Archive of articles - October 2008, page 15
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Bricklayers wanted: pay is better than teachers’
CONSTRUCTION is one industry which is grappling with a lack of qualified workers. As long as two years ago, the Construction Ministry announced that the construction sector in Slovakia was short of about 1,800 to 2,000 qualified workers, the Sme daily reported.
President Gašparovič invited to U.S
SLOVAK President Ivan Gašparovič will visit the White House on October 9 where U.S. President George W. Bush will receive him. American Ambassador to Slovakia Vincent Obsitnik formally delivered the invitation to visit the U.S.A. to the Slovak president on October 1. Cancellation of visa obligations for Slovak tourists travelling to the U.S will be high on the agenda of the official visit, President Gašparovič said, according to the ČTK newswire.
Nitra gets theatre fever
A MYSTERIOUS epidemic struck the city of Nitra last week, characterised by large gatherings in dark auditoriums and frequent outbursts of applause. Sufferers had an unusual appetite for coffee and were always begging for something they called “the tickets”. The strangest fact: the Divadelná Nitra (DN) theatre festival coincided with the most serious stages of the disease.
The joys of teambuilding
SLOVAK firms are warming up to teambuilding, which uses activities indirectly related to their employees’ work to improve quality and lift morale.
Petržalka hosts bluegrass festival
FOR the third time, bluegrass music will fill the Zrkadlový Háj house of culture in Petržalka for the two-day Bluegrass Fest starting on October 10. For two nights, lovers of bluegrass music can see 23 bands performing this American style, rooted in the Scottish-Irish sounds of the Appalachian Mountains and featuring the banjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitar and double bass.
Rezeš link to Mečiar villa revealed
NEW REVELATIONS about how ex-prime minister Vladimír Mečiar paid for his luxurious villa, ‘Elektra’, believed to be worth more than Sk48 million (€1.59 million) suggest that he was helped by people who became suddenly wealthy during his term in office. In particular, an investigation of the villa’s funding by Tom Nicholson (who also reports for The Slovak Spectator) in the Sme daily, published on September 29, has pointed to Július Rezeš. He is the son of the late Alexander Rezeš, who became enormously rich through the privatisation of Eastern Slovak Ironworks (VSŽ) in Košice when Mečiar, leader of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), was prime minister in the 1990s.
Part-timers are a lonely few
SLOVAKIA is behind the curve in Europe when it comes to part-time employment: only Bulgaria has fewer people using this form of employment.According to Eurostat data, only 2.6 percent of all employees in Slovakia work on part-time contracts, while in the European Union 18.2 percent do so.While the country’s legislation presents no particular obstacles to part-time employment, employers themselves are rather reluctant to use it. Human resources professionals say it is a pity that the option is not used more widely since it can benefit both employers and employees alike.
Gender gap widening in Slovak labour market
WOMEN in Slovakia are more likely to have university degrees than men, are more interested in improving their IT skills, and are more likely to be willing to make concessions to keep their jobs. At the same time, they hold just 30 percent of the best jobs as managers, executives and legislators, and earn, on average, 27 percent less than men.
Cabinet decides to reopen second pension pillar
THE SECOND, capitalisation, pillar of Slovakia’s pension system is to be reopened again. At its regular session on October 1, the Slovak Cabinet approved a plan to reopen the pillar for seven and a half months. People will be given the opportunity to join or to quit the second pension pillar, which is administered by private pension fund management companies, and return to the first pillar, the 'pay-as-you-go' scheme run by the social security provider Sociálna Poisťovňa, from November 15 until June 30, 2009, the SITA newswire wrote.
New civic-liberal party arrives on the Slovak political scene
RÓBERT Nemcsics, a former member of the Alliance of the New Citizen (ANO), is setting up a new civic-liberal party with the working name Liga (League). A former economy minister in the Mikuláš Dzurinda government, Nemcsics announced at a press conference on September 28 in Trenčianske Teplice that prospective party members had officially started a campaign to collect the signatures needed to establish a political party, the SITA newswire wrote.
Train linked Vienna with Bratislava
THIS CHARMING and skilfully coloured postcard dates back to 1915, a year after the railway connection between Bratislava and Vienna had been officially opened.
Companies want to employ more foreigners
EMPLOYERS in Slovakia have a growing interest in employing foreigners. The head of the Slovak Centre for Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Ján Sihelský, recently told an international conference about the lack of qualified labour: by the end of this July there were 15,000 European Union and developing country citizens working in Slovakia, the Pravda daily wrote.
Antarctica is first Slovak Blu-ray film
NEZNÁMA Antarktída (Unknown Antarctica) by Pavol Barabáš will be the first Slovak film released in Blu-ray format.
€ watchdog ready to roll
SLOVAKIA now boasts a price council with everything: high-ranking members, a chairman, an exacting agenda, a range of powers and a chorus of opponents. The Slovak cabinet in late September gave its final backing to the body, whose job will be to restrain businesses’ handling of prices during Slovakia’s switch to the euro.
Slovaks commute, but aren't so keen to relocate
AMERICANS often follow lucrative job offers by relocating their whole family from one place to another, depending on how local labour markets develop and how their career paths change. Slovaks, like many of their European neighbours, have never really adopted this habit and tend to stay in their community, or commute to work daily or weekly instead.
Countrywide events
Western SLOVAKIA Bratislava FESTIVAL: THE UPCOMING 6th edition of the Ars Poetica International Poetry Festival will turn Bratislava into a lively centre of interesting literary events and discussions. Its aim is to reintroduce poetry into people’s everyday lives by offering the public a unique, multi-genre mosaic of classical and alternative literary forms. It also enables Slovak and foreign authors, translators and poetry enthusiasts to share their impressions and ideas in an informal creative atmosphere.
New airport terminal appears on the horizon, at last
BRATISLAVA’s international airport is now one step closer to implementing its ambitious plans to grow into a transport hub able to handle 5 million passengers a year.
Corporate investment should flow into schools
THE SLOVAK government is working on a law which will enable companies to finance the professional training of pupils and even found their own schools. At its session on August 27, the government approved as a legislative goal a law on professional education and professional training. This will create a system to coordinate professional education and training with labour market needs, the Education Ministry said on its website. The new law will introduce criteria for the involvement of employers and employers’ unions in professional education, and will allow for private capital to be invested.
Banská Bystrica Calvary restored to former glory
THE CALVARY in Banská Bystrica, at the foot of Urpín Hill, has undergone a much-needed restoration in the past year.
French carmaker presents new model
PSA Peugeot Citroen presented the latest model to be built at its plant in Trnava on September 25: the Citroen C3 Picasso. The volume of vehicles manufactured by PSA Peugeot Citroen in Slovakia will remain unchanged after full production of the new model begins. It will be produced alongside the current Peugeot 207 model, with total production remaining at around the current level of 854 vehicles per day, the SITA newswire wrote.
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- Irish metal band to make long-awaited debut in Bratislava Video
- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- Poland edges toward green light on long-delayed Kraków–Košice rail revival
- A divided Slovakia still deserves hope, president says in national address
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- News digest: Slovakia lacks lasting vision, says President in special address Photo
- Slovakia’s secret weapon is living abroad
- Bratislava unveils its first 3D-printed bus stop Photo
- Irish metal band to make long-awaited debut in Bratislava Video
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- News digest: Fico tells Berlin Slovakia will not take lessons on Russia
- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- Poland edges toward green light on long-delayed Kraków–Košice rail revival
- Fico turns to X to shape his global image
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Bratislava unveils its first 3D-printed bus stop Photo
- Slovakia’s secret weapon is living abroad
- Irish metal band to make long-awaited debut in Bratislava Video
- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- News digest: Brussels committee launches scrutiny of EU funds in Slovakia
- News digest: Fico tells Berlin Slovakia will not take lessons on Russia
- They could have left. But these young Slovaks stayed
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Bratislava unveils its first 3D-printed bus stop Photo
- Slovakia’s secret weapon is living abroad
- Irish metal band to make long-awaited debut in Bratislava Video
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- News digest: Slovakia lacks lasting vision, says President in special address Photo
- One year on: Slovakia still unable to deport alleged terror suspect
- A divided Slovakia still deserves hope, president says in national address
- Where can vegetarians and gluten-free diners eat out in Bratislava?
- Slovak physicist: I do not employ doctoral students; I make them go abroad. I expect them to push us forward
- Fico turns to X to shape his global image
- Iron Age hillfort found in remote Slovak woodland Photo
- News digest: Fico tells Berlin Slovakia will not take lessons on Russia More articles ›
