The Issue of Resolving Salaries of State Employees of the Republic of Latvia in the Central Union of State and Municipal Employees (1918/1926–1934)

Abstract

After the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia, the process of establishing civil institutions had to begin. The base of civil administrator was created in compliance with several laws – law of civil service, law of working time and law of the division of job categories. These laws affected one of the most important issues for civil servants – salaries. The aim of the paper is to identify the main stages in the development of salaries of civil employees through the activities of the Central Union of State and Municipal Employees, thus providing a better understanding of one of the main principles of the Latvian state system – the motivation and working conditions of civil servants. By 1934, four stages could be drawn in the issue of civil servants, depending on economic factors, successful or unsuccessful decisions taken by Saeima and the Cabinet of Ministers, and cooperation between Saeima, the Cabinet of Ministers and organisations like Central Union of State and Municipal Employees.