Considering the current situation in the country due to negative consequences of Covid-19 pandemic, Head of the Chancery of the President of Latvia proposes on behalf of the President of Latvia to postpone annual adjustment of President’s salary in 2021 and keep the pay at the 2020 level.
Annual Chancery budget requests include adjustment of President’s monthly salary based on inflation. This ensures that President’s salary is equitable with regard to pay of other top government officials like Prime Minister, ministers, Auditor General, Ombudsman and other officials appointed or elected by the parliament, whose wages are also inflation-adjusted. It is done to meet the salary determination and comparability requirements of the Law on Remuneration of Officials and Employees of State and Local Government Authorities and the uniform pay scale for top government officials regulated by it.
According to Article 4(2) of the Law on Remuneration of Officials and Employees of State and Local Government Authorities, inflation adjustment applicable to monthly base salaries of public officials and employees is based on officially registered average salary increase multiplied by applicable index.
As required by existing legal framework, to ensure that President’s monthly salary is equitable with regard to salaries of other public officials, and considering that 2021 Budget proposal submitted to the Saeima already envisaged adjustment of government salaries, 2021 Chancery budget request did include annual adjustment of President’s salary.
It is the parliament that determines the salary and general expenditure allowances of top government officials, including the President of Latvia. It is part of the annual budget package adopted by it.