The 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.
Background
The law was passed by the National Assembly on 26 October 2010. However, a week later, on 2 November, the National Council voted to delay the law, urging the National Assembly to reconsider its decision (SI0207103F). Nevertheless, on 16 November 2010, the parliament passed the law for the second time.
The delayed vote in the National Council was proposed by members belonging to the workers group within the council. A special council session was held on 22 November at the demand of this group to decide whether to call a national referendum on the law. The motion was lost, but Dušan Semolič, a leader of the workers group and President of the Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (ZSSS), said unions would continue to fight the implementation of the law. They have now joined a campaign set up by youth organisations to collect the 40,000 signatures needed to trigger an automatic referendum.
The present system
At the moment, temporary work in Slovenia is overseen by an independent organisation which issues the agreement between employer and worker. This agreement is not an employment contract, even though in some cases there may be some elements of a labour relationship. Temporary work is governed by laws that differ substantially from those that give rights and security of employment to permanent workers. However, the current Law on Employment Relationships does:
- prohibit discrimination and harassment;
- demand equal treatment;
- set out working time.
Aims of the new law
The new law sets out to regulate, in a uniform way, different forms of temporary work or ‘small work’ in Slovenia. It defines this kind of work as paid periodical work or permanent temporarily limited work of people such as students, pensioners, and unemployed people.
It also aims to:
- include temporary work in the social insurance system, which means that employers will pay social security contributions and that temporary workers will get comparable rights to work and social insurance;
- cut the amount of illegal employment, by offering the opportunity to legalise it;
- limit the hours that university and school students can work and eliminate abuses, while encouraging their efforts to be independent;
- cut red tape, allowing employers to hire workers more quickly and easily;
- improve the flexibility of the labour market.
Limitations for workers
Under the new law, temporary work cannot exceed 60 hours per month, except in the case of students who are given an annual limit of 720 hours per calendar year. The highest gross earnings per year are limited to €6,000 and the lowest gross pay per hour to €4. Both are adjusted in line with any rise in the minimum wage. The limitation on hours worked is based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) definition of type of work as determined by the number of hours worked in a week:
- up to 14 hours per week = small work;
- 15–20 hours per week = short working time;
- 30–40 hours per week = full working time;
- over 40 hours per week = overtime work.
Limitations for employers
- Companies with no more than one worker can organise 180 hours of temporary work;
- Companies with 1–10 workers (inclusive) can have 360 hours.
- Companies employing 10–30 workers (inclusive) can have 720 hours
- Companies of 30–50 workers (inclusive) can have 1,080 hours.
- Companies with 50–100 workers (inclusive) can have 1,440 hours.
- Companies with more than 100 workers can have 2,880 hours.
The Labour Ministry can allow employers of more than 1, 250 workers to have more hours (up to 5,760 per calendar month), providing there has been consultation with other social partners.
Reaction of trade unions
Trade unions say temporary work is the most precarious form of employment and that those doing it have considerably fewer rights than those who are regularly employed. For this reason, their work will be cheaper for employers. Despite the new law’s limitations on working hours, the unions fear temporary work will begin to oust regular forms of employment and will dilute workers’ rights because labour inspections in Slovenia are not efficient enough.
One of the most controversial issues surrounding the new law is the fact that unemployed and economically inactive persons would be allowed to perform temporary work, with many doubts being raised about this during the parliamentary discussions.
ZSSS demanded several times that the reference to unemployed people be removed from the law, in order to prevent the reduction of regular employment and the increase in temporary work.
Reaction of employers
The employers welcome the law, especially because temporary work can now be carried out not only by students, but also by pensioners, unemployed persons and other economically inactive persons. However, they would have liked the monthly quotas of hours to have been greater.
Štefan Skledar, Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development