REPORT for Slovenia
(SKEI)
Bogdan Ivanovič
Secretary SKEI
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Year
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
9/ 2012
Number
of
members
35,472
35,628
33,745
32,335
30,973
28,618
360
349
349
353
357
Number 359
of trade
union
branches
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Basic information about the country
Government
1.The government consists of the coalition parties (right-wing or centre-right)
2.Public opinion poll released by the DELO daily newspaper in August 2012
(scale 1 to 5):
- the government had the lowest score so far (2.28)
- only 24.6% of the respondents assessed the work of the government positively
and 68.8% negatively
- the National Assembly’s score was only 2.41
3.Public opinion poll May 2012:
- 65.5% of the respondents believed Slovenia should keep the euro, persist in
resolving the crisis and pursue the common EU policy (only 28.3% of the
respondents favoured the euro zone exit)
- 68.5% of the respondents believed that employees in the private sector were more
affected by the crisis than the public sector employees)
- 73% of the respondents considered themselves as European citizens
- On a scale of 1 to 5, the probability that the standard of living would worsen
was assessed 3.54 and 3.42 the probability that the economic situation would
worsen
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4. Ninomedia public opinion poll April 2012 (scale 1 to 5)
regarding trust in Slovenian management, trade unions, journalists and
politicians (they all have a high level of self-trust, poor mutual trust;
the average scores regarding trust are indicated):
- corporate management 2.47
- trade unions 2.57
- politicians 1.67
- journalists 3.09
Trust in trade unions:
- business community 2.23
- politicians 2.26
- journalists 2.58
- self-trust (mainly youth) 3.78
Trust in journalists expressed by trade unions is quite high (2.98).
5. The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer 2012: trust in businesses at a global level
dropped to 53 %; banks and financial services remain least trusted.
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Population
- On 1 January 2012, Slovenia had the population of 2,055,496 (1,016,371 men and
1,038,765 women)
- 85,555 or 4.2% were foreigners
- Life expectancy at birth was 76.3 years (male) and 82.65 years (female)
-In 20120, the mean age of bride at first marriage was 30.8 years and of groom
33.7 years
- In 2010, 15,416 foreign citizens moved to Slovenia from other countries (9,841
men and 5,575 women)
- 28 % of the working-age population have higher or university-level education
(19% in private sector and 49% in public sector), 58% have secondary school education
and 14% primary school or lower education (7% in public sector and 17% in private
sector)
- Mean age of active population is 41.3 years, of whom 30,300 are persons with disabilitie
or 4% of active population
-At the end of 2011, the number of foreign daily migrants from neighbouring countries
accounted for 2,250 people
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Unemployment rate
- In July 2012, the registered unemployment rate was 11.7%
(11.5% in July last year)
- ILO unemployment rate is about 8%
- Unemployment rate is slightly higher for women than for men
- In July 2012, the active population accounted for 917,442 people of whom
810,546 were people in employment and 106,896 were registered unemployed people
- Public sector employs 18.1% of people per hours worked (21.8% on average in
the EU)
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GDP and value added
- In 2011, GDP per capita was € 17,260
- In the 2nd quarter of 2012 (as a year-on-year change) it fell by 3.2% and by 1.0% in
the first half of the year
- The main reasons for the decline are:
- lower government consumption
- lower household consumption
- shrinkage of investments
- low domestic demand
- GDP by purchasing power parity amounts to € 21,000
- In 2011, added value per employee amounted to
€ 37,512 (a 3% growth; the same increase recorded in labour cost)
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Inflation rate
-
I-VIII 2012 =1.8% (2.1% - harmonised to purchasing power)
-
VIII 2012/VIII 2011 = 2.9% (3.1% - harmonised to purchasing power)
-
VIII 2012 – IX 2011/VIII 2011 – IX 2010 = 2.5% (2.6% - harmonised to purchasing power)
- In 2011, the increase in prices of consumer goods and services (measured per purchasing
power) was 16% below the EU–27 average); GDP per capita in purchasing power standards
was also at 84% of the EU–27 average
- In 2011, the at-risk-of-poverty rate was 13.6% ( 273,000 of people lived below
the at-risk-of-poverty threshold; without social transfers the at-risk-of-poverty rate would be
24.2 %)
- The monthly at-risk-of-poverty threshold for a one-member household
is € 600, while a four-member family should have at least € 1,260 of disposable net
monthly income
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Share of industry – division according to the represented sectors
The data refers to performance in 2011 in comparison with C metal manufacturing
activities:
- C 24 manufacture of basic metals included 84 companies or 1.2%, employing
7,142 people or 4.3%, generating € 278,662 of revenue per employee and € 42,671
of added value per employee
-C 26 and 27 manufacture of electrical equipment included 474 companies or 6.8%,
employing 24,119 people, generating € 134,084 of revenue per employee and € 34,479
of added value per employee
-
C 25, 28, 29 and 30 metal industry included 2,203 companies, employing
50,482 people, generating € 125,151 revenue per employee and € 32,982
added value per employee
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5 main recent problems in the country
1. The slowdown of economic activity in Slovenia’s main trading partners in
the second quarter of 2012; worsening is expected in the second half of this year.
Poor outlook for the months ahead. In the first half of the year, Slovenia’s exports
were down 0.5% (better first quarter and worse second quarter). The economic
climate indicator declined again in August 2012.
2. A decline in domestic demand and a drop of exports resulted in
a lower added value per employee in most of the sectors (in the first half of the year,
a 2.2% decline in manufacturing industries, lowering chances of a real growth of
wages next year).
3. An increase in the number of people registered as unemployed in the country due
to the expiry of fixed-term employment contracts in the education sector and
due to the bankruptcies.
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4. The volume of loans granted by domestic banks to Slovenian companies is decreasing
and the banks’ asset quality continues to deteriorate. The banks are applying tougher
lending conditions, mainly by raising margins. Lending conditions for households
are also getting tighter.
5. Lack of trust among the social partners and apathy in the population thinking that
nothing can be done to improve the situation substantially:
- It is evident in the private sector that trust is key to success:
in the segment of employees, suppliers, banks, environment and social partners
- If top managers fail to show to the employees that they trust them and that, at the
same time, they are trustworthy, a decline in business performance is unavoidable this is most obvious concerning the bank–company relationship (a mutual mistrust)
- We have found ourselves in an absurd situation in which consulting agreements
have become a synonym for fraud, theft and unnecessary “waste” of money
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Aims of trade unions in recent years and the upcoming period
-
-
Activities aimed at fair reforms (social security, employment law, labour market…)
Industrial policy
Care for people and workers regarded as a priority
Improving working conditions and employee well-being
Fight against poverty and exclusion
Fight against reallocation of social and political power to prevent excessive
predominance of employers through capital over the interests of labour without
social responsibility of the companies (a balanced care for profit, dividends and
investments on the one hand and the level of earnings, quality of work and life on
the other hand)
Projects aimed at increasing the added value per employee
Attracting new trade union members
Strengthening trade union action capability (including attempts of merger), education
and training of trade union personnel
Boost SKEI’s visibility and public image
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Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining system
- The bases are provided by the Collective Agreements Act and ILO Collectiv
Bargaining Convention No. 254
- The right to collective bargaining exists; however, employers sometimes
“misunderstand” the “voluntary nature” of collective bargaining
- The necessary structures for collective bargaining exist at all levels in the
country
Coverage by collective agreements (national, regional, sectoral, company)
- Collective agreements cover the national and company level of activities
- SKEI is a partner for 3 sectoral-level collective agreements
- All 3 sectoral-level collective agreements have extended validity
- (they apply to all employers and all employees in a sector)
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Main problems
- Employers intend to weaken the central collective bargaining at sectoral level
and move it to the company level for specific matters;
at company level, however, they “avoid” collective bargaining and wish to
move it to the sectoral level
- Employers expect a “major” change in employment law and
“put off” bargaining concerning the improvement of the provisions in
favour of the workers
- Employers do not let their bargaining team to negotiate through a sectoral
collective agreement on an increase in all basic salaries ( not only the
lowest) or automatism
- Employers are not “enthusiastic” about a real growth in basic salaries
to keep pace with productivity growth (added value per employee); they
would rather have it in “business” performance as a variable pay
- Certain employers insist on the possibility of the so-called “negative
stimulation” if the standards or expected performance levels are not achieved
-Currently, there is a bargaining “deadlock” on wage increase (probability of
a strike)
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Wage development (real/nominal wages)
-
On the basis of collective bargaining on sectoral and company levels
real average salaries increased last year more that at the national level:
- in metal materials and foundries by 8.43% in nominal terms (6.63% in real
terms), amounting to € 1,454
- in metal industry by 4.85% in nominal terms (3.05% in real terms),
amounting to € 1,361
-in manufacture of electrical equipment by 4.58% in nominal terms (2.78%
in real terms), amounting to € 1,346
- The outcome of last year’s bargaining is to be transferred to the current year,
when in spite of the lowering in average salary in the country (due to austerity
measures in public sector), the average salaries are growing in real terms unde
3 collective agreements (we need a favourable outcome of bargaining this year
for this trend to continue)
- Minimum gross salary amounts to € 763.06 (€ 584 net or depending on the
income tax relief)
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Thank you for your attention
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