Archive of articles - May 2010, page 5
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Economy Ministry reports on job-saving
ANTI-CRISIS measures adopted by the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico to combat unemployment in Slovakia created or saved thousands of jobs in the country, according to an assessment developed by the Economy Ministry, the SITA newswire wrote. According to the assessment, by using active labour market policies the country’s labour offices reached over 3,000 agreements with employers to keep or create jobs between March and December 2009 and did so by using financial contributions of almost €35.6 million.
Labour market awaits further positive signals
‘CRISIS’ is the most frequent word used to describe what has happened in the labour market – it is used repeatedly by employees, employers and HR experts. The crisis has turned the labour market upside-down as job applicants can no longer dictate their working conditions as was the case in recent years and it is now employers who have more options. The crisis has required company HR departments to search for better and more innovative employment approaches. And it has also pushed HR agencies to look more closely at their modi operandi and to adapt to fiercer competition in their field of work.
Bus drivers fight for perks
PASSENGERS in Slovakia might soon be affected by a battle over the travel perks that bus drivers have enjoyed for the past 60 years but which might now disappear because of changes being made to state subsidies for public transport. Bus drivers and employees of bus companies nationwide are contemplating a strike to pressure the authorities to maintain free travel for employees and discounts for their families.
Inflation rate rises but remains low
SLOVAKIA’s consumer prices, as measured by the European Union’s Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) increased in April, the SITA newswire reported. Year-on-year inflation in April was 0.7 percent, after posting an increase in March of 0.3 percent following a historical low of minus 0.2 percent reported for February. The average 12-month inflation rate was unchanged and remained at the historical low of 0.3 percent posted in March.
Madagascar explorers return to S
MADAGASCAR 2010, the Slovak expeditionary team that followed the trail of famous Slovak adventurer Móric Beňovský ended its mission with a visit to the island of Mauritius where they reviewed original letters in the capital city’s National Archives. They also located reports written by Beňovský as well as other documentary sources yielding new facts about his time on the island and met a descendant of Beňovský’s interpreter, known as Meyur. The expedition to Madagascar and Mauritius ended in the middle of May and the expeditionary team, together with the 3S Video crew that filmed the whole journey, returned to Slovakia.
Flooding across Slovakia after heavy rains
EASTERN Slovakia experienced flooding after heavy rains in mid May, accompanied by unusually cold weather. Media reported that Slovakia had not seen such heavy rain at this time of the year for the past 13 years and temperatures had hit 60-year lows.
Mail ballots double for 2010 election
ALMOST 6,900 Slovaks living abroad plan to vote via mail in the June 12 parliamentary elections. The number has almost doubled from the 2006 elections, the ČTK newswire reported.
Rainbow colours to shine in Bratislava
THE UNEXPECTEDLY cold and cloudy mid-May weather should be relieved somewhat by the colours of the rainbow on display on Saturday May 22, the date of the first gay pride parade ever organised in Slovakia.
Smer founder speaks out
ONE OF the co-founders of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer party is claiming that secret deals were signed by the party with off-the-books sponsors ahead of the 2002 parliamentary election to guarantee these individuals state posts and other benefits in return for multi-million crown gifts.
Minorities bring enrichment and opportunity to society
MEDIA COVERAGE about the problems of minorities living in Slovakia usually centres on issues concerning Hungarians and Roma, traditional minorities who have lived side by side with Slovaks for many years. More recently arrived minorities are often overlooked.
CIA and Britain's MI5 also criticised
THE UNITED States has 17 intelligence agencies that had a collective annual budget of $44 billion in 2005. The CIA alone, whose job is to collect information on foreign governments, companies and individuals, employs an estimated 20,000 people, making it a challenge for civilian oversight to keep tabs.
8th season for Čierny Balog’s Forestry Museum
THE CLOSING event Forestry Days in Slovakia was an opening – the 8th season of the open-air Forestry Museum in the Vydrovská dolina valley near Čierny Balog. Forestry Days – now in its fourth year in Slovakia – was connected with the celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity which started on April 23 and ended on May 1 with events at various locations such as Kežmarok and the High Tatra National Park after the festive opening celebration held at SNP Square in Zvolen on April 22. Other key sites taking part in this year’s event were Bratislava and Košice.
The Habans of Sobotište
THE HOUSES in the picture might remind someone of Switzerland or Germany. The truth, however, is that this is the small town of Sobotište in the Záhorie region. In the 16th century, Anabaptists were persecuted nearly everywhere in Europe and some refugees from Switzerland came to settle in Záhorie. Their enclave in Sobotište was even considered a kind of centre of Haban culture in all of the Hungarian empire. They received the name Habans from local residents who distorted the word ‘haushaben’ – to have a house. The Habans found the name pejorative and allegedly asked the Emperor to ban its use.
Pride - An open letter
THIS YEAR marks the 41st anniversary of the birth of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights movement, which seeks to end discrimination – and sometimes persecution – against the LGBT community. Every year, our governments support the rights of individuals to hold Pride events throughout the world around this time, and that is why we support the first ever Pride march organised by the LGBT community in Slovakia on May 22.
Party funding doubts hit Fico and his party
WHEN earlier this year Robert Fico, the country’s prime minister and leader of the Smer party, summoned special press conferences to attack the largest opposition party over what he alleged was murky financing involving shell companies in tax havens, he clearly did not expect that three weeks before the general election he would be facing similar questions about his own party’s finances.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA
Seminars focus on HR outcomes
THE NETHERLANDS Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia has launched a series of seminars focused on human resources to provide HR managers tools which can enable them to better report on the financial outcomes of their activities. The first seminar was held on May 7 and covered issues like cost structures for a HR department, calculating profit or loss and return on investments from HR activities, and tools for decision-making for in-sourcing and outsourcing.
Cross-border row over dual citizenship
THE NEW Hungarian government led by Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party has helped stir nationalist emotions in Slovakia even before it has formally taken office, by rushing to pass an amended dual citizenship law which would make it easier for ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia to become citizens of Hungary. The response in Slovakia pre-empted any decision by Hungary’s parliament, and signalled that the so-called Hungarian card will remain on the table during the ongoing Slovak election campaign.
Will Slovakia's oldest cinema close?
FOLLOWING the demolition of Kino Hviezda in 2008, the closure of the nearby Kino Tatra the same year, and the recent demise of the three-screen Charlie Centrum – shut until further notice due to a rental dispute – Kino Mladosť remains the last traditional cinema in Bratislava’s city centre. Now its existence is threatened as it has been included in a list of property for sale recently published on the city’s official website. It is the city’s second attempt to sell it: a proposed sale three years ago was cancelled after provoking uproar among residents and the media.
Private universities search for a toehold
TWENTY years after the fall of communism, a competitive market between public and private universities does not seem to have arrived in Slovakia. Successful private universities are the exception rather than the rule in Slovakia. While labour market experts and some educators have been calling for competitive principles to be introduced into the education system, rectors of private universities complain that they must abide by the same requirements as public schools but are not given the same rights.
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- Convicted of multiple murders, Slovakia’s mafia boss seeks release from prison
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- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- UK appoints Bilal Zahid as new ambassador to Slovakia
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- Convicted of multiple murders, Slovakia’s mafia boss seeks release from prison
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
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- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
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- Digital Jarvis is real now. He is coming for your to-do list
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- The disinformation scene has become a tool of media capture
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- A mayor resigns over €2.7 million fraud scandal at town hall
- He designed Gatwick. But this is his masterpiece
- Fico praises China and Vietnam as models, says liberal democracy has failed
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- The compass points to Kúty, and people are starting to follow
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
- Slovakia plans to restrict access to new medicines amid funding shortfall
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners More articles ›
