Unions: We need agreement on recovery plans
In a statement adopted on Friday, the council of the Estonian Trade Union Confederation (EAKL) hailed good cooperation with the government and employers during the crisis, but also emphasized that the plan for restarting the economy must be worded clearly and agreed upon with the confederation of employers and trade unions.
The chair of the council of EAKL (Eesti Ametiühingute Keskliit), Kaia Vask, said that it's of utmost importance for the unions that the plan for restarting the economy include the continuation of social reforms, including finding a solution to the topic of compensating employees for first days of illness, expanding unemployment insurance to cover employees who leave their job of their own will and employees active in a non-traditional legal relationship, as well as the possibility to extend the period of payment of the unemployment insurance benefit, spokespeople for EAKL said.
"Just like there has been good cooperation between social partners during the crisis, cooperation needs to be increased at companies as well," Vask said. She said it was namely for this reason that unions were turning to the government with a proposal to show example and bring representatives of employees into the supervisory boards of state-owned companies.
The chairman of EAKL, Peep Peterson, also voiced appreciation of the social partners - the government and the Estonian Employers' Confederation - having worked with unions in managing the crisis. He added that it is nevertheless necessary to go on putting in effort to agree about an action plan for a potential new outbreak of the virus.
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Editor: Helen Wright