Cziria, Ludovít
European Works Councils - law and practice
11 november 2004
EU Directive 94/45/EC [1] on the establishment of a European Works Council
(EWC) or a procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-scale
groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing and consulting employees
was implemented in Slovakia - within the framework of pre-accession
implementation of the 'acquis communautaire' (the body of EU law) - by Act
No. 311/2001 on the Labour Code, as amended. Sections 241-250 of the Labour
Code [2] regulate EWCs. The new Labour Code entered into force on 1 April
2002, but the provisions on EWCs became valid on 1 May 2004, when Slovakia
joined the EU.
[1] http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=31994L0045&model=guichett
[2] http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/labour_law/docs/Implementation_slovakia_en.pdf
Wage protests emerge
06 oktober 2004
Strikes are relatively rare in Slovakia, with the last significant stoppage
being a railway workers' strike in January 2003 (SK0306101F [1]). What
industrial action there has been has often been directed at government
policies and reforms (SK0312102N [2] and SK0212101N [3]), and organised by
the sectoral trade unions and the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Slovak
Republic (Konfederácia odborových zväzov Slovenskej republiky, KOZ SR
[4]). There have also been several protests in the public sector - especially
in education and healthcare. However, recently the private business sector
has begun to be a target of action organised by local trade union
organisations. Furthermore, while in the past privatisation and restructuring
were the main reasons for workforce protests at company level, recent
protests have been caused by wage dissatisfaction.
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/slovakias-first-strikes-hit-railways
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/unions-continue-protests-against-government-policy
[3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/unions-protest-against-new-governments-social-policy
[4] http://www.kozsr.sk/
New central employers' organisation established
07 september 2004
The Federation of Employers' Associations of the Slovak Republic (Asociácia
zamestnávatelských zväzov a združení Slovenskej republiky, AZZZ SR [1])
was established in 1991 and from 1995 operated as the sole top-level
employers' representative body (SK0208102F [2]). It also represented the
employers in tripartite bodies (SK0307102F [3]). However, at the end of March
2004 the organisation split: employers that were not satisfied with how AZZZ
SR was being run established a new organisation, the National Union of
Employers of the Slovak Republic (Republiková únia zamestnávateľov
Slovenskej republiky, RUZ SR [4]).
[1] http://www.azzz.sk/
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/the-organisation-of-the-social-partners
[3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/tripartism-examined
[4] http://www.ruzsr.sk/
Trade unions address equal opportunities
05 augustus 2004
The fourth congress of the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Slovak
Republic (Konfederácia odborových zväzov Slovenskej republiky, KOZ SR [1])
(SK0208102F [2]) in 2000 highlighted the role of trade unions in the
implementation of gender equality, and the confederation has since developed
activities in this area. The KOZ SR women's committee contributed
significantly to the preparation of a project entitled 'equal opportunities
policy for women and men in trade unions', which has been implemented over
2002-4, as outlined below.
[1] http://www.kozsr.sk/
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/the-organisation-of-the-social-partners
Thematic feature - individual labour/employment disputes and the courts
21 juli 2004
In March 2004, the EIRO national centres in 24 European countries were asked,
in response to a questionnaire, to give a brief overview of their country's
system for dealing with individual labour/employment disputes through the
courts, along with data on: the volume of cases; the costs; the timeframe;
alternatives to going to court; and any current debate on these issues. The
Slovakian responses are set out below (along with the questions asked).
2003 Annual Review for Slovakia
16 juni 2004
The government elected in September 2002 - a coalition of the Slovak
Democratic and Christian Union (Slovenská Demokratická a Krestanská Únia,
SDKÚ), the Hungarian Coalition Party (Magyar Koalíció Pártja/Strana
Madarskej Koalície, MKP/SMK), the Christian-Democratic Movement (Krestansko
Demokratické Hnutie, KDH) and the New Civic Alliance (Aliancia Nového
Obcana, ANO) - continued in office during 2003.
Stricter conditions for social benefits
15 juni 2004
In order to reduce public expenditure and motivate people actively to seek
employment rather than live on social benefits, parliament has recently
approved several changes to the social security system. Under the previous
law on social assistance, 'needy' citizens could obtain a decent income from
social benefits. Many long-term unemployed people fell into this category.
There are currently about 450,000 unemployed in Slovakia, about half of whom
receive social benefits, placing a major burden on the public purse. From 1
February 2004, stricter conditions have been imposed on social benefits and
the level of payments has been reduced. For example, the previous system gave
a large family - with three or more children - an income close to 50% of the
national average: under the new system this will be cut to about 25% of
average income.
Tax reform implemented
15 juni 2004
The government pushed through a tax reform proposal at the end of 2003. Act
595 of 2003 on Income Tax came into force on 1 January 2004, the most radical
change ever in the Slovak taxation system. Employers, the self-employed and
employees will pay a flat 19% tax on profits or income. The new taxation
system is particularly favourable for the self-employed, freelancers,
traders, and so on, who were previously subject to progressive taxation of up
to 38%. For companies the new flat rate replaces the previous corporate tax
rate of 25%. According to the new legislation, not-for-profit legal entities
- such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) - will pay no tax unless
their annual revenues exceed SKK 300,000 (approximately EUR 7,300).
New employment conditions introduced in public sector
07 juni 2004
New Acts on the Civil Service and on the Public Service came into force in
April 2002 (SK0206102F [1]) regulating the employment conditions of public
sector employees, which had previously been regulated only by the Labour
Code. The two Acts were an attempt to address a lack of flexibility in
employment conditions, poor public sector competitiveness in comparison with
the private sector and inadequately motivating wages. However, certain
reservations were expressed from the outset, and both laws were subject to
major amendments in 2003, which came into force on 1 January 2004.
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/new-employment-framework-for-public-employees
New civil service collective agreement brings changes
20 mei 2004
On 17 December 2003, a new sectoral collective agreement for civil service
employees was concluded for 2004. Ivan Mikloš, the Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Finance, Vladimír Palko, the Minister of the Interior, Ľudovít
Kaník, the Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Ľubomír Plai,
head of the Civil Service Office (Úrad pre štátnu službu) and Milan
Hanzel, the General Prosecutor, signed on behalf of the state, while Igor
Lenský, vice-president of the Confederation of Trade Unions (Konfederácia
odborových zväzov Slovenskej republiky, KOZ SR) signed on behalf of the
trade unions. The sectoral collective agreement came into force on 1 January
2004 concurrently with the State Budget Act for 2004.