Background for Slovenia

Between 2012 and 2022, Slovenian GDP increased substantially, by 25.92%. This increase was more than the EU27 average of 15.29% for the same period. Unemployment rates for all categories decreased. The biggest decrease was in youth unemployment, which fell by 10.7 percentage points, from 20.8% in 2012 to 10.1% in 2022. At 4%, the total unemployment rate in Slovenia in 2022 was below the EU average of 6.2%. There was an increase in women’s employment between 2012 and 2022 (6.4 percentage points), to 72.9%. Youth employment increased by 3.1 percentage points in the same period, and stood at 35.9% in 2022.

The Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development reports that Slovenia’s economy saw a quick rebound in 2021 with the help of strong government measures that kept the material and financial situations of the population relatively stable (IMAD, 2022). The measures taken to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic made an important contribution to the rapid recovery of GDP (which had already exceeded the pre-crisis level in 2021), as they made it possible to maintain the country’s economic potential while strict containment measures were implemented.

Labour relationships in Slovenia are regulated by the Employment Relationships Act (Zakon o delovnih razmerjih, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 21/2013). There were no major changes to the act in 2022.

In June 2017, the government adopted changes to the Labour Market Regulation Act (Zakon o urejanju trga dela) and the Labour Inspection Act (Zakon o inšpekciji dela, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No 55/2017 ) after finally reaching a deal with the social partners. Amendments to the labour market legislation cover various measures intended to activate labour market policies for unemployed people, while amendments to the labour inspection legislation include new powers for labour inspectors to prevent work on the basis of civil law contracts and to protect workers if their employer does not pay them on time.

In May 2014, the Prevention of Undeclared Work and Employment Act (Zakon o preprečevanju dela in zaposlovanja na črno, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 32/2014) came into force.

Collective bargaining is regulated by the Collective Agreements Act (Zakon o kolektivnih pogodbah, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 43/2006). This act regulates the parties to, content of and procedure for the signing of a collective agreement, and its form, validity and termination; the peaceful settlement of collective labour disputes; and the registering and publication of collective agreements. Trade union representation is regulated by the Law on Representativeness of Trade Unions (Zakon o reprezentativnosti sindikatov, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 13/1993).

Industrial relations in Slovenia took root in the 1870s, when trade unions became legal entities. At the turn of the century, there were 17 industrial unions. Trade unions were centralised after the Second World War, with membership mandatory. Employer organisations did not exist.

After the change to the socioeconomic system and the first free elections, a democratic industrial relations system gradually emerged with free collective bargaining. A study by Stanojević and Kanjuo Mrčela (2014) found that the nature of industrial relations in Slovenia was changing. Although social partners described collective bargaining in Slovenia as more cooperative than conflictual, they also reported that there were sectors where there was practically no social dialogue any more. This study confirmed the findings of an earlier analysis by Eurofound (2013), which showed a deterioration in social dialogue since the onset of the financial crisis (for example, increasing breaches of collective agreements by employers, increasing unrest among workers, an increasing number of strikes, and a rise in unilateral and hasty government interventions related to public sector working conditions). However, the social partners did sign the social agreement for 2015–2016 in February 2015, after many years of negotiations.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the trade unions felt excluded from social dialogue. They highlighted that the government completely ignored them and did not consider their proposals when drafting the first and second packages of measures to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic. Some trade union proposals were later adopted in consecutive packages, but the government ignored the trade unions when it came to the key issues. The Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (Zveza Svobodnih Sindikatov Slovenije, ZSSS), the largest trade union confederation, claims that the government breached the rules of the Economic and Social Council of the Republic of Slovenia (Ekonomsko-socialni svet, ESC) in the process of adopting measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The largest trade unions resigned in protest from this body in May 2021. They decided to take this step because the government passed laws without consulting the social partners. In July 2022, after the ESC elections, the social partners met again and signed the preamble to the agreement on the relaunch of social dialogue. This preamble notes that social dialogue is an important democratic asset, crucial for the development of Slovenia, the well-being of citizens, social peace and the rebuilding of trust between the social partners. The newly appointed president to the ESC emphasised the importance of renewing social dialogue and social partnership.