VILNIUS — Public sector workers cringed Wednesday as the Seimas approved a reduction to the base wage rate in an effort to save more in the state budget.

The country is still cutting left, right and center as it tirelessly strives for a budget deficit of less than 3 percent by 2014. The country needs a [private_supervisor]budget deficit of less than 3 percent to qualify under the Maastricht criteria and enter the eurozone.

Parliament voted to reduce the base wage from 475 litai (€138) per month to 450 litai with 60 votes for, one against and 21 abstentions.

Sick employees will have to go back to work earlier now too because of the decision in Seimas to reduce state-sponsored sick pay from 80 percent of wages to 40 percent.

Workers receive sick pay from employers for the first two days, but after that the state pays. The decision means a temporary change to the sick pay becomes permanent.

While they’ve likely stifled the country’s economic recovery, the austerity measures have worked for deficit cutting. New statistics out from the government show that the budget deficit for the first quarter of 2010 is 15 percent lower than in 2009.

The budget deficit came to 1.69 billion litai (€490 million), or 1.8 percent of the gross domestic product forecast for this year. Compared with 2009, the deficit was 15 percent, or 300 million litai lower.

Government revenue was 7.44 billion litai (€2.1 billion) with expenditures of 9.12 billion litai. There was also investments totaling 2.5 million litai (€725,000).

In the first quarter of 2010, 43.4 percent of expenditure was spent on social benefits. Some 47.1 percent of income came from taxes, while another 36.9 percent came from social contributions from employers. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]budget deficit of less than 3 percent to qualify under the Maastricht criteria and enter the eurozone.

Parliament voted to reduce the base wage from 475 litai (€138) per month to 450 litai with 60 votes for, one against and 21 abstentions.

Sick employees will have to go back to work earlier now too because of the decision in Seimas to reduce state-sponsored sick pay from 80 percent of wages to 40 percent.

Workers receive sick pay from employers for the first two days, but after that the state pays. The decision means a temporary change to the sick pay becomes permanent.

While they’ve likely stifled the country’s economic recovery, the austerity measures have worked for deficit cutting. New statistics out from the government show that the budget deficit for the first quarter of 2010 is 15 percent lower than in 2009.

The budget deficit came to 1.69 billion litai (€490 million), or 1.8 percent of the gross domestic product forecast for this year. Compared with 2009, the deficit was 15 percent, or 300 million litai lower.

Government revenue was 7.44 billion litai (€2.1 billion) with expenditures of 9.12 billion litai. There was also investments totaling 2.5 million litai (€725,000).

In the first quarter of 2010, 43.4 percent of expenditure was spent on social benefits. Some 47.1 percent of income came from taxes, while another 36.9 percent came from social contributions from employers. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]budget deficit of less than 3 percent to qualify under the Maastricht criteria and enter the eurozone.

Parliament voted to reduce the base wage from 475 litai (€138) per month to 450 litai with 60 votes for, one against and 21 abstentions.

Sick employees will have to go back to work earlier now too because of the decision in Seimas to reduce state-sponsored sick pay from 80 percent of wages to 40 percent.

Workers receive sick pay from employers for the first two days, but after that the state pays. The decision means a temporary change to the sick pay becomes permanent.

While they’ve likely stifled the country’s economic recovery, the austerity measures have worked for deficit cutting. New statistics out from the government show that the budget deficit for the first quarter of 2010 is 15 percent lower than in 2009.

The budget deficit came to 1.69 billion litai (€490 million), or 1.8 percent of the gross domestic product forecast for this year. Compared with 2009, the deficit was 15 percent, or 300 million litai lower.

Government revenue was 7.44 billion litai (€2.1 billion) with expenditures of 9.12 billion litai. There was also investments totaling 2.5 million litai (€725,000).

In the first quarter of 2010, 43.4 percent of expenditure was spent on social benefits. Some 47.1 percent of income came from taxes, while another 36.9 percent came from social contributions from employers. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]budget deficit of less than 3 percent to qualify under the Maastricht criteria and enter the eurozone.

Parliament voted to reduce the base wage from 475 litai (€138) per month to 450 litai with 60 votes for, one against and 21 abstentions.

Sick employees will have to go back to work earlier now too because of the decision in Seimas to reduce state-sponsored sick pay from 80 percent of wages to 40 percent.

Workers receive sick pay from employers for the first two days, but after that the state pays. The decision means a temporary change to the sick pay becomes permanent.

While they’ve likely stifled the country’s economic recovery, the austerity measures have worked for deficit cutting. New statistics out from the government show that the budget deficit for the first quarter of 2010 is 15 percent lower than in 2009.

The budget deficit came to 1.69 billion litai (€490 million), or 1.8 percent of the gross domestic product forecast for this year. Compared with 2009, the deficit was 15 percent, or 300 million litai lower.

Government revenue was 7.44 billion litai (€2.1 billion) with expenditures of 9.12 billion litai. There was also investments totaling 2.5 million litai (€725,000).

In the first quarter of 2010, 43.4 percent of expenditure was spent on social benefits. Some 47.1 percent of income came from taxes, while another 36.9 percent came from social contributions from employers. [/private_subscription 1 year]

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