Since the beginning of the year, foreign workers in Lithuania's service sector have been required to speak Lithuanian at the A1 or beginner level. The first month of implementation shows that language skills remain limited and complaints are on the rise.

According to Ilmar Tomusk, director general of the Estonian Language Board, this level may be quite sufficient for food couriers. "If we look at the A1 level description: can introduce oneself and others, ask about residence, familiar people and things — that's a general description, but it directly relates to courier work because they need to know where they are going. They also need to know the alphabet, as many couriers come from regions with different scripts," Tomusk explained. "The first thing is you need to know basic vocabulary, how to ask for an address or floor, whether the gate opens or closes — all that kind of thing. So A1 is actually enough for a courier to manage," he said.

In Lithuania, workers must pass an A2-level exam after two years. In Estonia, no nationally recognized language test exists below A2 level.

Tomusk highlighted the differences between the two levels: "A2 is already a bit more advanced and includes writing skills."

According to him, the A2 level should be required for security guards, ticket inspectors, doormen, messengers, technical or support staff at government agencies, boiler operators, copy machine operators and other similar workers. "In short, people who need to interact with others to some degree or maybe fill out forms," he said.

A draft amendment to Estonia's Language Act is currently under review in the Riigikogu. Kätlin Kõverik, adviser at the Ministry of Education and Research's language policy department, said requiring A2-level Estonian skills from couriers would be an unreasonable restriction.

Tomusk also said A1 might be sufficient but would require developing a new exam, which is a significant undertaking. "Right now, it seems courier companies have managed their work well enough that customers are more or less satisfied. Last year, there were relatively few complaints about couriers compared to other service workers," he noted.

In 2023, the Language Board received 700 complaints in total — six about couriers and nearly 170 about taxi drivers. Tomusk pointed out that a key issue is that the requirement to prove language proficiency when applying for a service provider card was eliminated a decade ago.

"For the past ten years, we've relied on after-the-fact inspections, which are not very effective, but we do everything we can to resolve individual complaints. Our main platform, Bolt, has also tried to take steps to ensure that drivers know the language — they even have a small language test. The problem is, of course, we don't know exactly who is taking that test," said the Language Board head.

According to Kõverik, requiring language proof for service cards — issued by local governments — would not lead to a dramatic improvement. She considers stronger oversight and, if necessary, suspension of a taxi driver's service card to be a more effective approach.

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