Draft law amending the Holiday and Commemoration Day Act (453 SE) – first reading
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 4th session, plenary session
Date: 2024-11-11 17:19
Total Speeches: 43
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 47m
AI Summaries: 43/43 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
Today's discussion focused on Bill 453, or the "additional day of rest," for amending the Holidays and Commemoration Days Act, and the organization of public holidays and their applicable working hours. According to the bill, the Holidays and Commemoration Days Act would be expanded so that if a national holiday or public holiday falls on a weekend, an additional day of rest would be added on the following workday; it also provides for the inclusion of the second Sunday of Easter as a public holiday. The bill's aim is to increase people's days of rest, improve the balance between work and family life, increase quality of life, and give people the opportunity to spend time with their families and take advantage of the best cultural and sporting activities.
The debate considered the economic impact, ability to work, and consumption, as well as the international context; the discussion centered on how much an additional day of rest could affect employee motivation and productivity, and what impact it would have on the state in terms of taxes and working hours. In addition, a more thorough impact analysis is expected from the Ministry of Finance, and it was considered whether adding the second Sunday of Easter as a public holiday would bring alignment with the practices of the European Union and neighboring countries. In the final discussion, a positive cross-coalition consensus was recommended, along with a final review of the bill's procedure, and questions and answers were presented by members of the various factions.
Decisions Made 1
The Riigikogu voted to reject draft bill 453 at first reading, following the leadership committee’s proposal. The vote was 43 in favor, 24 against, with no abstentions. This decision removes the bill from the legislative process.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker was Evelin Poolamets (a1RqRq2rgr4), a member of the Conservative People's Party of Estonia faction and the bill's initiator. Her speeches were the main source of direction and focus, as she presented and defended the bill's key points and responded to colleagues' questions and comments. As a position, she is a right-wing political representative.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Riigikogu will consider today as an agenda item the EKRE faction-initiated bill No. 453 to amend the Holidays and Commemorative Days Act, and Evelin Poolametsa has been asked to take the floor to deliver a briefing.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Poolamets said that the draft bill would allow, if a national or state holiday falls on a weekend, on the following working day to grant an additional day off and to designate Easter Monday as a public holiday, increasing the number of days off and improving work and family life and the economy.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks and announces that there are questions, and asks colleague Riina Solman to take the floor.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman thanks the presenter and asks whether the draft’s attachments and the studies and impact assessments are available or referenced, and where to find evidence that additional rest days increase productivity and that a rested person is usually a better employee.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Evelin Poolamets said that such an impact analysis can be carried out by the Ministry of Finance, and the practice of other countries shows that an extra day off has paid for itself, and if a public holiday falls on a day off, an additional day off is granted in the following working week.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar invites Arvo Aller onto the stage.
Arvo Aller
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Arvo Aller thanked the chair of the meeting and the presenter, praised the bill as a commendable extra motivation and promoter of spending time with family, noting that the impact of the tax changes would be assessed after four to five years, and in this context asked whether a four-day workweek could be extended and, in some cases, also a three-day workweek to increase work efficiency.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Speaking about changes in working time and the potential increase in efficiency, Poolamets notes that in 2015 the European Union's average working week was about 41 hours and in Estonia about 42, but today's EU average is already about 37.5 and the differences persist – in the Nordic countries the working time is longer, in warmer regions shorter.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman invited Jaak Valge to speak.
Jaak Valge
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Jaak Valge presented OECD data in his speech, according to which Estonia in 2022 had an average of 1,770 hours worked (second in Europe after Poland), but at the same time our labor productivity has fallen relative to Latvia and Lithuania, although Finland's working time accounts for 85% of that, in Latvia 88% and in Lithuania 92%, and he asked whether the data support the proposed bill.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
I would certainly support a longer vacation, since it could increase efficiency, but studies show that the decline in efficiency stems mainly from the increased share of foreign labor and low-skilled labor in Estonia, and therefore it is hard to say whether this draft bill would have a positive impact on this case.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair Lauri Hussar thanks his colleague Kersti Sarapuu and asks.
Kersti Sarapuu
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
As the leader of the Centre Party faction, I submitted in the Riigikogu last time the same bill, which at that time had no support, and I hope for a better result this time. Additionally, I asked how many countries celebrate Easter on the second day and grant a day off because of it.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Evelin Poolamets recalled that the Centre Party had previously submitted a similar draft bill, and its main obstacle was the lack of economic impact assessments or analysis, which could really have been done only by the Ministry of Finance, and she continued with the topic of public holidays in European countries, naming the countries where the second day of Easter is a national holiday, but regarding other European countries she did not provide an answer.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker invites Mart Helme to speak.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Mart Helme cites an example from the Tsarist era of the sanctity of birth- and name-day celebrations, and emphasizes that life must be lived, not merely worked, asking in the committee whether we live to work, or we work to live.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Evelin Poolamets emphasizes that although the economic impact of work-related decisions is important, work should be done in such a way that there is room to live and more time for loved ones, because for most people, at the moment of death the greatest regret is having worked too much and having too little time with loved ones.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair requests that Helle-Moonika Helme take the floor.
Helle-Moonika Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Helle-Moonika Helme thanks the chair and Evelin, the author of this bill, who has brought it to the Riigikogu chamber, and notes that she travels around Estonia, meets with people and listens to their worries and joys, and asks whether the topic has also been discussed with ordinary people and what their position is.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Evelin Poolamets emphasizes that public holidays must be celebrated and there must be time to ensure rest, and in her words this draft bill is very necessary.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar invites Mart Maastik to speak.
Mart Maastik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
According to the presenter, the current tax policy forces every Estonian to take two to three jobs in order to survive, and if we were to add even more days off, we would not be able to cope with the tax burden.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Evelin Poolamets expressed concern about the tax burden, noting that no studies or impact assessments have been conducted and the taxes have been introduced by a trial-and-error method, and she cannot currently say how people will cope with it.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar asks Ants Frosch to come and speak.
Ants Frosch
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Ants Frosch notes that Easter has been a joyful holiday for all Christians and for the Estonian indigenous-faith adherents, and a springtime blessed period to which joy could be added for families, but he highlights a problem related to the church and asks whether reciprocal, goodwill attitudes toward believers could be positive and give them something good in return.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
According to the speaker, the draft proposal must be viewed in light of the convergence taking place in the European Union's common internal market, where restrictions on clock changes and the fact that Easter Monday is a public holiday in many countries help to better harmonize working time and rest time.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar asks Siim Pohlaku to come forward.
Siim Pohlak
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Siim Pohlak asks about the economic impact of the draft and whether the additional public holiday will increase domestic consumption or dampen the economy, and which view the speaker himself represents.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Evelin Poolamets believes that an extra day off increases domestic consumption and thus has a positive impact on the economy, although it creates difficulties for those who work to a schedule, and compensating bonuses could be one solution.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Many thanks to the presenter; there were no more questions, and we were now asked to introduce Kalle Laanet, a member of the Constitutional Committee, at the Riigikogu's speaking chair.
Kalle Laanet
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu discussed the bill on moving national holidays to the next working day; the government pointed out that the effects and costs are not yet known and that the explanatory memorandum lacks details, and the committee decided to seek additional analysis and then consider the whole system at once, and proposed to reject the bill today (4 in favour, 2 against).
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair, Lauri Hussar, thanked the presenter, stated that there were no questions, and on behalf of the Isamaa faction asked Riina Solman to open negotiations on the Riigikogu's floor microphone.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman emphasized the importance of Evelin Poolametsa's topic, noting that in Estonia a public holiday does not automatically bring extra time off and that the working day before the holiday is usually three hours shorter, she referred to several international solutions (for example Finland's compensation) and emphasized that a rested employee is more beneficial for both the employer and society, calling for continued discussion in the name of better work and life arrangements.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asked for three minutes of extra time.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman emphasizes that if you focus only on outward success, rest is forgotten, and long-standing empirically proven teachings about the Sabbath and weekend rest show their importance, which is why Isamaa's draft bill to preserve rest days is justified.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Speaker Lauri Hussar thanks and asks, on behalf of the Centre Party faction, that Vadim Belobrovtsev be invited to speak at the Riigikogu's rostrum here.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Belobrovtsev said that he submitted a draft bill to make Easter Monday a national holiday and stressed that it is a cross-party and non-political initiative whose aim is to add an important day to the state calendar, but the coalition voted against, and he doubts whether the bill will pass this time, referring to the year 2005 when the national holiday was added, and to commemorate its 20th anniversary.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Speaker Lauri Hussar asks for three more minutes.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev emphasizes that Christmas Eve could become a national holiday (69 votes in favour, 0 votes against), calls on the parties to reach a cross-party compromise and to also consider adding the second day of Easter (Easter Monday), notes that the coalition rejects similar initiatives, but an extra day off could improve workers' well-being and the economic impact is difficult to prove.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker Lauri Hussar, on behalf of the EKRE faction, requests the floor at the Riigikogu's lectern for Arvo Aller.
Arvo Aller
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Arvo Aller raised the issue that if a public holiday falls on the weekend, it could be compensated on the next working day and give employees an extra day off and time to be with their families, and urged support for the EKRE-proposed Holidays and Observances Act, although the coalition does not have a firm commitment and the impact of tax increases has not yet been assessed.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar announced that there were no requests to speak and that the debate would be closed, and he put to a vote the steering committee's proposal to reject Bill 453 at the first reading.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Riigikogu voted on the proposal: 43 in favour, 24 against, there were no abstentions; Bill 453 was rejected and removed from consideration.