Union opposes employer proposal to increase working time

In November 2004, the Metal and Electro Industries Trade Union of Slovenia (SKEI) strongly opposed a proposal made by some employers to change current legislation so as to allow employers to increase their employees' working time by 120 hours a year, half of it unpaid. SKEI sees the proposal - which refers to recent agreements in Germany - as 'humiliating' for workers, and argues that it will neither create nor preserve jobs.

On 2-3 November 2004, the Metal and Electro Industries Trade Union of Slovenia (Sindikat kovinske in elektroindustrije Slovenije, SKEI), an affiliate of the Union of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (Zveza svobodnih sindikatov Slovenije, ZSSS) (SI0210102F) organised, together with the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF), a meeting of the EMF company policy committee in Bled, Slovenia. Among the issues discussed was a proposal by some Slovenian employers to increase working time.

Stojan Petric, a director of Kolektor Group, an engineering company, has submitted to the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs (Ministrstvo za delo, družino in socialne zadeve, MDDSZ) a proposal for changes to current labour legislation. The proposed change would make it possible for companies to increase working time by half an hour per day, up to 120 hours a year in total, out of which 60 hours would be paid and 60 unpaid. Moreover, for the additional paid working time, employers should not pay taxes and social security contributions on their employees' wages. This would mean a lengthening of the working week from the current normal 40 hours to more than 42 hours, which is against current Slovenian legislation. In addition, Kolektor Group management has tried to increase the working time of its own employees in manner that critics allege is illegal, although the company is achieving good financial results (eg a 26% return on capital).

The Slovenian employers involved refer to the example of a number of recent agreements increasing working time at companies in Germany (DE0407106F and DE0408102N). However, opponents argue that the proponents of the Kolektor Group proposal disregard the fact that the employees of the German companies concerned also gained something in return for working longer, in the form of job security guarantees. As Metka Roksandic, the executive secretary of ZSSS, pointed out, in the case of Siemens in Germany, it was agreed in June 2004 to increase weekly working hours from 35 to 40 at two mobile phone plants, with no extra pay for the workers involved. However, in exchange the workers received a guarantee that 2,000 jobs will not be transferred to Hungary.

Drago Gajzer, president of SKEI, has called the Kolektor Group proposal humiliating for workers and expressed his union's opposition. The proposal does not guarantee the preservation of jobs or the suspension of redundancies, nor does it make possible new employment and the creation of jobs, he argued. Berthold Huber, vice-president of the German Metalworkers' Union (Industriegewerkschaft Metall, IG Metall), agreed with Mr Gajzer. He said that the discussion on the lengthening of the working time is important. However, trade unions are withstanding calls for longer working time (DE0411201N) because it can lead to the lowering of pay, a reduction in the number of jobs and the use of 'blackmail', treating workers as 'modern-day slaves'. He drew attention to the Siemens case, where IG Metall had allowed the introduction of longer working time for two years, stating that such exceptions are possible in the companies that are in the process of reorganisation or carrying out major investments.