Actors and institutions in Slovenia

The Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (Ministrstvo za delo, družino, socialne zadeve in enake možnosti) mainly deals with social dialogue and working conditions, including health and safety at work. Its objectives are to provide the necessary legislative framework and information, advisory and dispute settlement services, and the minimum level of worker protection, through legislation. The areas of activity covered by the ministry’s health and safety at work section include the drafting of acts and other regulations concerning health and safety at work; it also co-operates with other line ministries in drafting individual regulations. The state also participates in national tripartite consultation or negotiation on economic and social issues and is a partner in sectoral tripartite bodies. The state has been heavily involved in public sector industrial relations as an employer. This includes the civil service (state administration at central, regional and local levels), public social services (such as health and safety at work, education and childcare) and industrial and commercial enterprises (such as postal services and railways).

The Labour Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia supervises the implementation of laws, other regulations, collective contracts and general acts that govern employment relations, pay and other gains from employment, the employment of workers at home and abroad, workers’ participation in management, strikes and the safety of workers at work, unless otherwise specified by regulations. A worker may request judicial protection before a competent labour court. The worker and the employer may also agree to settle a dispute through mediation. Representative trade union and employer organisations propose mediation experts for mediation in individual cases and arbiters for settling labour disputes. The data on experts and arbiters are kept by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.

The health and safety at work section of the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities monitors and assesses the situation in the field of health and safety at work.

The representativeness of trade unions is regulated by the Law on Representativeness of Trade Unions. Article 6 of this law stipulates the criteria for representativeness, according to which a representative trade union must be democratic, enable voluntary membership, have been active for the past six months, be independent of governmental bodies and employers, be mostly financed through membership fees and other internal sources, and have a certain number of members (at least 10% of employees in a particular branch, activity or occupation).

The representativeness of employer organisations is not regulated by a specific law. It is nevertheless indirectly regulated by the Collective Agreements Act. Article 12 of the act stipulates that when a collective agreement has been concluded between one or more representative trade unions and one or more representative employer organisations, one of the parties may ask the labour minister to extend the collective agreement to all employers in the activity to which the agreement refers. The employer organisation in this case has to employ more than half of all the workers in companies covered by the extension.

About trade union representation

Trade union representation is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia. Article 76 of the Constitution stipulates that the organisation and work of trade unions, as well as trade union membership, are free. Consequently, there are no legislative restrictions regarding the right to join trade unions.

According to data from the OECD and AIAS (2021), trade union membership had been declining before the financial crisis (from 43.7% of the workforce in 2003 to 26.2% in 2013), and continued to decline during the crisis.

Trade union membership and density, 2011–2019

Notes: * Proportion of employees who are members of a trade union. ** Total number of trade union members (including self-employed workers and non-active union members – that is, students, retirees and unemployed people) at national level. n.a., not available.

Main trade union confederations and federations

The most important trade union confederations and federations in Slovenia are:

• ZSSS, the largest union organisation

• Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (Konfederacija Sindikatov Javnega Sektorja Slovenije, KSJS)

• Confederation of Trade Unions of Slovenia Pergam (Konfederacija Sindikatov Slovenije Pergam, Pergam)

• Trade Union Confederation 90 of Slovenia (Konfederacija Sindikatov 90 Slovenije, KS90)

• Independent Confederation of New Trade Unions of Slovenia (Konfederacija novih sindikatov Slovenije, KNSS)

• Union of Workers’ Trade Unions of Slovenia – Solidarity (Zveza delavskih sindikatov Slovenije – Solidarnost, Solidarnost)

• Slovene Union of Trade Unions Alternativa (Slovenska zveza sindikatov Alternativa, Alternativa)

• Association of Representative Trade Unions of Slovenia (Zveza reprezentativnih sindikatov Slovenije, ZRSS)

• (Konfederacija slovenskih sindikatov, KSS)

Main trade union confederations and federations

Sources: Eurofound, 2014a; ZSSS, internal data

About employer representation

Membership of employer organisations suffered its biggest decrease when the obligatory membership in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (Gospodarska zbornica Slovenije, GZS) was abolished in 2006. Two years afterwards, it was at 55% of employers (Glassner, 2013).

The Association of Employers of Slovenia (Združenje delodajalcev Slovenije, ZDS) was the first voluntary economic association in Slovenia representing and protecting the interests of employers. It claims that half of all employees in the private sector are employed by more than 1,000 of its members, representing over half of the total capital in Slovenia.

Employer organisation membership and density, 2012–2019 (%)

Notes: * Percentage of employees working in an establishment that is a member of any employer organisation that is involved in collective bargaining. n.a., not available.

Main employer organisations

The most important intersectoral employer organisations in Slovenia are:

• GZS

• ZDS

• Slovenian Chamber of Commerce (Trgovinska zbornica Slovenije, TZS)

• Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia (Obrtno-Podjetniška zbornica Slovenije, OZS)

• Association of Employers in Craft and Small Business of Slovenia (Združenje delodajalcev obrti in podjetnikov Slovenije, ZDOPS)

There are four cross-industry employer organisations in Slovenia, which all meet the threshold to be considered representative. All four are involved in cross-industry collective bargaining and in bipartite and tripartite social dialogue structures.

TZS only covers the commerce sector and is not involved in cross-sectoral collective bargaining, but is part of the tripartite social dialogue structure.

Main employer organisations and confederations

Sources: Eurofound, 2014a; ZDS (register of members); TZS (register of members); OZS (undated); GZS (register of members)

The ESC was established by a tripartite agreement on pay policy in the private sector in June 1994. Through this accord, the government, employer organisations and trade unions established a central body for tripartite cooperation in Slovenia. The ESC has substantially contributed to the successful implementation of basic economic and social reforms and the transition process, as well as rapprochement with the EU and integration into the international economy. Moreover, it has helped with the enforcement of social justice and social peace, which are seen as crucial for successful economic development. The ESC’s field of activity mainly concerns industrial relations, working conditions, labour legislation, social rights and employment policy; other broader economic and social issues that concern workers and their families; and employers’ interests and government policy.

The primary function of the ESC is consultative, which means it takes an active part in the preparation of legislation and other documents. It can also issue its own standpoint on various matters, such as working documents and draft documents (including the state budget and budget memorandum).

The ESC also has a quasi-bargaining function (although it does not participate in collective bargaining in its proper sense), which means that ‘social agreements’, pay policy agreements and other tripartite accords are negotiated within its framework.

The amended Rules of Procedure of the ESC were adopted in January 2017. Each partner is now represented by eight members. This is a welcome change, as it reflects the larger number of trade unions.

The Rules of Procedure of the ESC were amended again in 2019. Within the scope of its work, the ESC should, in its capacity as an important stakeholder, participate in the preparation of legislation in the economic and social areas it deals with (before and during public discussion thereof), by formulating positions, opinions and recommendations concerning working papers, drafts and proposals for acts, regulations and orders proposed by the government of the Republic of Slovenia.

Main tripartite and bipartite bodies

At company level, there are dual channels of representation: company trade unions and works councils/worker trustees. Eurofound’s 2019 European Company Survey results suggest that trade union shop stewards play a prominent role within Slovenia’s dual-channel system. The results also indicate that where dual forms of representation exist trade unions tend to focus mostly on collective bargaining, while works councils are mostly involved in information and consultation. In Slovenia, there is a demarcation of competencies between works councils and trade unions. The legislation states that the right of workers to participate in management may not encroach on the rights and duties of trade unions and employer organisations to protect the interests of their members.

According to Eurofound (2009) Slovenia’s employee representation structures have a medium to high coverage compared with Europe as a whole, with 42% of the establishments involved in the survey and 66% of workers covered by some form of body, and a further 15% of establishments using representation when necessary. Trade unions have the highest prevalence of single-channel representation (23% of establishments covering 25% of employees). In terms of employee coverage, dual-channel representation is most widespread (15% of establishments with 39% of employees). Works councils as single-channel representative bodies are very rare, and occur predominantly in smaller establishments (4% of establishments, covering only 2% of employees).

The regulation of these bodies is codified both by law and in collective agreements.

Regulation, composition and competences of the bodies