Archive of articles - May 2009, page 15
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Mind the gap: Slovakia has 5,500 caves
LAST YEAR, Slovak speleologists recorded a series of successes when exploring and researching caves in the country and abroad – as they reported at the 18th Speleomíting gathering in the town of Svit, below the High Tatras.
Contract finally dies
THE CONTRACT which has so far forced one minister to resign and led the European Commission to launch an investigation into the non-transparent way in which it was awarded – an investigation which brings with it the prospect of Slovakia losing out on European money – has now been annulled.
'Top-secret' of Kráľova Hoľa
NATIONS usually choose illustrious rulers, victorious battles or legendary towns and castles as their national symbols. Slovaks, who had no state of their own, never really considered any one Hungarian king or other ruler to be closer to them than others.
Crisis makes the labour market more flexible
IN MARCH Slovakia’s jobless rate exceeded the two-digit limit, rising to 10.33 percent, a level which it had not reached for more than two years. Analysts and HR experts label the global economic downturn hitting Slovakia’s small and open economy as the main guilty party and say the outlook is not very rosy either. But as every cloud has a silver lining, HR experts find some positives even in the current situation. They list among them more realistic expectations on the part of employees and a bigger ‘supply’ in the available labour force as well as a chance for some companies to enhance their personnel after a period without enough labour.
T-Mobile named best employer
THE NUMBER two in the Slovak phone mobile market, T-Mobile Slovensko, was awarded first prize as the best employer in Slovakia in the category of large companies. Results of the study ‘Hewitt Associates Best Employers Slovakia 2009’ were announced on April 21, the TASR newswire wrote.
Ski season finally ends
THE SNOW is melting now on the highest ski slopes of the High Tatras. In some centres the winter season has just come to an end and the summer season is already beginning. That has been one of the features of the past couple of winters, as the best mountain centres try to shorten the transition period and create resorts with year-round operations. This trend is most visible at centres in Jasná, Donovaly, Vrátna and Vysoké Tatry.
Getting back to work
AN INCREASING unemployment rate is not the only problem in Slovakia’s labour market. Along with low geographical mobility and insufficient life-long education, Slovakia suffers from long-term unemployment, when people remain without a job for months or even years and begin to lose their working habits. Some of these unemployed have lost their motivation to work and companies are not often prone to seek out such people as their working behaviour is unpredictable or unknown. Now, with the impacts of the global economic downturn making Slovak employers more cautious, it is even more difficult for the long-term unemployed to find work.
Global economic downturn influences job management skills
MANY companies in Slovakia are seeing the impacts of the economic downtown to a lesser or greater degree. While one year ago firms tried to improve their competitive position towards potential employees by various benefits and motivators, now the situation has been reversing. For many companies orders have been decreasing, along with profit, and the companies’ need to keep the same number of employees has also declined. Therefore, they now search for and identify possibilities of where to save money. They are implementing various ways to reduce costs, often in a form of reduced benefits, cutting or completely stopping trainings and staff development programs. Many companies have already started selective layoffs but also, in some cases, mass layoffs.
Reaping the harvest
THERE are many images that easily emerge from the psyche when one hears the name Ján Slota: Slota enraged over statements by some Hungarian politician; Slota erecting Lorraine crosses to remind Slovaks of their national pride; Slota calling on people to get in tanks and level Budapest.
Slovak managers are ranked highly by international survey
LACK of focus on customer needs and inefficiently-run businesses are among the biggest problems for doing good business in central and eastern Europe (CEE). On the other hand, Slovak managers have been found to be hard working and ambitious and the business environment is dynamic. Women managers are outperforming male managers. These are a few of the major findings from research conducted in six EU member countries by Target International Executive Search Group, together with Henley Business School.
Facts an figures about Slovak labour market
Economically active population (2nd quarter 2008): 2,657,600
Job portals in Slovakia
www.profesia.skwww.cvonline.skwww.topjobs.skwww.job.skwww.jobpilot.skwww.jobagent.skwww.aujob.sk
Teplý vzduch
AAU, IET, ITL, ETS, CITL, GHG, CER/ERU, CDM/JI/GIS. Trouble understanding? Reading the unabbreviated versions of the basic terms used in emissions trading isn’t any better. The vocabulary reflects the actual complexities of a field which has suddenly found itself under the Slovak political spotlight. Since every big tale, including one starring Assigned Amount Units, must be told in a language that everybody can easily understand, politicians and the media have started to talk of “teplý vzduch” – hot air. Luckily, the story itself is much more simple than the Kyoto-newspeak.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA Bratislava EXHIBITION: 'PHENOMENAL' is how curators describe Czech artist Josef Čapek, whose works are on show at the Mirbach Palace of the Bratislava City Gallery at Františkánske Square 11 under the title Secrets of Images. The famous painter, illustrator, graphic designer, caricaturist and writer, who died in a concentration camp at the end of the WWII, is said to have loved Slovakia, the country that inspired most of his 1930s symbolist landscapes. These, together with some of Čapek’s Cubist paintings, arrive in the Bratislava for the first time in 28 years. Tickets for the exhibition, which is available Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 to 18:00 until June 21, cost between €2 and €4. More information can be found at www.gmb.sk
Another SNS minister, another dodgy deal
AFTER much prodding, Slovakia’s environment minister has agreed to disclose details of a contract which appears to have come as a stroke of genius – or something else – for a newly-formed company that was able to buy excess emission quotas from Slovakia for only two-thirds of the price the firm would have been charged by the Czech Republic or Ukraine. Environment Minister Ján Chrbet, a nominee of the Slovak National Party (SNS), a junior member of the ruling coalition, has been showered with criticism for both the sale itself and his reluctance to disclose details of the contract after the opposition Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) party claimed that Slovakia probably lost tens of millions of euros on the deal.
Greater weight to the content of applications, no protectionism
AUSTRIAN investors in Slovakia are not immune to the effects of the economic crisis and companies are sceptical about the future, according to a recent survey. Reforms to the tax system, measures to strengthen legal certainty and the efficiency of the state administration as well as infrastructure expansion are vital to safeguard Slovakia’s appeal to investors, the respondents suggested.
Opposition quits Crisis Council
THE OPPOSITION has withdrawn its representative Vladimír Tvaroška from the Council for the Economic Crisis because it says parliament and the council have been constantly disregarding or rejecting the opposition’s proposals aimed at eliminating impacts of the crisis, the SITA newswire reported.
Spring brings jazz to Bratislava
WHILE most Slovaks were enthusiastic about Friday April 24 as the day when the ice hockey World Championship started, Bratislava’s jazz lovers had a completely different event in mind for that date. It was the day when the spring edition of Bratislava Jazz Days opened in the capital – with the world-famous Maceo Parker as the headliner of the night.
Highway construction delayed
THE DEADLINES for the private-public partnership (PPP) highway construction projects have had to be delayed by five to nine months due to the global financial downturn Transport Minister Ľubomír Vážny said at a press conference on April 27, the TASR newswire reported.
Wind of change still just a light breeze
DISCRIMINATION, a product of human fear of someone or something that seems too different to accept, makes life difficult for those who don’t possess the characteristics of the majority. Yet they are bound to live in the society where the beliefs of the majority lead the way.
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- Slovakia’s secret weapon is living abroad
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- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- News digest: Fico tells Berlin Slovakia will not take lessons on Russia
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- 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
- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- 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 ›
