NEWS

State Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Miloš Pavlica, on activities relating to the Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia: "The Government has met eight out of their ten demands. Therefore, we expect the Chamber to act rationally."

The State Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Miloš Pavlica, today on behalf of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, explained at the press conference the activities undertaken by the Government to address the demands of the Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia and also concerning their call for civil disobedience. State Secretary Pavlica underlined that there is no truth in the public rumours about the Government completely or partly failing to act on the demands posed by the Chamber of Craft: "As early as on 2 March, Prime Minister Pahor met with the President and Vice-President of the Chamber of Craft and on this occasion it was agreed that the Chamber would submit its priority demands, which the Government would discuss without undue delay and see them through the legislative process. On the same day, the Chamber of Craft submitted ten demands and today we can establish that eight out of ten have been met."

  

State Secretary Pavlica went on to say that, in light of all that the Government has accomplished in this short period of time, the call for civil disobedience seemed somewhat out of proportion. "We have listened to their demands and the remaining two of them will be addressed shortly." The ten demands of the Chamber of Craft include the Prevention of Payment Delays Act, amendments to the Value Added Tax Act, amendments to the Public Procurement Act, Enforcement and Securing of Civil Claims Act, Prevention of Illegal Work and Employment Act, amendments to the Road Transport Act, amendments to the Construction Act, and a demand to expedite the passing of the Act Amending the Financial Operations Act. Only the last two of the listed Acts are currently undergoing government procedures, all other mentioned Acts have already been submitted to the National Assembly. The Chamber of Craft management also requested a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, scheduled today, to discuss supplementary activities on farms that are perceived as competition by the craftsmen, and a meeting with the Minister of Finance to discuss amendments to the Personal Income Tax Act, which was held yesterday and was, according to Pavlica, satisfactory.

   

At the press conference, State Secretary Pavlica again underlined that the demands and calls by the Chamber of Craft representatives and by those who call for and organise civil disobedience are not justified because the Government heard their demands: "Through accelerated activities, the Government has met most of their demands and improved the conditions for their operation; therefore, we expect the Monday's extraordinary General Assembly of the Chamber of Craft to make a rational and responsible assessment of the Government's actions to date and the activities that were undertaken to meet their demands. We also expect them to stop the calls for civil disobedience."  According to Pavlica, this is a legitimate right of each social group, but in this case, the manipulation is involved, as the Government agreed to the majority of their demands: "I wish to inform the public, on behalf of the Prime Minister, that the Government has been actively engaged in addressing their demands and the demands of other social groups, and we, therefore, expect them to act responsibly. At the close of the press conference, Pavlica emphasised that some of the activities undertaken by the craftsmen can have negative implications for themselves and it was for this reason, also, that he assessed their moves as unbalanced.