By: Sara Kovač (nova24tv.si)
“The salaries in Slovenia will increase to a record level this year,” read the headline of an article on RTV Slovenia on Wednesday. However, this is a blatant deception of the public and manipulation by the supposedly “non-political” RTV. In reality, salaries would have increased for everyone if the government under Robert Golob had not struck at allowances and reduced taxes through an amendment to the income tax law, thus preventing net income growth. Subsequently, numerous groups in the public sector demanded salary increases, leading to a widespread rise in salaries in the public sector, as reported by RTV.
Robert Golob had already enacted the solution for raising salaries for all employees, not just in the public sector, through the income tax reform of Janez Janša’s government, which increased net wages. However, they repealed it out of spite. They accused it of causing an 800-million-euro deficit, and now they will spend the same amount solely on salary increases in the public sector. But now, this is touted as a “record salary increase”.
Furthermore, the article does not even mention real wages, leading the average reader to believe that we are now “wealthier”. In reality, salaries in Slovenia have likely hit a record decrease when considering the rising cost of living, as prices in stores have skyrocketed by more than 50% in some cases. However, the propagandistic RTV wants to portray to the public that people are living better under Golob’s government and proclaim success because salaries in the public sector are rising to record levels, while in reality, employees are becoming increasingly impoverished.
Inflation in Slovenia will slow down more slowly due to the government’s decision
“High inflation, persisting at over eight percent annually, and labour shortage have fuelled a record wage growth in Slovenia,” reports RTV, adding that nominal wage growth this year will approach 10 percent and will be broadly based, including the adjustment of the minimum wage to last year’s inflation. This is also confirmed by the growth in collective bargaining agreements. Rok Spruk from the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana stated that it was a government decision to uniformly increase salaries in the public sector. “This caused a stampede effect, and core inflation increased. Consequently, inflation in our country will calm down somewhat slower than in other European countries.”
Golob sees a solution in migrants
They also say that part of the wage increase can be attributed to the chronic shortage of workers. And the only way to solve this, they argue, is by opening up the labour market and employing foreign workers and migrants. As Golob has mentioned multiple times, he would address the economy and the decline in growth through an amendment to the foreigner law, making it easier for extending work permits and obtaining new ones.