Slovenia
Background information on industrial relations in Slovenia
- 22 Dec 2011
Slovenia: Migrant workers win fight against discriminationMigrant workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina have finally won the right to claim unemployment benefit in Slovenia. This has been denied them for years, despite the fact they have always been required to pay contributions to unemployment insurance. On 2 September 2011, the amendments to the agreement on social insurance between Slovenia and Bosnia came into force. These amendments also give migrant Bosnian workers more rights and aim to reduce discrimination against them.
- 07 Oct 2011
Slovenia: Public sector union calls for strike actionAn announcement that 160,000 workers in the Slovenian public sector could have their pay cut by 4% has led to union calls for strike action. Prime Minister Borut Pahor says the parliamentary committee for local self-management independently added the cut to a draft package of measures drawn up to address the budget deficit. He says he will respect agreements with the unions, but they suspect the government is trying to bypass dialogue and confrontation with social partners.
- 26 Sep 2011
Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Commerce – SloveniaThe commerce sector in Slovenia accounts for 12% of employment in the country’s economy. Between 2000 and 2007 the number of companies in the sector decreased, while the number of employees increased by 15%. The trend for increasing employment is especially strong among women. The sector’s rate of collective bargaining coverage is 100% and the social partners( two trade unions and three employer organisations) evaluated sectoral social dialogue in 2009 as quite successful.
- 12 Sep 2011
Slovenia: Law on temporary work defeated in referendumA new Slovenian law on temporary work, which had been vigorously opposed by unions and youth organisations, was roundly defeated in a national referendum in April 2011 with a surprisingly high ‘no’ vote of more than 80%. The outcome was seen as a clear vote of no-confidence in the government, and it was then defeated again in July in a triple referendum on crucial economic policies such as pension reform and the prevention of undeclared work. Early elections are now likely to be held.
- 24 Aug 2011
Slovenia: New chamber for construction subcontractorsOn 5 July 2011, a new employer organisation for the Slovenian construction sector (ZGS) was founded on the initiative of a group of subcontractors. It now competes with the old reformed ZGS, which has been accused of not supporting the subcontractors when they organised several protests across Slovenia against the state-owned motorway company DARS, which owes them €9 million for completed work. The subcontractors decided to leave the old organisation and found the new ZGS.
- 01 Aug 2011
Slovenia: The representativeness of trade unions and employer associations in the banking sectorThe banking sector in Slovenia is relatively small (consisting of 19 banks, three savings banks and three branches of Member State banks. There has been a large increase in the number and market share of foreign-owned banks in Slovenia since 1998, but the number of banks has been falling steadily since 1994 due to consolidation (the three largest banks account for half of total banking assets and the top seven hold nearly 80% of the market) and foreign takeovers. Social dialogue in the sector takes place at bipartite sectoral and company level.
- 29 Jul 2011
SLOVENIA: EIRO CAR on ‘Helping young workers during the crisis: contributions by social partners and public authorities.’The situation in the Slovenian labour market has deteriorated in the past two years by the economic crisis. One of the most vulnerable segments is the young population which is predominantly affected by the termination of fixed term contracts and the flexibilisation of the labour market, especially through the use of student work. Recent changes of the legal documents, which should improve the overall situation in the Slovenian labour market and consequently also for the particular segments, are not approved by the student organizations and the trade unions representatives. They fear that such changes would decrease further the social security of the young population.
- 15 Jun 2011
"Slovenia: EIRO CAR on SMEs in the crisis: Employment, Industrial Relations and Local Partnership"At the beginning of the 21st century, the majority of big companies in Slovenia fell apart and were replaced by tens of thousands new micro, small and medium sized enterprises. There are now more than 40,000 of SMEs in Slovenia presenting more than 90% of Slovenian companies and 60% of all employees. The Government of the RS has undertaken targeted measures to help SMEs to weather the crisis, but social partners are of opinion that these measures are a year or two behind their demands and see late payments and non-payments as a major problem of SMEs in the process of recovery of the Slovenian economy.
- 15 Jun 2011
Slovenia: Representativeness study of the European Social Partners organisations – Public administration sector’Slovenia’s public administration has been changing rapidly since 1990. Numbering approximately 9,000 employees at the beginning of the 1990s, the sector now employs 50,000. In that period a number of regulations have been passed and the position of employees in the central government has improved. The Civil Servants Act regulates a social partnership which is unique in Slovene legislation (the law defines the responsibilities of the ministries and the government in relation to employees and trade unions). After years of negotiation a new wage system for 160,000 employees in the public sector came into force in 2008, causing serious discontent in certain groups of employees.
- 21 Apr 2011
Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Education sector – SloveniaThe aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the education sector in Slovenia. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as on their role in collective bargaining.
- 14 Apr 2011
Slovenia: Law on temporary work adoptedThe Slovenian parliament finally adopted a law on temporary work in late 2010. Trade unions dislike temporary work in general and especially in the case of unemployed people and pensioners. Dušan Semolič, President of the Union of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia, said his members will fight against the implementation of the law, and will join a campaign, set up by youth organisations, to collect more than the 40,000 signatures needed to force a referendum on the new measure.
- 14 Feb 2011
Slovenia: Industrial Relations in the Health Care SectorSlovenia's healthcare network is regulated by the Ministry of Health (Ministrstvo za zdravje, MZ) which is responsible for healthcare institutions, hospitals and clinics operated at the national level. The Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs (Ministrstvo za delo, druzino in socialne zadeve, MDDSZ) is responsible for nursing homes for elderly people which offer professional protection. Health, social security, pension and disability insurance allow various services and benefits which are provided within the scope of the existing social protection systems. As almost all health and care institutions are to wide extent financed with public funds the industrial relations are regulated centrally. The biggest challenge is to ensure sustainability of financing due to ageing of the population.
- 19 Jan 2011
“Slovenia: EIRO CAR on the effect of the Information and Consultation Directive on Industrial Relations in the EU Member States five years after its transpositionThe basis for the information and consultation in Slovenia were set already in 1993 with the WPMA (Worker Participation in Management Act 42/93) however its level and dynamics depends on the culture of the company and the attitude of management. The implementation of the Directive did not significantly change the rights and practices of I&C. However the increasing awareness of employees and their will of involvement influenced the employers' side.
- 11 Jan 2011
Slovenia: EIRO Annual Review – 2009Apart from a new temporary waiting for work scheme to combat the economic crisis and new legislation granting subsidises to companies introducing a shorter working week to retain jobs, in 2009 there were very few legislative developments in industrial relations. More legislative changes are expected in 2010. The year 2009 saw a sharp decrease in density rates of both employers and trade unions organisations. In late February 2009 the government and the representatives of 23 public sector trade unions signed an austerity pay deal for the period 2009–2010. Under the agreement wage growth envisaged for 2009 was reduced from 9.9% to 7.1%. The pay deal was part of the government’s austerity plan and consisted of 13 measures. The aim of the plan was to cut public sector spending by €100–€120 million as part of the state’s anti-crisis efforts.