Background information

On 3 March 2022, the Latvian Parliament Saeima adopted the Law on Assistance to Ukrainian Civilians. The purpose of the Law is to provide assistance to Ukrainian civilians who leave Ukraine or who cannot return to Ukraine due to the armed conflict caused by the Russian Federation. The assistance specified in the Law is provided during the course of the armed conflict. Since it was introduced, the Law has been amended several times.

Section 15 of the Law provides right of Ukrainian civilians to work in education and sports sector.

Content of measure

The law stipulates that Ukrainian citizens have the right to work as a teacher or sports trainer in Latvia, regardless of the requirements specified in regulatory enactments for the profession of a teacher, if they participate only in the education of minor Ukrainian children.

Citizens of Ukraine are also allowed to work as babysitters and to provide childcare services, notwithstanding the statutory requirements for childcare providers if these services are provided to Ukrainian children.

Later, on 7 April 2022, the government expanded the opportunities for Ukrainian refugees to work in Latvian educational institutions. It ruled that Ukrainian civilians who have worked in Ukraine as vocational and interest education teachers, as well as general education foreign language teachers, will have the opportunity to work in these professions in Latvia in cooperation with a teacher mentor.

Use of measure

In May 2022, 41 Ukrainian citizens worked in Latvian educational institutions, while at the end of the year, according to the data of the National Centre for Education (NCES), about 250 Ukrainian teachers had expressed their wish to work in Latvia. Not all of them have done so so far, as the path to full integration into the profession is quite difficult.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Migrants or refugees in employment	Does not apply to businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

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

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Informed	Informed
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

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

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

Both peak level social partner organisations, the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia (LDDK) and the Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia (LBAS) are actively involved in providing assistance to Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees in different forms. Regarding Government’s actions, both organisations have expressed their support. As usual, regarding changes in legislation, social partners are at least informed, often consulted and agreed on outcome.

On April 21, a meeting of the National Tripartite Cooperation Council (NTSP) took place, where the government and its social partners - LBAS and LDDK discussed the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed on Russia on the Latvian economy and the well-being of the Latvian population.

Views and reactions

No specific views to report.

Sectors and occupations

Sources

• 04 March 2022: What is defined by the Law on Support of Civilians of Ukraine (lvportals.lv)
• 05 April 2022: Ukrainian teachers will have more opportunities to work in Latvian educational institutions (lvportals.lv)
• 23 May 2022: Law on Assistance to Ukrainian Civilians (likumi.lv)
• 31 March 2023: About Ukrainian teachers in Latvian schools (lvportals.lv)