One of the next steps that the Latvian Health and Social Care Workers' Union (LVSADA) may take to express dissatisfaction with the government's failure to increase funding for medical workers' salaries could be a vote of no confidence in Minister of Health Hosams Abu Meri (New Unity), the union announced.
LVSADA will decide on its next course of action following the second conciliation commission meeting with the Ministry of Health (MoH) on the 21st of October.
The union is demanding that, starting from the 1st of January, 2026, the average salary of medical personnel be increased by 13.5%, and that non-medical staff in healthcare institutions receive a 120 euros monthly raise. This would require an additional 133 million euros in the state budget.
According to LVSADA, during the first conciliation meeting, the union urged the MoH to submit to the Cabinet of Ministers a formal request for additional funding for the healthcare sector and proposed to suspend talks until the government's response was received.
At the second meeting, however, the Ministry announced that it would not submit such a request. Instead,
the MoH proposed that LVSADA jointly submit a funding request only during the 2027 budget preparation process
(in 2026) -- and only on the condition that the government does not prohibit such a proposal, the union explained.
LVSADA rejected this "generous" offer, and therefore no agreement was reached between the parties.
The union stressed that the Ministry is ignoring the European Commission's recommendation for Latvia to ensure substantial additional public funding not only for defense but also for healthcare, in order to strengthen competitiveness, sustainability, and social justice.
According to LVSADA, this shows that the MoH's "unforgivably incompetent attitude toward strengthening the country's healthcare system will not only worsen public health but also endanger the viability of the state."
Neither this year nor in 2026 does the government plan to increase salaries in the healthcare sector, even though competitiveness in the labor market has already fallen back to 2020 levels, the union noted. This, they warn, risks accelerating the exodus of professionals from the public sector --
at a time when the workforce shortage in healthcare is already critical.
As previously reported, the conciliation process launched by the union under the collective labor dispute procedure has ended without results.
According to the Ministry's spokesperson Barbara Ālīte, the MoH proposed addressing salary increases within the 2027 state budget, given the current budget approval cycle and established priorities.
The Ministry stated that the parties failed to agree on applying the statutory conciliation method, and LVSADA has informed the MoH that it intends to exercise its rights to defend its collective interests.
The Ministry acknowledged the serious shortage of human resources in healthcare -- particularly of nurses -- and recognized that salary growth is a key factor for retaining and attracting specialists to public-sector positions providing state-funded healthcare services.
The MoH reaffirmed its commitment to a "targeted and systematic strengthening of human resources"
in line with the Health Workforce Development Strategy 2025-2029, as well as to maintaining a regular dialogue with unions and professional organizations.
The Ministry also reminded that in 2023 it signed a Cooperation Memorandum with LVSADA on strengthening human resources in healthcare, and that from the 1st of January, 2024, salary increases were implemented in the sector.
LVSADA initiated the collective dispute procedure to demand higher salaries and better access to healthcare services. Initially, the union called for a 15% pay rise for medical staff and a 140 euros increase for support personnel.
Minister of Health Hosams Abu Meri has stated that the budget does not contain sufficient funds to meet the union's demands.
The 2025 state budget allocates an additional 34.5 million euros to the healthcare sector, most of which will be directed toward improving maternal and child health services.