NEWS

Prime Minister Pahor receives representatives of trade unions of the public sector

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, today received the representatives of trade unions of the public sector at which the participants examined all the activities carried out on the basis of signed agreements and the signed Agreement on resolving strike requirements.   The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Public Administration, Irma Pavlinič Krebs. In his statement to the press media after the meeting, Prime Minister Pahor said that, at the meeting, they agreed on the disposition, how to solve the question of salary disparity elimination and growth of salaries in the public sector.

  

As the Prime Minister said, he invited trade unions “to use knowledge and experience and find out how to solve the question of salary disparity elimination and growth of salaries in 2011 to make public finance situation sustainable and to reward and stimulate the workers for their work.”   The Minister of Public Administration ensures that the Government complies with strike requirements and respects social dialogue. She added that the deficiencies of the salary system require serious considerations. With regard to the third quarter of salary disparity elimination already in the coming year, the Minister said that the applicable agreement lays down the adjustment in the year after the economic growth exceeds 2.5 percent. At the end of his statement to the press, Prime Minister Pahor stressed that »before jumping in a swimming pool without water, i.e. in the new salary system for the public sector, the Government wants to verify if there is no other possibility. We want to get out of this situation we are now in. This swimming pool is half empty since there is economic ebb which, however, allows to find reasonable solutions within the social dialogue.   To realise a new salary system in the public sector, there is still a long way. We "might realise this, however, it should be established that this system failed completely and everybody agree thereto," added Prime Minister Pahor and concluded that no changes would be introduced without an in-depth consideration.