Unions accuse Tamašunienė of micromanaging prison service

Several trade unions have accused Justice Minister Rita Tamašunienė of micromanaging Lithuania’s prison service and neglecting longstanding problems, LRT reported Wednesday.

The Lithuanian Trade Union of Pre-trial Investigation Institutions, the Vilnius County Trade Union of Pre-trial Investigation Institutions and the Trade Union Centre said they had told Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius they no longer had confidence in Tamašunienė.

“If the minister has been unable in almost a year to show how the corrections system will be pulled out of problems accumulated over decades, the prime minister must answer whether he still trusts such a member of his government,” said Kęstutis Pauliukas, head of the Lithuanian Trade Union of Pre-trial Investigation Institutions.

The unions cited stalled infrastructure projects, staff shortages, uncompetitive pay, worsening working conditions and inadequate funding. They said that instead of addressing those issues, Tamašunienė had become too involved in the administration and staffing of the Lithuanian Prison Service.

Vitalijus Jagminas, head of the Vilnius County union, pointed to a dispute between the minister and Prison Service director Mindaugas Kairys. Tamašunienė confirmed in September that an internal investigation had been conducted into Kairys’s actions and that a disciplinary penalty was being considered.

Jagminas said the minister was spending her energy on the transfer of Prison Service employees and the obedience of its managers rather than leading efforts to fix the system. He described the approach as micromanagement “smelling of nepotism and favouritism”.

The unions also criticised the quality of social dialogue at the ministry, alleging that the minister and her team engaged only with agreeable partners and ignored organisations raising difficult questions.

The statement followed the ministry’s proposal this week that the government reprimand Kairys. The ministry said a penalty was warranted over his decisions to abolish posts in Kaunas Prison’s Security Management Division and create posts in its Resocialisation Division, as well as his failure to comply with Tamašunienė’s order to reverse those decisions.

Kairys disputes the alleged violations and has asked to be cleared of misconduct. Tamašunienė has said she opposes decisions that would force officers to change roles. The ministry wants the proposed reprimand considered at a government meeting this week or next.