Initiative “Dirbanti Lietuva” together with creators of the new social model began a tour in the largest companies in Lithuania. The purpose of these meetings is to simply and objectively explain the changes that the employees can expect. The first ones who got interested and invited the team of “Dirbanti Lietuva” to their company were the workers of AB „Grigeo Grigiškės.

According to the initiators of “Dirbanti Lietuva” a lot of questions and doubts arise when it comes to the new social model, however when in search for the answers people mostly rely on the information in the media, that is often inaccurate or quite frankly misleading. This gives way to creation of various myths and fears. There are discussions that the situation of workers will worsen, employees in the health care and education sectors will lose guarantees. Also, threats of unlimited working hours, shortened vacations and diminished role of labour unions are heard.

“These statements do not correspond with the actual provisions of the new social model, therefore we have decided that it is important to meet the workers of at least the biggest companies. We are not saying that there will be no changes, but we think that they are crucial – the current labour regulations simply do not correspond with reality. And those who are scared to lose their guarantees should remember that there is no better protection for staying in the labour market, than the competences and skills that the worker has. If the worker brings no value to the company, the employee will have a hard time saving the job, no matter how strict the guarantees are” – said Tomas Davulis, one of the creators of the model.

Employees of AB „Grigeo Grigiškės“ said that the meeting helped them to filter the information, since by following public debates it is becoming increasingly difficult to understand which content of the model is the most important for workers. The members of “Dirbanti Lietuva” answered all questions and gave reasoned justification why the new social model is important and beneficial for both employees and employers. “After the meeting we realized that the proposed changes are not something to be afraid off”, said Jūratė Pangonienė, specialist at AB „Grigeo Grigiškės“.

AB „Grigeo Grigiškės“ was only the first stop of the “Dirbanti Lietuva” tour. The opportunity to learn more about the new social model already caught the attention of the Bank of Lithuania and “Danske Bank” workers. “Dirbanti Lietuva” invites other companies to join the initiative. For more information please contact:

 

Andželika Rusteikienė, World economic forum „Global Shapers“ network in Vilnius

Tel. +370 624 57394

Lukas Savickas, president of JPP „Kurk Lietuvai“ alumni association

Tel. +370 610 85986