BRATISLAVA, December 20, (WEBNOVINY) — The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family will submit proposal for areas that the prepared revision to the Labor Code should address to its social partners, representatives of employers and trade unions, by the end of January. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Jozef Mihal confirmed this at the meeting of the Economic and Social Council on Monday. “We will prepare complex analyses to all these areas, including summaries of solutions from other EU member states,” said the minister. The material should also comprise references to European directives that are binding for Slovakia’s employment legislation. “A paragraph wording of the revised Labor Code, which will be submitted for standard interdepartmental review, should be finalized by the end of February. The Cabinet should discuss the proposed revision to the Labor Code in April of next year, informed Mihal.
About sixty trade unionists staged a protest against the planned changes to the Labor Code in front of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family last Thursday. The protesters with the slogan: „We will not be robbed of rights we have!“ jeered and whistled at representatives of employers who came to a meeting of the working group at the ministry over the proposed revision to the Labor Code. Head of the metalworkers’ trade union OZ KOVO Emil Machyna said that the revision would throw Slovakia a hundred years back in the labor law area. Trade unionists said they were prepared to organize also sharper forms of protests, including blocking roads or rallies in front of companies. The Trade Confederation Union (KOZ) head Mirolav Gazdik informed the protesters that representatives of the trade unions walked out of the working group’s meeting. He said that it is needless to sit in the commission and deal with individual plans of social partners without being familiar with a complex plan of the government. Trade unions thus want to force the minister to submit complex draft legislation as soon as possible in order that serious talks can be launched.
SITA