„This is a gross mistake in the decision of the Vilnius authorities not to allow the employee representative in and the way it is done,“ V. Čmilytė-Nielsen told Žinių radijas on Friday.
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„Basically, the conservatives in Vilnius have opened Pandora’s box and given the green light to the social democrats and others to always point to this precedent in the future and say that this is how the conservatives did it, so now we will put whoever we want on the boards. I do not understand this decision, I really cannot justify it and I think it completely blocks any moral right to later moralize others,“ she added.
The Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation (LPSK) on Thursday issued an appeal to V. Čmilytė-Nielsen, the chairman of the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) Laurynas Kasčiūnas, and the mayor of Vilnius, conservative Valdas Benkunskas – according to it, such a decision by the Vilnius municipality „raises a fundamental question about respect for laws adopted democratically“.
„The Seimas voted to approve amendments to the Labor Code and clearly expressed the will to strengthen employee participation in the management of companies owned by the state and municipalities. One can disagree with such a decision, criticize it, or seek to change it through democratic means. However, it is difficult to justify a situation where a public authority, just before the new regulation comes into force, takes actions whose practical result is the postponement of its application,“ the document states.
According to the confederation, such a municipal decision „is a serious signal to the entire social dialogue system“.
LPSK urges the mayor of Vilnius to reconsider the decision and start consultations with trade union representatives before forming new boards.
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As BNS wrote, with the change in the Labor Code and the obligation to include employees in company boards, the Vilnius municipality seeks to avoid this obligation – it decided to cancel and reform the boards of five companies it controls from the end of October.
The director of the municipal administration, Adomas Bužinskas, admitted to BNS that the city authorities do not agree with such an amendment to the law, which will come into force on November 1.
According to him, the selection of new board members has already begun, and the new boards are expected to be appointed on October 30.
Changes await the boards of the companies „ID Vilnius“, Vilnius Development Company (VVK), „Miesto gijos“, „Grinda“, „Vilnius Public Transport“ (VVT).
The Minister of Social Security and Labor, Inga Ruginienė, called such a decision by the Vilnius municipality cynical and regrettable.
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