analysis of the draft Consti-tutional Treaty’s provisions within their area of compe-tence and presented their conclusions and comments onthe possible consequences of the implementation of theseprovisions for Lithuania.

Provisions of the draft Constitutional Treaty regulat-ing social policy and employment

The draft Constitutional Treaty forwarded to the Inter-

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governmental Conference by the Convention consists offour parts.

• Part I - the main part of the draft Treaty that definesthe main principles according to which the European Unionfunctions. The draft text says that the EU should aim atsocial justice, employment for all, social progress and so-cial market economy.

• Part II - the Charter of Fundamental Rights.The Charter of Fundamental Rights was solemnly pro-

claimed at the Nice European Council in 2000 but had nolegal power. The Convention decided to incorporate theCharter into the draft Constitutional Treaty in its entirety.The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights will be not onlylegally binding - it will become Part II of the ConstitutionalTreaty. This will enable the EU citizens to defend theirrights at the European level with greater efficiency.

• Part III - focuses on the Union’s policies and actions.Part III specifies the principles listed in Part I, defines in

detail policies implemented by the EU and provides forconcrete EU action in different areas. This part of the draftConstitutional Treaty states that the policies listed in it shallbe implemented in line with the principle of equal oppor-tunities for men and women and that any form of discrimi-nation shall be fought.

Major provisions in the area of social policy and em-ployment:

• when establishing the internal market, workers shallhave the right to move freely within the Union; any dis-crimination based on nationality between workers of themember states as regards employment, remuneration andother conditions of work and employment shall be pro-hibited (Article III-15);

• In the field of social security, European laws shall es-tablish such measures as are necessary to bring about free-dom of movement for workers by introducing a system tosecure for employed and self-employed migrant workersand their dependants respective social protection, i.e. en-sure an adequate and effective co-ordination of nationalsystems of social security (Article III-18);

• The Union and the member states shall work towardsdeveloping a co-ordinated strategy for employment andparticularly for promoting a skilled, trained and adaptableworkforce and labour markets with a view to achievingthe major objectives of the Union (Article II-92);

• The Union shall contribute to a high level of employ-ment by encouraging co-operation between member statesand by supporting and, if necessary, complementing theiraction;

• The Union and the member states, having in mind theEuropean Social Charter signed on 18 October 1961 andthe 1989 Community Charter of the Fundamental SocialRights of Workers, shall have as their objectives the pro-motion of employment, improved living and working con-

ditions, proper social protection, dialogue between the so-cial partners, the development of human resources with aview to lasting high employment and the combating ofexclusion;

• To this end the Union and the member states shall acttaking account of the diverse forms of national practicesand the need to maintain the competitiveness of the Unioneconomy;

• With a view to achieving the objectives, the Union shallsupport and complement the activities of the member statesin the following fields:

(a) improvement of the working environment to protectworkers’ health and safety;

(b) working conditions;(c) social security and social protection of workers;(d) protection of workers where their employment con-

tract is terminated;(e) the information and consultation of workers;(f) representation and collective defence of the interests

of workers and employers;(g) conditions of employment for third-country nation-

als legally residing in Union territory;(h) the integration of persons excluded from the labour

market;(i) equality between men and women with regard to

labour market opportunities and treatment at work;(j) the combating of social exclusion;(k) the modernisation of social protection systems;• the objectives and principles of activity of the Euro-

pean Social Fund (ESF), one of the four structural funds,established with an aim to support employment and thedevelopment of human resources and thus ensure theimplementation of the European Employment Strategy, aredefined.

• The importance of promoting the economic, social andterritorial cohesion is underlined.

• Part IV - general and final provisionsThe Constitutional Treaty comes into force after all the

member states have ratified it. If in two years 4/5 of themember states ratify the Constitutional Treaty and one ortwo member states face any difficulties in ratification, theissue shall be handed over to the European Council. TheTreaty establishing the European Community, the Treatyon the European Union and the acts and treaties that havesupplemented or amended them shall be repealed as fromthe date of entry into force of the Treaty establishing theConstitution. Legal continuity in relation to the EuropeanCommunity and the European Union shall be maintained.To revise the Constitutional Treaty in the future, the Con-vention shall be convened, which shall adopt by consensusa recommendation to the Intergovernmental Conference.

The main provisions in the area of social policy and em-ployment that the draft Constitutional Treaty includes are

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in essence identical to the principles defined by the cur-rently valid Community treaties and aimed at ensuringproper functioning of the European Social Model basedon social and economic cohesion, quality employment forall, flexible and secure labour market, motivated and quali-fied labour force, equal opportunities and the combatingof social exclusion.

The main adjustments proposed are related not to themajor provisions of the EU social and employment policy,its objectives and their implementation but rather to thedecision-making procedures in terms of discussion on theapplication of the unanimity and qualified majority vot-ing principles. The final decisions on these issues will beadopted at the Intergovernmental Conference on the fu-ture of the EU, which is to start on October 2003. Lithuanianrepresentatives will attend the Intergovernmental Confer-ence on equal basis with the other countries.

4.1.5. OTHER ACTIVITY IN THE AREA OF EU INTE-GRATION

Implementation of Lithuania’s EU accessiorprogramme. Throughout 2002, the tasks provided for inthe Lithuania’s EU accessior programme were furtherimplemented. Legislation scheduled to be passed in theplan was drafted and adopted as well as adjusted with aview to the transposition of the provisions of EU direc-tives and other legal acts to the Lithuanian national legis-lation (draft law on the European labour councils wasdrawn up, action plan for the development of social part-nership between the Government of the Republic ofLithuania, trade unions and employers’ organisations wasdrafted and approved, programme for the implementationof the Poverty Alleviation Strategy for 2002-2004 wasdrawn up and approved, the Government of the Republicof Lithuania and the Minister of Social Security and Labourissued resolutions and decrees respectively, regulating dif-ferent aspects of labour relations, occupational health andsafety, etc.)

Preparation for the free movement of persons and ap-plication of Regulation No 1408 and Regulation No 574.The Ministry of Social Security and Labour has started ac-tive preparation to take on commitments to the EU - en-sure the free movement of labour force as of the date ofLithuania’s accession to the EU. Several issues of majorimportance for Lithuania are related to this: the recogni-tion of professional qualifications in the EU member states,the integration of the Lithuanian Labour Exchange into theEuropean job mobility portal EURES and the co-ordina-tion of social security systems that will allow to secure forthe freely moving workers the social guarantees, the pen-sion including. In order to prepare adequately for meetingthe said commitments, the Ministry of Social Security and

Labour will use the national PHARE 2002 programme tostart strengthening the institutions that will have to per-form the functions ensuring the free movement of work-ers. Since these are entirely new functions, the projects willput a significant focus on the training of personnel in theMinistry of Social Security and Labour, the LithuanianLabour Exchange, the State Social Insurance Fund, theMinistry of Health, the State Patients Fund, municipali-ties, Labour Market Training Authority, etc. and their quali-fication upgrading. The two-year project should belaunched in September 2003. Prior to the finalising of thePHARE project procedures, experts of the Ministry of So-cial Security and Labour engaged in extensive activitiesthroughout 2002 to prepare for the implementation of theregulations in Lithuania. A brochure, “Community Provi-sions on Social Security”, was published; a cost study onthe application of the regulations was conducted and pre-sented to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania;decisions of the EU Administrative Commission on SocialSecurity for Migrant Workers and the special documentforms for the application of the regulations were translatedand edited. Also, study visits to the competent institutionsof Spain were organised. During the visit, a large groupspecialists from the Ministry of Social Security and Labourhad an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the prac-tical application of the Regulation No 1408 in Spain. Bythe decrees of the Ministers of Social Security and Labourand Health, a commission comprised of top-ranking offi-cials was formed in early 2003, which will co-ordinate theimplementation of the regulations.

Joint Assessment of Employment Policy Priorities. On12 February 2002, the Minister of Social Security andLabour Vilija Blinkevièiûtë signed in Brussels the JointAssessment Paper of Lithuanian Employment Policy Pri-orities, prepared by the Government of the Republic ofLithuania and the European Commission. MinisterBlinkevièiûtë had a brief meeting with AnnaDiamantopoulu, Commissioner for Employment and So-cial Affairs. The Commissioner inquired about the processof pension reform, drafting of the Labour Code, the issuesof youth employment and joblessness in the regions, solu-tion to the problems posed by the social consequences ofthe Ignalina nuclear power plant closure and preparationto administer the European Social Fund.

Community Action Programme for Combating SocialExclusion. In 2002, the Minister of Social Security andLabour Vilija Blinkevièiûtë signed a memorandum of theagreement between the Republic of Lithuania and the Eu-ropean Community on the participation of Lithuania inthe Community Action Programme for Combating SocialExclusion. The Programme will be implemented in 2002-2006 to promote co-operation, which will allow the Unionand the member states giving a final blow in the fight

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against poverty and social exclusion. The following actionwill be taken:

• Analysis of the features, sources, processes and trendsof poverty, including the collection of comparative statis-tical data and general development of methodologies andthematic studies;

• Political co-operation and information exchange;• Support and maintenance of dialogue and contacts at

the European level between NGOs actively combatingpoverty and social exclusion.

Participation in the Programme is important forLithuania primarily in terms of preparation for EU mem-bership and the earliest possible participation in the ac-tivities of the EU institutions aimed at fighting social ex-clusion.

Community programme “Community Incentive Mea-sures in the Field of Employment”. In December 2002,the Minister of Social Security and Labour VilijaBlinkevièiûtë signed the memorandum of agreement be-tween the Republic of Lithuania and the European Com-munity on the participation of Lithuania in the Commu-nity Programme “Community Incentive Measures in theField of Employment”. The Community employment pro-motion measures are aimed at supporting the open co-or-dination method in the field of the European employmentstrategy, and its major goals are the following: supportingthe development of a co-ordinated employment strategy;stepping up co-operation of the member states and the can-didate countries in analysing and maintaining the labourmarket; developing the methodology and content of theEuropean employment strategy, including co-operationwith the social partners and the respective local and re-gional government institutions; implementing an activeinformation policy, meeting the needs of the public andensuring that the citizens of Europe are introduced to allthe aspects of the European employment strategy. Analy-sis, research and co-operation on statistical issues isplanned as well as the exchange of good practice; activi-ties of national employment services will be upgraded andlocal development will be encouraged in sharing best prac-tices and developing methodical measures. TheProgramme will be implemented in 2003-2006.

Human Resources Development Programmes’ Foun-dation. In August 2002, the Ministries of Education andScience and Social Security and Labour established the Hu-man Resources Development Programmes’ Foundation,which will be responsible for organising the implementa-tion of projects in the framework of the PHARE 2001 Eco-nomic and Social Cohesion Programme, controlling the useof support funds and project implementation. Over 2 mil-lion euros is planned to be distributed according to theprogramme. The PHARE 2001 grant programme “Voca-tional Training for Economic and Social Cohesion” is aimed

at promoting the initiatives of primary vocational trainingand education, continued vocational training and life-longlearning, which would offer more opportunities for em-ployment. The EU experts approved the establishment ofthe said Fund as a serious step in preparation for EU mem-bership.

On 11 October 2002, the EU-Lithuania SubcommitteeNo 7 on Regional Development, Employment and So-cial Policy held a meeting in Vilnius. During the meet-ing, experts from Lithuania and the European Commis-sion discussed Lithuania’s preparation for EU membershipand the meeting of commitments in the fields of social se-curity and inclusion, co-ordination of social security sys-tems, labour law, ensuring gender equality, anti-discrimi-nation, social dialogue and occupational health and safety.Also, Lithuania’s preparation to administer support fromthe European Social Fund was discussed.

On 16-17 February 2003, a delegation of officials fromthe European Commission’s Directorate-General for Em-ployment and Social Affairs, headed by Director-Gen-eral Odile Quintin, visited Lithuania. The delegation metwith the Minister of Social Security and Labour VilijaBlinkevièiûtë, oficials of the Ministries of Finance and Edu-cation and Science, Lithuanian Labour Exchange, StateLabour Inspection and representatives of trade unions andemployers’ organisations. The meetings focused on theprocess of transposition of the EU acquis in the fields oflabour law, equal gender opportunities, occupationalhealth and safety and anti-discrimination, its course andresults as well as the implementation of this legislation inLithuania. A separate meeting was allocated to discussionson the processes of social inclusion in Lithuania and theactivities in the field of social security (pension reform, co-ordination of social security systems, etc). At the meetings,the officials from Brussels underlined the necessity to en-hance administrative capacities and prepare for the activi-ties of the European Social Fund in particular.

4.2. PARTICIPATION IN THE ACTIVITY OF INTER-NATIONAL ORGANISATIONS AND INTERNA-TIONAL CO-OPERATION

4.2.1. ACTIVITY IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE IN-TERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION

In 2002, exhaustive reports were drawn up on the appli-cation of the seven conventions ratified in Lithuania. Also,two reports were presented on the legal situation in theareas covered by conventions that Lithuania has not rati-fied: Protection of Wages Convention (No 95) and the WorstForms of Child Labour Convention (No 182); the Interna-tional Labour Organisation keeps to the position that amember country has to implement the major provisions

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ensuring the basic human rights at work, even though ithas not ratified the respective convention, and requests themembers to present respective reports at set intervals oftime.

The Ministry of Social Security and Labour co-ordinatesLithuania’s activity in the International LabourOrganisation (ILO) and, if need be, involves other minis-tries and institutions into the co-ordination. The ILO holdsfrequent consultations with the members on different is-sues related to the international labour standards. TheMinistry always attends these consultations and expressesLithuania’s position on labour, social security, applicationof the international labour standards and other topical is-sues. On the basis of questionnaires presented, positionswere prepared in 2002 on the following issues: regulationof fishing labour; improvement of human resources; occu-pational health and safety, withdrawal of outdated ILOrecommendations, statistics on employment of the disabledand the programme of sector meetings. In each and everycase, the position was prepared in consultation with thecompetent institutions, employers’ organisations and tradeunions.

To ensure the principle of tripartite co-operation, a stand-ing Tripartite Consultation Commission to Promote theImplementation of International Labour Standards wasestablished under the Tripartite Council, which functionsin line with the provisions of the Tripartite Consultation(International Labour Standards) Convention No 144 (rati-fied in Lithuania in 1994). Besides other issues, the sittingsof the Commission discussed in 2002 the expedience of andpossibilities for the ratification of the Private EmploymentAgencies Convention (No 181), Employment Policy Con-vention (No 122) and the Constitution of the InternationalLabour Organisation Instrument of Amendment. Conclu-sions of the Tripartite Consultation Commission were pre-sented to the Tripartite Council, which approved the rati-fication of the said conventions; they will be presented forratification at the Seimas in 2003.

International Labour ConferenceThe International Labour Conference is the supreme body

of the ILO, which is held annually in the month of June.The Conference is attended by delegations of the memberstates, including representatives of government andorganisations of employers and workers. The Conferenceapproves the budget, passes conventions and recommen-dations, lays down the policy guidelines of the organisationand action programmes.

The following were the major issues discussed at the ses-sion of the ILO Conference in 2002: promotion of co-op-eratives (second discussion, standard setting); recordingand notification of occupational accidents and diseases,updating of the list of occupational diseases (single dis-

cussion, standard setting); the informal economy, illegalemployment (general discussion); withdrawal of 20 rec-ommendations.

Elections to the Governing Body at the ILO Conference2002 were important for Lithuania as it nominated its can-didacy to the Governing Body. On 10 June 2002, Lithuaniawas elected by secret ballot titular member of the ILO Gov-erning Body for the period 2002-2005. (In 1999-2002,Lithuania was deputy member of the Governing Body).

This is a great achievement for Lithuania, to which thehead and personnel of Lithuania’s Permanent Mission tothe United Nations Office in Geneva have contributed sig-nificantly. For the first time since 1921, when it joined theILO, Lithuania became titular member of the GoverningBody.

The Conference voted and approved:- Recommendation on the promotion of co-operatives;- Protocol to the 1981 Occupational Health and Safety

Convention;- Recommendation on the list of occupational diseases,

occupational accidents and the recording of occupationaldiseases.

The Conference also passed respective resolutions onincreasing employment, promoting the social dialogue andother topical issues.

A delegation headed by the Minister of Social Securityand Labour Vilija Blinkevièiûtë attended the Conference.The Minister delivered a speech at the plenary session ofthe Conference; she also made a presentation on the topi-cal employment and labour issues in terms of EU acces-sion at a meeting of labour ministers from the EU candi-date countries, held at the invitation of the Deputy Malt-ese Prime Minister and Minister of Social Security andLabour.

In Geneva, Minister Blinkevièiûtë also had importantmeetings with the Director- General of the ILO, JuanSomavia and the ILO Regional Director for Europe andCentral Asia, Friedrich Buttler. The meetings focused onthe prospects for Lithuania to participate in the plannedILO activities, possible support from the ILO to Lithuaniain solving the topical issues of labour law and several is-sues regarding the activities at the Governing Body.

Activities at the Governing BodyThe Governing Body is the executive body of the Inter-

national Labour Office, the secretariat of the InternationalLabour Organisation, comprised of 56 members - 28 Gov-ernments, 14 Employers and 14 Workers. The GoverningBody meets three times per year to discuss the ILO policy,programme and budget-related issues, elect the director-general, adopt the agenda of the International Labour Con-ference, solve the issues of technical co-operation and stan-

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dard-setting policy, review the implementation of respec-tive programmes and Conference decisions.

As mentioned, at the 90th International Labour Confer-ence in 2002 Lithuania was elected titular governmentmember of the Governing Body for the period 2002-2005and is active in representing the regional interests of Cen-tral and Eastern European countries (prior to this, Lithuaniawas deputy member of the Governing Body for threeyears).

In March 2002, the 283rd session of the ILO GoverningBody discussed, among other issues of the Organisation’sactivity, the impact of globalisation and its social conse-quences, the social consequences of 11th September andthe ILO programme to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. It isgratifying that at the presentation of report by the Com-mittee on Freedom of Association, Lithuania was men-tioned as an example of a country that takes into accountthe conclusions and recommendations by the Committeeand implements them.

At the 285th session of the Governing Body in Novem-ber, Lithuania was represented by a three-member delega-tion, led by the head of the Lithuanian Permanent Missionto the United Nations Office in Geneva, AmbassadorAlgimantas Rimkûnas. Among the major issues discussedwere: strengthening of tripartite co-operation among thesocial partners on the basis of the resolution passed by the90th Conference; situation of the Palestinian workers inthe occupied Arab territories; violations of the freedom ofassociation in Columbia; procedure of election of the ILODirector-General; agenda of the Conference to be held in2005; activities of the World Commission on Globalisation,etc. The International Labour Organisation has lately puta particular focus on and taken active effort to assist theGovernment of Myanmar in abolishing as soon as possibleforced labour, which is still widely spread in this country.

During the sessions of the Governing Body, the Centraland Eastern European regional group, of which Lithuaniais also a member, holds meetings and discusses the pos-sible joint positions on the topical issues of the session. Also,joint meetings are held with government representativesfrom the group of Industrialised Market Economy Coun-tries.

4.2.2. PHARE PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED BY THEMINISTRY

In 2002, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour imple-mented the following PHARE projects:

- Assistance to Social Policy Development and Administra-tion of Social Security Payments and Benefits - Consensus III;

- Preparation for Participation in the European EmploymentStrategy;

- Reform of Disability Recognition Principles and Provision

of Pension in Lithuania;- Strengthening Social Dialogue.1. Assistance to Social Policy Development and Admin-

istration of Social Security Payments and Benefits - Con-sensus III

In 2002, the project was already being finished. Havingevaluated the legislation already in force and the legal actsstill under preparation, the EU experts which participatedin the project concluded that Lithuania’s social supportsystem is harmonised with the employment policy and thatLithuania’s legislation in the field of social support is inline with the EU legal standards. Having evaluated bud-get planning at municipalities and the Ministry of SocialSecurity and Labour as well as the systems of expendituremanagement and finance control, the experts developed amodel using which the municipalities can forecast theamount of funds that will be needed for social support.Also, the EU specialists suggested to the municipalities amethodology of risk and information management andactive file administration, which would allow disclosingthose trying to use state support illegally.

The experts assisted the Ministry of Social Security andLabour in drawing up an action plan for improving theMinistry’s activity in the field of social support and thestrategy of social support reform to restructure social sup-port.

When concluding the project, a final conference wasorganised for 140 participants from municipalities, theMinistry of Social Security and Labour, the Delegation ofthe European Commission in Lithuania, the United Na-tions Development Programme and the Embassy of theUnited Kingdom to discuss project results; at the confer-ence, representatives of individual municipalities conduct-ing pilot project activities had an opportunity to share theirexperience.

2. Preparation for Participation in the European Em-ployment Strategy

The EU PHARE Twinning Project, implemented by Den-mark and Sweden, assisted Lithuania in harmonising itsstrategy with the guidelines and practices of the Europeanemployment strategy as well as preparing for the admin-istration of support from the European Social Fund.

The project was divided into five parts: integration oflabour market and employment policy; restructuring of theLithuanian labour market administration; developing ofadministrative competence in preparation for the activi-ties of the European Social Fund; upgrading of informa-tion management in labour market institutions, includingthe monitoring of labour market trends and developing ofanalysis and forecast system; organising training for thepersonnel.

Although this project will be concluded only in Septem-ber 2003, concrete results have already been achieved. The

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EU experts have analysed the shortcomings of theLithuanian employment policy and labour market in-stitutions and presented recommendations for systemimprovement.

Institutions regulating the labour market should improveinformation management; therefore, methods of monitor-ing labour market trends as well as analysis and forecastsystems should be developed. Having evaluated thepresent IT systems of labour market institutions, the Euro-pean experts issued recommendations for adjusting thesystems and prepared detailed instructions regarding thecomputer software that should be acquired.

The European Social Fund intends to allocate extensivesupport to Lithuania, thus, we need to prepare for the ad-ministration of the funds. The EU experts have presentedrecommendations for developing the necessary structures.

3. Reform of Disability Recognition Principles and Pro-vision of Pension

The current Lithuanian system of social insurance pen-sions does not require connecting the size of the disabilitypension with the level of incapacity to work and share ofsalary lost. Thus, such pensions may be allocated and paidto people who actually have not lost the capacity to workor the possibility to live on their working income. Also,the disability pensions do not ensure an adequate stan-dard of living and are not necessarily allocated to all peoplerecognised as disabled.

Experts from the Netherlands helped Lithuania solvethese problems in the system of social insurance pensionsthrough a twinning light project. As the goal was to changethe present situation, the experts analysed the systems ofdisability recognition and disability pension allocation thatare used in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden anddeveloped a model of social integration of the disabled,based on best practices of these countries. According tothe model, the size of the pension should be connectedwith the level of incapacity to work and the decrease inthe salary. Also, it was suggested that the very systemof disability recognition should be changed, giving amore significant role in the process to the State SocialInsurance Fund.

The new model of social integration of the disabledwill also be implemented in Lithuania with the help ofthe European Union experts.

4. Strengthening of Social DialogueIn late 2002, a twinning light project on the training

of social partners, primarily the representatives of em-ployers’ organisations and trade unions, was launched.Following the example of the European Union memberstates, Lithuania seeks to transfer to the social partnersthe largest possible share of authorisation in the fieldof labour relations’ regulation and thus limit the possi-bility for the state to regulate these relations. Also, so-

cial dialogue is very effective in solving the social dis-agreements among the public, which are quite frequentin the process of the state’s social and economic restruc-turing.

Market economies allocate considerable attention tothe bilateral dialogue between employers’ organisationsand trade unions. However, in transition economies, atrilateral dialogue including government representa-tives is used more often. Seeking to promote and de-velop bilateral co-operation between the social partners,the Lithuanian Government organises training for them,including the assistance granted by the PHARE projects.

The project on the Strengthening of Social Dialogueis oriented towards the strengthening of social dialogueat the level of the branch of economy and enterprise. Anumber of seminars and training sessions on collectiveagreements in the light and construction industry andtrade centres were held. The social partners were trainedin establishing workers’ councils and labour courts, solv-ing disagreements at work and strengthening the socialdialogue in Lithuania.

4.2.3. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS

On 17 January 2003, the Agreement between the Gov-ernment of the Republic of Lithuania and the Govern-ment of the United States of America on the Payment ofSocial Insurance Benefits, concluded by an exchange ofnotes, came into force. The agreement was initiated bythe U.S Government, which proposed to conclude theagreement by exchanging notes. The Lithuanian commu-nity in the U.S. welcomes the agreement.

After the concluding of the agreement, the Republic ofLithuania pays old-age, seniority, orphans and widowhoodpensions to the U.S. citizens who have paid insurance con-tributions for a respective period when working inLithuania but currently reside not in Lithuania. In its turn,the U.S. pays pensions to the citizens of the Republic ofLithuania currently residing in Lithuania.

Under the current laws of Lithuania, pensions are paidto foreign countries in that case if foreign citizens havebeen awarded the pension when residing in Lithuania.Due to this, the Republic of Lithuania took on no addi-tional commitments regarding such persons. However,if the payment of pension to a foreigner was stoppedunder previous legislation due to the fact that he or shemoved to a foreign country prior to 1 January 1998, thepayment will not be renewed. If a foreigner reachedpension age when residing abroad, the pension will notbe paid either. After the agreement was concluded, theU.S. citizens living not in Lithuania will be paid pen-sions in the above-mentioned cases under the same con-ditions as the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania. Thus,

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discrimination against the U.S. citizens has been elimi-nated.

Under the U.S. laws, citizens of the Republic ofLithuania who move from the U.S. to another countryare no longer paid the pension (except for paymentsfrom private pension funds). The said agreement elimi-nates such discrimination against the citizens of theRepublic of Lithuania.

Under the Law No IX-1618, the Seimas of the Re-public of Lithuania ratified on 10 June 2003 the Agree-ment between the Government of the Republic ofLithuania and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on thePayment of Social Security Benefits abroad, signed inVilnius on 12 December 2002. The aim of the agree-ment is to secure the payment of social security ben-efits abroad for persons who have a right to such pay-ments under the laws of one country but reside in an-other. The agreement was initiated by the Netherlands.Under the laws of the Netherlands, social security pay-ments are paid abroad in that case if respective interna-tional agreements are signed. Thus, the agreement en-ables persons residing in Lithuania receive the paymentsthat they had been allocated under the laws of the Neth-erlands. Under the current laws of the Republic ofLithuania and international commitments (acting Eu-ropean agreements on social security ETS 12 (Þin. 1999,No 62-2032), Lithuania has to pay old-age, disability,orphans and widowhood pensions, sickness and mater-nity benefits and social insurance benefits in case of occu-pational accidents and occupational diseases to personswho have acquired a right to these under the laws of theRepublic of Lithuania but now reside in the Netherlands.Thus, when implementing the agreement between the Re-public of Lithuania and the Netherlands, Lithuania’s fi-nancial commitments will not increase.

In early 2002, Canada presented a proposal to con-clude an agreement on social security betweenLithuania and Canada. The agreement provides for theregulation of pension allocation and payment to per-sons who move to live or work to another country. Theagreement is based on the retention of rights acquiredor to be acquired. Generally, the agreement would bebeneficial for Lithuania as the Canadian labour marketis attractive for Lithuanians.

In 2002, the Ministry stepped up its activities in thearea of labour migration. As of the accession ofLithuania to the European Union, Ireland, the UnitedKingdom, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands willnot introduce transition periods for the free movementof labour from Lithuania, which means that Lithuaniancitizens will be able to enter legally the labour marketsof these countries. Efforts are made to conclude agree-ments on the employment of our citizens in Italy, Spain

and France. Among other benefits, this will help pre-vent illegal labour migration and secure social guaran-tees for our citizens.

4.2.4. DEVELOPMENT OF BILATERAL CO-OPERA-TION

The Ministry of Social Security and Labour aims atmaintaining and strengthening close relations with re-spective ministries in the other countries. This way theministries share information and experience in the fieldof social security and labour, hold seminars andorganise study visits.

The Ministry has been co-operating with the Polish Min-istry of Economy, Labour and Social Security since 1994.On 24 February 2003, the Co-operation Protocol was re-newed for the fourth time for the period 2003-2004. TheProtocol provides for information exchange on mutuallytopical issues in the areas of labour relations, social dia-logue, working and safety at work conditions, social in-surance and pensions, family and children, social integra-tion and public relations.

Back in 2000 the Ministry started active correspondencewith the French Ministry of Solidarity with an aim of es-tablishing contacts and signing a co-operation agreement.On 20 March 2002, the Lithuanian Ministry of Social Secu-rity and Labour and the French Ministry of Employmentand Solidarity held a meeting in Vilnius and discussed thenecessity and possibilities for close co-operation as well asthe areas of bilateral co-operation. With a view to the co-operation areas discussed, a co-operation programme for2003 was drawn up and signed, providing for informationexchange in the areas of labour relations in enterprises,assessment of occupational risk at enterprises and illegalemployment.

In October 2000-May 2002, the Ministry of EconomicAffairs and Labour of the German federal land ofSaxony implemented together with France the EUPHARE twinning project on the improvement of occu-pational safety and health policy implementation. Con-tinuing successful co-operation, the Lithuanian Minis-try of Social Security and Labour and Saxony’s Minis-try of Economic Affairs and Labour decided to drawup a Joint Co-operation Declaration, which was signedon 28 April 2003. The Ministries agreed to co-operatein information exchange on the European Social Fundand the EU Directive 93/104/EEC on certain aspects ofthe organisation of working time, establishment of so-cial institutions, etc.

Under an agreement that the Lithuanian Ministryof Social Security and Labour and the Swedish Na-tional Labour Market Board signed on 26 March 2003,implementation of the programme “Working Life and

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the Enlargement of the EU” was launched. This three-year programme is a form of assistance from the Swed-ish Government to the countries seeking EU member-ship. The aim of the programme is to share the experi-ence of Swedish institutions in solving problems in thelabour market and working environment. Two projectsare planned in Lithuania in the framework of theprogramme: Development of Risk Assessment Measuresand Practice and publishing of an English-LithuanianDictionary of Occupational Health and Safety.

In April 2002, the project on Gender Policy inLithuania was launched. The project is financed by theSwedish International Development Co-operationAgency (SIDA). The project is implemented by theLithuanian Ministry of Social Security and Labour, theKaunas Women Employment Information Centre and aSwedish advisory company. The aim of the project is tosupport democracy reinforcement in Lithuania by en-couraging women to join the process of political anddemocratic decision-making, as well as sustainable eco-nomic development.

4.2.5. UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENTPROGRAMME

Under the programme of co-operation with Lithuaniafor 2001-2003, the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) mainly focuses on civil rights andefficient public administration, economic and social rightsand the right to a safe environment. UNDP currently putsa special focus on human development, poverty allevia-tion and promotion of gender equality with a view toLithuania’s objectives in the context of accession to the EUin 2004. In 2002, the Ministry of Social Security andLabour signed and started implementing the followingprojects financed by the UNDP:

- Lithuania’s report on human development in 2002-2003;

- Enhancement of Lithuanian women’s skills in infor-mation technologies;

- Enhancement of opportunities for non-governmen-tal organisations in fighting poverty and social exclu-sion;

- Alleviation of social exclusion and poverty in thetransition period.

In 2002, the following UNDP-financed projects werecontinued:

- Support to the implementation of poverty allevia-tion strategy: drawing up the action plan;

- Integration of the gender aspect into Lithuanian poli-cies.

In 2002, the seven-year project on Social PolicyMonitoring and Evaluation, financed by the Nether-

lands Government through the United Nations, wascompleted. The project was directly implemented bythe Ministry of Social Security and Labour. A practicalexample of the results of the project - the publishing ofthe Social Report. Project activities were reported inannual publications. In 2002, the Ministry conductedsuch activities in the framework of the project:

- Publishing of the Social Report and training;- International conference on the Monitoring of So-

cial Rights;- International conference on the Prospects of Pension

Reform, etc.UN 2nd World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid and

the conference in Berlin. Delegation headed by the Min-ister of Social Security and Labour Vilija Blinkevièiûtë at-tended in April 2002 the UN 2nd World Assembly on Age-ing in Madrid. The Assembly addressed such issues as thepolicy of employment and integration of the elderly, pen-sion policy, development of social and health services,elimination of social exclusion and social policy integra-tion. The issue of ageing is of particular relevance forLithuania since elderly people comprise a considerableshare of our society and this share is becoming increas-ingly larger. The processes of ageing are stimulated inLithuania not only by the growing life expectancy but alsoby migration, conditioned by the economic difficulties inthe country, and low fertility. The UN Economic Commis-sion for Europe held a conference on similar issues in Sep-tember 2002 in Berlin.

On 20-22 January 2003, the conference on Social Inclu-sion in the EU Candidate Countries in the Context of theMillennium Development Goals was held. The Ministerof Social Security and Labour Vilija Blinkevièiûtë and theUNDP Resident Representative Cihan Sultanoglu openedthe conference, which was organised by the Ministry andthe UNDP in Lithuania. The aim of the conference was toanalyse the problems of social inclusion in the EU memberstates and candidate countries, discuss the millenniumdevelopment goals with a view to accession to the EU andshare the experience of the candidate countries in the ar-eas of poverty alleviation and social inclusion.

4.2.6. THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

The Council of Europe’s Conference “Youth BuildingEurope”. In 2002, the Minister of Social Security and LabourVilija Blinkevièiûtë attended the 6th conference “YouthBuilding Europe” of ministers dealing with youth affairsfrom the Council of Europe member states in the Greekcity of Thessaloniki. The participants of the conference puta particular focus on three topical issues of youth policy:education for youth participation and democratic citizen-ship, promotion of social cohesion and stable democracy

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in Southern and Eastern Europe and prevention of and fightagainst violence in daily life.

Europe puts a special focus on labour migration. In 2002,the Council of Europe held two conferences of ministerson this topic. The conferences addressed the effects oflabour migration on the financing of the systems of socialsecurity and health insurance and the solving of unem-ployment problems. The countries of Europe were encour-aged to take a more flexible view at labour migration andgrant migrant workers broader social guarantees.

4.3. BUILDING OF ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITIES

Building of administrative capacities is among the ma-jor tasks of preparation for the membership of the Euro-pean Union. The draft action plan for the implementationof the EU acquis in 2003 in the context of Lithuania’s prepa-ration for EU membership provides for the enhancementof administrative capacities of the Ministry of Social Se-curity and Labour: developing the functions for theimplementation of new-approach directives; strength-ening the functions of social security systems’ co-ordi-nation and application of the EU regulations on socialguarantees for migrants; stepping up the control andsupervision of the implementation of the EU directiveson the recognition and assessment of professional quali-fications; ensuring more opportunities for the develop-ment of social dialogue and social partnerships; con-

ducting the revision of the document of Joint Assess-ment Paper of Lithuania’s Employment Policy Priori-ties and monitoring of the Programme for IncreasingEmployment; ensuring better preparation to participatein the activities of the European Social Fund; enhanc-ing administrative capacities in the field of human re-sources development; meeting the commitments to theEuropean Commission regarding the EU legislation onoccupational health and safety; stepping up the implemen-tation of conventions on the protection of the rights of child.

The establishment of the Division of the European So-cial Fund at the Ministry is one of the major examples ofrecent activities in the field of administrative capacities’enhancement. Preparation to administer allocations fromthe European Social Fund undoubtedly ranks among themain tasks of preparation for EU membership.

Also, special attention is allocated to the preparationof specialists to work and represent Lithuania in differentEU institutions: committees, working groups, etc. In prac-tice, such preparation is conducted in two directions: in aspecial course organised by the Lithuanian Institute ofPublic Administration (LIVADIS) and individual languagelearning. LIVADIS organises courses on such topics as theEU law and institutions, the EU acquis, formation of theEU budget, etc. Over 30 specialists from the Ministry andinstitutions under the Ministry will be trained in thesecourses; in the first half of 2003, the first group of eightspecialists completed the courses.

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MINISTRY OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND LABOUR

SOCIAL REPORT 2002

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Documents

SOCIAL REPORT 2002...So me ma te rial ly po si ti ve achie ve ments we re re cor ded in the area of inc re a sing em plo y ment and re du cing the le vel of unem plo y ment. The me