Report examines progress in achieving employment policy priorities

In June 2003, the Slovak government approved a report examining the extent to which the goals and priorities set out in a Joint Assessment of employment priorities agreed with the European Commission were met in 2002. The Report, which was forwarded to the Commission, looks at areas such as pay, training, equal opportunities and active labour market policy.

As part of the preparations for accession to the EU, theEuropean Commission and each of the candidate and acceding countries have drawn upJoint Assessments of the key challenges for the latter's employment policies. These contain a range of commitments, which the country concerned and the Commission agree to monitor. TheJoint Assessment of employment priorities in the Slovak Republic was signed by the European Commissioner responsible for employment and social affairs and by the Slovak Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and the Family in November 2001. The document presents an agreed set of short-term employment and labour market objectives, aimed at speeding up labour market transformation and making the necessary progress in modifying the employment system in order to be able to implement the EU'sEuropean employment strategy and prepare for accession in 2004. It also includes an assessment of developments in the area in question in 1998-2000. Progress in the implementation of the agreed policies is to be assessed regularly.

In June 2003, a report on the fulfilment of the agreed employment priorities in 2002 (the second such report) was discussed and approved by the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and the Family (Ministerstvo práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny Slovenskej republiky,MPSVR SR). The Slovak government also approved the report and then submitted it to the European Commission. The report on the fulfillment of priorities details progress in the following areas:

• wage growth;

• taxation and social benefit systems;

• education and vocational training systems;

• lifelong learning, equal access to education, and social cohesion;

• equal opportunities for men and women;

• support for active labour market policy and development of public employment services;

• social dialogue;

• regional cohesion;

• integration of national minorities; and

• preparations for future utilisation of the European Social Fund.

According to the report, 2002 saw Slovakia's highest year-on-year GDP increase for four years, at 4.4%. The labour market activity rate fell by 0.6% in comparison with the previous year, however, standing at 70% in 2002. Employment continued to rise (by 0.2%), while the registered unemployment rate fell to 17.8%, a reduction of 0.43% on 2001. Men were still more affected by unemployment than women, making up 54.7% of all unemployed people in 2002.

Average nominal wages increased by 9.3% in 2002 (SK0309101N), slightly more than in the previous year (8.2%). This was caused by significant public service and civil service wage increases, aimed at improving a public sector wage level which had fallen behind the business sector (SK0206102F). The net minimum wage for a single person living alone exceeded the subsistence minimum by 19.2% after the former's increase in October 2002 (SK0210101N), and amounted to 41.2% of the average wage.

Decentralisation of the education system commenced in 2002, to allow for flexible adaptation of syllabuses to the needs of regional labour markets. Many organisations in Slovakia, including the social partners, have been involved in developing the content of education and vocational training. Conditions have also been created to allow access to education for children with physically disabilities and from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. Currently, a lifelong learning scheme is in preparation.

The new centre-right government has also begun to reassess pensions, with the main focus on funded pensions in the compulsory pension system. It has also been proposed that the retirement age be increased.

Significant progress has been made in the area of equal opportunities for men and women, it is reported. New legal regulations - such as the new Labour Code (SK0207102F) and the Acts on Public and Civil Services - which prohibit discrimination of any kind in labour and employment relations, including wages, have been implemented. New anti-discrimination legislation is in the process of preparation and will also include institutional changes.

According to the report, there were positive developments in active labour market policy in 2002. Twice as much was spent on retraining measures in comparison with 2001. These measures were designed to meet the real needs of the labour market. More than one-third of those undergoing retraining found a job; indeed, retraining was preferred to public works, which had previously had priority. In the public employment services the emphasis was on implementing preventive measures and activities to support unemployed people in finding a job. A lot more was done to help the unemployed on an individual basis. In 2002, more than one-half of all employment- and wage-related inspections by the National Labour Inspectorate (Národný inspektorát práce) were directed towards illegal employment.

Social partnership played a significant role in the formulation and implementation of employment policy measures at both national and regional levels. In 2002, a state aid programme was implemented, aimed at strengthening cohesion in regions with the highest unemployment. The National Agency for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises (Národná agentúra pre rozvoj malého a stredného podnikania,NARMSP) played an important role in this. The government tried to promote labour force mobility through housing development programmes; it also provided special grants from the state budget for public transport.

In 2002, the government strategy for improving the situation of the Roma community focused on implementation of the'Complex Development Programme of Roma Settlements' and the'Programme for Social Workers'. Within the framework of active labour market policy, special attention was paid to helping Roma people find employment.

The government is continuing intensive preparations for utilising the EU structural funds. A separate department forEuropean Social Fund (ESF) management has been created within the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and the Family. This department includes specialised units dealing with the following ESF projects: the Sectoral Operation Programme Human Resources; the Single Programming Document NUTS II Bratislava Objective 3; and the EQUAL initiative. These units are responsible for all activities related to the monitoring and verification of costs and for contact with the body responsible for payments. Two monitoring committees have been created under the supervision of the Ministry, one for the Sectoral Operation Programme Human Resources and the other for the Single Programming Document NUTS II Bratislava.