The minimum wage in Slovenia was increased by 0.2% in January, from €789.15 to €790.73 a month, the lowest rise since the minimum wage was introduced in 1995.

The minimum wage in Slovenia is adjusted every January in accordance with the Minimum Wage Act and in line with the previous year's inflation, and there were very high increases in 2010–2013.

According to the Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Public Legal Records and Related Services (AJPES), 37,189 employees (6.3% of the workforce) were on the minimum wage in January. This is a drop of about one-fifth year on year, because of a recovery in the economy and higher overtime and ex gratia payments. However, the number of those on the minimum wage is still twice as high as in 2009 (19,047). The sector with the highest proportion of minimum-wage earners (23.1%) is the manufacturing sector, with 20.9% in trade, and 15.4% in administrative and support service activities. Large shares of minimum-wage earners are also found in the accommodation and food service activities, construction,and other activities ranging between 7% and 13% in January 2015 (in 2014 on average it was still around half a percentage point higher). These sectors mostly have low added value, where the labour costs represent a very high percentage of the total cost per unit.

The Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (ZSSS) have for some time been demanding changes in the law to increase the minimum wage to a ‘living wage’. They are negotiating with employer organisations to try to get extra payments for night work, Sunday work and work on public holidays. However, Slovenia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) says this would endanger many jobs in sectors which have low added value.

 

Disclaimer

When freely submitting your request, you are consenting Eurofound in handling your personal data to reply to you. Your request will be handled in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data. More information, please read the Data Protection Notice.