Cziria, Ludovít
Legislation amended to extend collective agreements
23 september 2007
For some time, trade unions have demanded changes in the legislation
regulating collective bargaining. In its programme [1], the coalition
government promised to increase the efficiency of social dialogue in Slovakia
(*SK0609019I* [2]). With the new Act on tripartism (*SK0701019I* [3]), in
November 2006, the Slovakian parliament adopted several legislative changes
regulating the extension of sectoral collective agreements. These changes
allow for collective agreements to be extended without the consent of the
employer. However, employer representatives considered these provisions to be
unconstitutional and raised objections before the constitutional court. The
court has not yet delivered any decision on this matter; therefore, this
controversial provision of the Act on tripartism has yet to come into effect.
[1] http://www-8.vlada.gov.sk/index.php?ID=1672
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/new-government-programme-includes-union-demands
[3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/new-bill-on-tripartism-aims-at-more-effective-social-dialogue
Labour ministry to cut civil service jobs in efficiency drive
12 augustus 2007
The Slovakian government has embarked on the task of reducing the number of
civil servants by 20% by the end of 2007. Among the government ministries
that have already announced the number of employees to be dismissed is the
Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (Ministerstvo práce,
sociálnych vecí a rodiny Slovenskej republiky, MPSVR SR [1]). In early June
2007, the MPSVR SR announced that some 1,501 of its employees are to be
dismissed by the end of 2007. According to the MPSVR SR’s budget for 2007,
14,046 persons are employed by budgetary organisations in the sector, 419 of
whom are employees of the ministry. The planned reduction in employees in the
sector thus amounts to 11% of the total number of employees within the
ministry’s budget.
[1] http://www.employment.gov.sk/
Strike alert in healthcare sector due to low wages
29 juli 2007
According to data from the Slovak Statistical Office (Slovenský
štatistický úrad, ŠÚ SR [1]), wage increases in the healthcare sector
are among the lowest in the economy. From 2003 to 2006, the highest increase
of nominal wages was recorded in public administration, defence and
compulsory social security. Nominal wages in the latter sector increased
by 44%, while real wages grew by 25%. During the same period, nominal wages
in the healthcare sector increased by 25% and real wages rose by 9%. In the
last three years, real wages in the healthcare sector increased, on average,
by 3% annually, while real wages in public administration, defence and
compulsory social security increased by more than 8% annually.
[1] http://www.statistics.sk/webdata/english/index2_a.htm
Capacity building for social dialogue at sectoral and company level - Slovakia
25 juli 2007
The project on Social Dialogue Capacity Building at sectoral and company levels is a follow-up of a similar project held at a national level in 2005. The methodology used included carrying out interviews with members of the nationally recognised representative organisations of employers and employees in the eligible countries – Slovakia in this case - and collecting their views of the capacity of their members' organisations. The report reflect their views for the sectoral/branch- and enterprise-level developments.
Wage increase in public sector lower than in previous year
08 juli 2007
The sectoral collective agreement for public servants for 2007 was signed by
five government ministers, the President of the Association of Municipalities
of Slovakia (Združenie miest a obcí Slovenska, ZMOS [1]) and the chairs of
eight regional authorities, with representatives of the Confederation of
Trade Unions (Konfederácia odborových zväzov Slovenskej republiky, KOZ SR
[2]) and the Independent Christian Trade Unions (Nezávislé kresťanské
odbory Slovenska, NKOS [3]).
[1] http://www.zmos.sk/default.aspx?id=9&lang=sk
[2] http://www.kozsr.sk
[3] http://www.nkos.sk/
Air traffic controllers strike over poor safety measures
21 mei 2007
On 22 February 2007, air traffic controllers took part in a warning strike
from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. against inadequate air traffic safety measures.
According to the President of the Association of Air Traffic Controllers
(Združenie riadiacich letovej prevádzky Slovenskej republiky, ZRLP SR),
Luboš Laurenčík, the workers decided to go on strike due to a longstanding
decline in air traffic safety. This deterioration in safety measures had
resulted in excessive mental stress for air traffic controllers and had
threatened their economic interests. ZRLP SR criticised the present
situation, which was not met with a positive response from the management of
the Air Traffic Services (Letové prevádzkové služby, LPS [1]).
[1] http://www.lps.sk/generate_page.php?page_id=158
Employers reject proposed changes to Labour Code
11 maart 2007
The government recently submitted its proposed draft Labour Code changes to
the social partners. On 25 January 2007, the Prime Minister, Robert Fico,
discussed the proposed changes with trade union representatives, who in turn
expressed their satisfaction with the amendments. Although the draft changes
also reflect the demands of the employers, the latter do not agree with most
of the proposed changes. Representatives of the National Union of Employers
(Republiková únia zamestnávatelov Slovenskej republiky, RÚZ SR [1]), the
Federation of Employer Associations of Slovakia (Asociácia
zamestnávatelských zväzov a združení Slovenskej republiky, AZZZ SR [2]),
the Business Alliance of Slovakia (Podnikatelská aliancia Slovenska, PAS
[3]) and the Slovak Association of Small Enterprises (Slovenská asociácia
malých podnikov, SAMP [4]) are refusing to accept the changes. In their
opinion, the proposed amendments to the Labour Code will impair the
competitiveness of employers and lower employment levels in Slovakia. The
draft amendment encompasses more than 100 contentual changes to the current
Labour Code. The employers have been particularly critical of changes
proposed in relation to working time, employment contracts and dismissals.
[1] http://www.ruzsr.sk/
[2] http://www.azzz.sk/a3z_us.htm
[3] http://www.alianciapas.sk/pas/index.htm
[4] http://www.samp-msp.sk/
Pressure mounts for wage increase in healthcare sector
21 januari 2007
For the past couple of years, Slovakian healthcare workers have been asking
for a wage increase as their wages are below average compared with other
professions. The remuneration of healthcare workers had significantly changed
in 2004, when legislative changes relating to public services entered into
effect. With these changes, the former government wanted to achieve a higher
flexibility in the remuneration of healthcare workers in order to improve
their performance by means of pay-based motivation. These changes impacted
also on the remuneration of nurses, who in the summer of 2005 organised
several protest meetings to improve their wage situation and employment
conditions (*SK0509101N* [1]).
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/nurses-are-protesting
Bolstering employers’ role in sectoral collective bargaining
21 januari 2007
Collective bargaining at sectoral level is a topic which has been discussed
by employers for some time. In general, employers in Slovakia consider
sectoral collective agreements to be serious barriers to competitiveness.
From the employers’ perspective, the agreements decrease employment
flexibility and reduce the margin of manoeuvrability of enterprise
management, particularly with regard to the remuneration of employees.
According to information available from the trade unions, some employers left
the employer organisations, because they did not want to be bound by a
sectoral collective agreement.
Respect for employees’ privacy in IT use at work
08 januari 2007
Although the level of internet usage in Slovakia is still relatively low, it
has, however, been gradually increasing. Surveys conducted by individual
agencies show that the data on internet usage are rather varied. In total,
around 20% to 30% of adults are thought to have internet access. A survey
conducted by the GfK [1] agency indicated that 23% of citizens had internet
access in 2002, while another survey (/Obcania Slovenska a elektronické
služby verejnej správy/) by the MVK agency revealed that nearly 33% of
people had internet access in 2003. According to a survey by the FOCUS agency
(/Digitálna gramotnost na Slovensku/), the internet was used regularly by
22% of respondents in 2005, mainly at work, but also as part of people’s
studies and at home.
[1] http://www.gfk.sk/sk/default.asp