In a letter to Minister of Finance Mart Võrklaev (Reform), Toomas Luman, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said that as the budget cuts currently under consideration aren't publicly known and because the chamber has heard through the media that it's difficult to find areas to cut and the volume thereof isn't very large in the context of the state budget, the chamber on its part wants to propose an additional solution that would help save tens of millions of euros in expenditures next year, and even larger amounts beyond that.

"We propose reducing the number of employees in public sector organizations involved in policymaking, administration, management, support distribution and supervision," Luman said in his letter to Võrklaev.

"Above all, by such organizations we mean organizations under the central government, such as ministries, various agencies and inspectorates, organizations involved in the distribution of grants as well as social security funds," he specified.

The Chamber of Commerce's proposal calls for slashing the number of people working in public sector organizations by 10 percent in 2024 and another 10 percent in 2025. In exception, the number of employees should not be reduced in organizations involved in ensuring internal and external security. The proposal likewise wouldn't affect the medical or education fields either, i.e. public service organizations.

"According to a preliminary Chamber of Commerce estimate, at least 11,000 people are employed in the aforementioned and concerned public sector organizations," the chamber president noted. "Thus, if you were to reduce the number of employees in these organizations by 10 percent in 2024 and 2025, then the number of employees would be reduced by at least 1,100 in the first year and at least 1,000 in the following year."

Assuming that these employees' average salary is at least equal to Estonia's national average monthly gross wage, which according to the Ministry of Finance's summer forecast is projected to hit €1,950 a month in 2024 and €2,053 a month in 2025, the implementation of this proposal would reduce the state's labor costs by more than €30 million next year and by around €70 million in 2025, according to the chamber's calculations.

"If these employees' wages are higher than the Estonian average, the savings would turn out to be even greater," Luman pointed out. "In addition to labor costs, the implementation of this proposal would evidently lead to a reduction in other costs related to the jobs being cut as well."

The Chamber of Commerce believes the implementation of their proposal would foster favorable conditions for improving the efficiency of public sector policymaking organizations.

"With a reduction in the number of employees, organizations will need to more carefully consider which activities to continue and which not," the letter to the finance minister stated. "Thus, reducing the number of employees will motivate public sector organizations to focus only on fulfilling their most important tasks and give up working on lower priority issues."

The Chamber of Commerce also believes that this could also lead to reduced bureaucracy in public sector organizations, which could ultimately result in less red tape for businesses as well, which in turn would foster conditions for more rapid business development.

Reducing the number of staff in the policymaking sector would likewise help improve the private sector's opportunities to find suitable employees as well, it added.

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