Lithuania Seimas Measures on Families and Seniors

Lithuania’s Seimas, the country’s unicameral parliament, is due on Tuesday, July 14, to close its spring session and approve the programme of the 21st Government led by Mindaugas Sinkevičius. The Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) parliamentary group, which dominates the Seimas, presented the session as focused on security, families, older people, labour rules, health care, education and price control.

The assessment comes from the governing political group, so some wording reflects its priorities. For residents, the most concrete areas are social guarantees, public-service funding and proposed regulation of energy and fuel prices.

Orinta Leiputė, chair of the LSDP parliamentary group and a deputy speaker of the Seimas, said the spring session strengthened Lithuania’s resilience to external threats.

“Responding to new challenges, we are updating the National Security Strategy. Civil protection and crisis management have been strengthened. The Kapčiamiestis training ground has been established. Migration control has been strengthened,” Leiputė said.

She also cited constitutional amendments under consideration that would remove a ban related to nuclear weapons, as well as the adoption of a law on adaptation to climate change. These measures concern national preparedness and institutional powers; their practical effect will depend on implementation.

The Seimas majority set demographic priorities linked to the political aim that Lithuania’s population should again reach 3 million by 2030. The LSDP group highlighted changes to family-strengthening policy and wider guarantees for families expecting or raising children.

Parents are to have access to so-called “mother days” and “father days” until a child turns 14. Amendments to the assisted reproduction law, according to the group, passed their first stage in the Seimas.

In labour policy, the group pointed to Labour Code changes intended to make pay more transparent, expand bargaining opportunities and introduce stricter penalties for employers. It also said social guarantees were strengthened for people working for more than one employer, protections against asbestos-related risks were introduced, and guarantees for people with disabilities were aligned.

Karolis Podolskis, deputy chair of the LSDP parliamentary group, highlighted the Law on the Fundamentals of Older People’s Policy and the creation of a permanent Seimas commission for older people’s affairs. The stated political goal is to improve seniors’ material living conditions and seek broader agreement among political forces on dignity in old age.

In health care, the Seimas set funding priority for the public health sector. According to the LSDP group, hospital representatives said the changes should help stabilise the public sector and preserve regional medical institutions. The Seimas also ensured that the payment period for sickness benefits for people with disabilities would not be limited.

Education measures included higher pay for teachers, staff at science and higher education institutions, and coaches, as well as decisions aimed at balancing the examination system.

The Social Democrats said they broadly supported government initiatives on fuel prices. One market-related proposal would allow petrol stations to raise fuel prices only once per day.

Electricity suppliers would also have new obligations toward vulnerable consumers: an independent supplier would have to terminate a contract itself if the regulated public electricity price is lower than the price it offers.

The session’s final political step is the approval of the 21st Government programme. Leiputė said the programme includes commitments to wage growth, poverty reduction and lower income inequality.

Context & actions
About this article

Report
Share