Background information

On 6 June 2020 the government amended the list of occupational diseases. The list, containing also infectious diseases, which have arisen in the course of work in the health, prevention and social work sector or in other services, now includes COVID-19.

The procedure for the investigation and registration of occupational diseases is regulated by Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 908 “Procedures for Investigation and Registration of Occupational Diseases”.

Content of measure

With the amendments of the list of occupational diseases, the procedure for the investigation and registration of occupational diseases now should also be extended to COVID-19.

According to the procedure for the investigation of occupational diseases, if a person has been diagnosed with the mentioned diseases or has symptoms and the person is exposed to harmful factors of the work environment, he or she has the right to ask a general physician to determine whether the diagnosed disease is an occupational disease.

According to the annotation of the amendments, the issue was raised by the Trade Union of Health and Social Care Employees of Latvia. According to the trade union, previously, in the law on the emergency situation, it was determined that illness with COVID-19 is not “an accident at work”, thus making it difficult to determine whether illness with COVID-19 can be considered as occupational disease even for those who clearly has high risk of exposure due to nature of work. Trade union explained their position, and the government fixed the issue with the corresponding amendments.

Use of measure

No information up to date.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
The COVID-19 risk group at the workplace	Does not apply to businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Trade unions	No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative	Unknown
Form	Direct consultation outside a formal body	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level

Involvement

The amendments including COVID-19 in the list of occupational diseases are, to large extent, the result of the concern raised by the Trade Union of Health and Social Care Employees of Latvia.

Views and reactions

No further views to report.

Sources

• 06 June 2020: The list of occupational diseases includes Covid-19 (lvportals.lv)
• 08 June 2020: Press release on occupational diseases by the Trade Union of Health and Social Care Employees of Latvia (www.lvsada.lv)
• 26 November 2020: Procedures for Investigation and Registration of Occupational Diseases (likumi.lv)