Uzulnieks willing to freeze his planned minister's pay rise

Latvia's Minister of Welfare, Uldis Uzulnieks, has said he would be willing to forgo the pay rise planned for ministers next year, after being questioned about a modest increase in pension indexation for seniors.

The minister explained that following indexation, seniors receiving a pension of around 700 euros will see their payments rise on average by 30 to 40 euros. He acknowledged that this increase is small, but pointed out that inflation over the past twelve months has reached 2.39%.

Freezing his own salary

When asked about the pay increase planned for ministers next year, Uzulnieks stressed that the two matters should not be directly compared. Still, he said he was prepared to give up his own salary increase if necessary, adding that his pay could also be frozen.

Plans for a base pension

The minister said he would try to ensure that a base pension is introduced starting next year. According to him, this proposal is still under consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers. Uzulnieks noted that its introduction this year was delayed due to reluctance from the previous coalition to support it.