There are still many jobs for which knowledge of Russian is required. The National Alliance, which is promoting the amendments, points out that it should be made clear that employees have the right to reply in the national language if they are addressed in Russian or another foreign language.
On Tuesday, the Social and Labour Affairs Committee, which is responsible for the law, voted in favor of referring the amendments to the Saeima, which will vote on them in the third and final reading.
"This is certainly not an ideal solution. In our opinion, we could protect Latvian young people who are disproportionately discriminated against because of their lack of knowledge of Russian in all situations if we defined specific groups of professions in the law where exceptions are allowed. Then there would be complete clarity," explained Raivis Dzintars (National Alliance), a member of the Social and Labor Affairs Committee.
Although employers already have to justify why they require employees to speak Russian or other foreign languages, practice shows that the current law does not really work. It is abstract rather than practical, says Raivis Dzintars.
The idea is to make the wording of the law stricter. For example, it could be stipulated that knowledge of Russian can be required for a translator, philologist, etc.
The law is intended to highlight that knowledge of a foreign language is not considered necessary for the performance of work duties if the work is related to the production of goods, provision of services, or other activities in the internal market of Latvia.
If a job advertisement requires foreign language skills, it will also have to include a justification of the need for them. However, the draft law provides that the employer will not be allowed to ask about foreign language skills in a job interview if they are not essential for the performance of job duties.
Organizations representing employers and employees also support strengthening the Latvian language in the labor market.
"We have been working on this for a whole year and we met with all stakeholders - both employers and trade unions - to find this compromise that you cannot require this foreign language unless it is necessary for the specifics of the job. All parties are satisfied, including the applicants. So, I think that this has been successfully finalized," says Reinis Uzulnieks, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Welfare (Greens and Farmers Union).
If the amendments to the Labour Law are approved by the Saeima in the final reading, they could enter into force next year.
