BRATISLAVA, August 2, (WEBNOVINY) – Employers and representatives of trade unions failed to agree upon the sum of the minimum wage for 2011 at Monday’s session of the Economic and Social Council. Employers demand that the minimum wage stay at EUR 307.7 while trade unions back the proposal by the Labor Ministry to raise the minimum wage by 3 percent to EUR 317, SaS-nominated Labor Minister Jozef Mihal told a news conference. “The ministry submitted this bottom-level proposal in compliance with the law on the minimum wage,” Mihal said.
Unless social partners attain an agreement upon this issue by October, it will be the Cabinet that will decide on the amount of the minimum wage for 2011 at some of their sessions to be held in October. The Cabinet will consider the overall economic and social situation in Slovakia in the past two calendar years; particularly, the development of consumer prices, employment, and average monthly wages, Mihal elaborated.
It will likely be the Cabinet that will set the sum of the minimum wage for next year. Since trade unions and employers maintain their positions, it may be the decision of the Cabinet again, stated Prime Minister Iveta Radicova after she attended part of the debate in the council.
SITA