PM urges Tamašunienė and ministers to engage with unions

Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius has urged Justice Minister Rita Tamašunienė and other ministers to maintain dialogue with trade unions after some unions accused her of neglecting problems in the prison system, LRT reported.

“The prime minister urges both the justice minister and all other ministers to maintain continuous dialogue with trade unions and, where possible, take their needs into account,” Sinkevičius’s adviser, Gedas Salyga, told BNS.

Some unions have accused Tamašunienė of micromanaging the prison system and ignoring longstanding problems, including stalled infrastructure projects, staff shortages and inadequate funding. They also said they had expressed no confidence in the minister. Sinkevičius did not answer BNS when asked whether he had confidence in her.

Tamašunienė rejected claims that she had not given enough attention to the system’s problems, saying she was working to secure more funding. She blamed the head of the Lithuanian Prison Service, Mindaugas Kairys, for delays in carrying out assigned tasks. The minister said she maintained social dialogue with 11 unions, while only two had criticised her, and described those unions’ close relationship with the service’s leadership as unfair.

The criticism followed the minister’s proposal this week that the government reprimand Kairys. The Justice Ministry says the penalty is warranted over decisions to abolish positions in the Security Management Division at Kaunas Prison and create positions in its Resocialisation Division, as well as his failure to comply with Tamašunienė’s order to reverse those decisions.

Kairys disputes that he committed any violations and has asked for a finding that he did not commit misconduct. Tamašunienė said she opposed decisions that would force officers to change positions. The ministry plans to seek a government hearing on the proposed reprimand this week or next.