Estonian trade unions welcome the government's decision not to raise taxes, but stress that the proceeds of the budget surplus must be used to increase the wages of the people who keep the state running on a daily basis.

Kaia Vask, head of the Estonian Trade Union Confederation, explains: "The quality of public services starts with the employees. If the salaries of police officers, rescuers, teachers, cultural workers and health workers are competitive, they will continue to work for the benefit of the people and keep our country safe and functioning. Paying them higher wages is the smartest investment we can make in a budget surplus."

The trade unions' main recommendations to the government are:

• Pay rises for frontline workers: police, rescuers, teachers; health, social and cultural workers and others,
• Additional funding for health: to ensure access to services and to keep specialists in work across Estonia,
• Ending the wage freeze in the public sector: immediate negotiations on competitive, multi-annual wage increases to restore the purchasing power of public sector workers' wages.
• Re-establishing the capacity of agencies and inspectorates: ensuring sufficient staffing and digital upgrades to guarantee the quality of supervision and services.
• Re-establishing social dialogue: launching tripartite negotiations between government, employers and trade unions to agree priorities for wages and working conditions in different sectors.

Public letter to the Prime Minister of the EP

The petition has been signed by the Estonian Confederation of Trade Unions, the Estonian Nurses' Union, the Estonian Doctors' Union, the Theatre Union, the Central Organisation of Estonian Salaried Employees' Unions, the Independent Trade Union of Estonian Seafarers and the Estonian Union of Educators.