RIGA, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Latvia's outgoing parliament, which convened for its last session on Thursday, passed in the final reading amendments to the labor law allowing employers to reduce overtime pay in sectors where the minimum hourly wage is substantially increased under general collective agreements, parliamentary spokesperson informed.
According to the new regulation, in the sectors where employees have concluded general collective agreements, the hourly overtime pay will have to make up at least 150 percent of the standard hourly wage. In sectors without such collective agreements employees will be entitled to an overtime pay that is twice as high as their standard hourly wages.
In line with the Latvian labor law, for a general collective agreement to come into effect it has to be concluded by companies employing more than 50 percent of people working in the given industry or whose turnover exceeds 50 percent of the industry's turnover.
Such a general collective agreement applies to all employers and employees working in the respective industry.
The Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), however, strongly criticized the new regulation and warned that it might be disputed in the Constitutional Court.
The LCCI had proposed paying 150 percent of the standard hourly wage for the first two overtime hours in all sectors of the economy, including those without the collective agreements, but that proposal was rejected.
