Prime Minister Janez Janša met trade union leaders participating in the Social and Economic Council (ESS), Slovenia’s main industrial relations forum, on Monday. He presented to them the recently passed EUR 3 billion corona epidemic stimulus package and the preparations for another one.
The trade unionists outline to Janša the remarks they had about the first package, Jakob Počivalšek, the head of the Pergam trade union association, told the STA after the meeting held at the Brdo pri Kranju conference centre.
They expressed hope that their remarks will be taken into account in the second legislative package and also that they will be involved in drafting it.
The latter request seems to have been heeded, as unionists have been invited to a meeting of the labour market task force scheduled early in the evening.
Počivalšek also said that the ESS will not start meeting at least until the second legislative package is drafted, which he regretted.
“Nevertheless, I expect that social dialogue will be possible within these [government] task forces, and that solutions will not amount to unilateral interference in workers’ rights.”
The head of the KSJS public sector trade union confederation Branimir Štrukelj was more critical, telling the STA that no guarantees had been given in terms of social dialogue and ESS meetings.
He said Janša did not want to explain concretely why none of the trade unions’ proposals made it into the first corona epidemic legislative package.
Štrukelj also said he asked Janša who would eventually pay for the measures imposed by the government after the coronavirus epidemic was declared in Slovenia. Janša hopes for a joint EU bonds issue, said Štrukelj, but if this falls through, things will look pretty grim for Slovenia, he said.