First reading of the Draft Act on the Amendment of Section 2 of the Law on Holidays and Commemorative Dates (402 SE)
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 4th sitting, plenary sitting
Date: 2024-09-10 13:11
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 23
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 25m
AI Summaries: 23/23 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The topic of the third agenda item is the first reading of Draft Act 402 on the amendment of § 2 of the Holidays and Commemoration Days Act, initiated by the faction of the Estonian Centre Party. The objective of the draft is to add the second day of Easter as a national holiday and day off, thereby increasing the number of national holidays in Estonia to 12. The proposed amendment would enter into force on January 1, 2025. The draft asserts that it will not entail additional state budgetary expenditures, and that it will help strengthen family relationships and create better rest opportunities for working people. The draft is described as apolitical and highlights that it would function similarly to the practice in other European countries.
Secondly, various impacts and considerations were raised during the discussion: the government was critical of the draft and did not support it; the Ministry of Education highlighted a potential increase in the workload for schools; and while some business stakeholders saw a positive impact from the additional day off, others worried about work organization and increased bureaucracy. The committee decided to reject the draft during the first reading, and the plenary session ultimately decided to terminate the proceedings of the draft. The voting result was 48 in favor, 12 against, and 2 abstentions.
Decisions Made 1
The first reading of Draft Bill 402 has been rejected and the bill is removed from the proceedings. Voting results: 48 in favor, 12 against, 2 abstentions.
Most Active Speaker
Speaker, the most active: Vadim Belobrovtsev (uexmw3AlP24) – initiator and representative of the Estonian Centre Party faction; political position: Centre Party (other).
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Today, the third item on the agenda is the first reading of Draft Act 402, initiated by the Estonian Centre Party faction, concerning the amendment of Section 2 of the Act on Holidays and Commemorative Days. Riigikogu member Vadim Belobrovtsev was invited to present the report.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev introduced a draft bill, according to which the second day of the Easter holidays will be made a public holiday and a day off, increasing the number of national holidays to 12 starting from January 1, 2025. The goal is to strengthen family relationships and work processes, and the proposal is apolitical, widely supported, and does not generate additional costs.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The question round begins, and Lauri Laats is called.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats highlighted that Estonia has few public holidays, emphasizing the importance of giving families the chance to spend time together during those holidays. He then discussed the Social Democrats' proposal for a four-day work week, which he suggested could increase family time and stimulate the economy, asking how they should move forward with the proposal.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev said that although this is a radical proposal, it deserves discussion: if a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday could be a day off. He also suggested considering a four-day work week and examining the experiences of other countries, such as Sweden and Latvia.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Next up is Aleksei Jevgrafov.
Aleksei Jevgrafov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The speaker notes that their initiative is very good and introduces an extra day off, and asks how, for example, the Estonian Employers' Confederation or other businesses view this.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev emphasizes that entrepreneurs are divided on this issue; an extra day off won't significantly alter the work week, but in the long term, it will provide employees with more rest and motivation, and bring the Estonian work week closer to the European average.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The Vice-Chairman declares the second item open and invites Aleksei Yevgrafov to take the floor.
Aleksei Jevgrafov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
He asks Vadim if there are statistics available showing the number of public holidays in Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, and whether that situation can be compared to Estonia's.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
He thanks the speaker and notes that his colleague Lauri Laats could present those statistics. He himself has briefly reviewed the data and found that their number is neither the smallest nor the largest, but rather somewhere in the middle, or perhaps even lower down on the list.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
There are no further questions for the rapporteur. Thank you. Next, Pipi-Liis Siemanni, member of the Constitutional Committee and representative of the Steering Committee, will take the floor.
Pipi-Liis Siemann
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The Riigikogu Constitutional Committee discussed the draft bill and noted that the government does not support it, arguing that the bill would introduce additional costs to the state budget and increase the workload for students. However, the committee reached a consensus decision to forward the bill to the June plenary session and appointed representatives (5 in favor, 1 against, 1 abstention).
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Arvo Aller asked Signe Kivi to pose one question.
Signe Kivi
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Signe Kivi asks the committee whether the initiator of the draft legislation specified which existing public holiday could or should be converted into a non-working day, and whether that proposal was actually put forward.
Pipi-Liis Siemann
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
There was no discussion regarding the other proposals; we focused instead on the second day of Easter (Easter Monday) and compared it with many European countries where this holiday is observed. Furthermore, there were no proposals concerning other public holidays.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller invites Lauri Laats to speak.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats asks whether the committee seriously discussed the possibility of assigning the relevant minister the task of delving deeper into the topic, noting that control figures were missing, and whether the decision was reached based on the submitted draft bill instead of a substantive discussion, which ultimately led to the committee’s negative ruling.
Pipi-Liis Siemann
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Pipi-Liis Siemann said that the commission held the view that the proposal was substantively sound, and that the draft legislation should proceed to deliberation so that it could be supplemented and amended.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller announced that there were no further questions for the rapporteur, thanked him, and opened the debate on behalf of Vadim Belobrovtsev.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev stated that an extra day in the year would not significantly impact studies, and that the opinions of ministries and entrepreneurs differ, but an impact analysis should be conducted before a final decision is made. He called for a vote in favor of the bill during the first reading, suggesting they should then observe how it affects the economy and the public moving forward.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Speaker Arvo Aller declared the debate closed, submitted the lead committee's proposal to reject Draft Bill 402 at the first reading for a vote, and proceeded with the preparations for the vote.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vote in the Riigikogu saw 48 members supporting the motion, 12 voting against, and 2 abstaining, as a result of which Draft Bill 402 has been rejected and will be removed from the legislative proceedings.