Archive of articles - May 2011, page 6
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Experts share thoughts on temporary employment in Slovakia
THE SLOVAK economy is showing clear signs of recovery and that is being reflected as well in the labour market and in more interest among firms in various forms of temporary employment. The Slovak Spectator spoke with Ľuboš Sirota, chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Trenkwalder in Slovakia, Erik Hudák, sales manager of the Slovak arm of Manpower and Peter Paška from Proact People Slovensko about personnel leasing and other forms of temporary employment.
Putin visits Slovakia, meets PM
HIGH on the agenda in the talks between Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radičová and her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on May 13 were supplies of Russian natural gas and the ‘letter of invitation’ sent in 1968 that led to the Warsaw Pact invasion of Slovakia, the SITA newswire reported.
Slovaks eye work in Austria and Germany
THE OPENING of the Austrian and German labour markets on May 1 was long anticipated but it appears that lifting this last barrier to (almost) fully free movement of labour within the European Union will not have any significant impact on the Slovak labour market. Those Slovaks who wanted to work in either of these two countries had probably already found a path to do so, while insufficient language skills are likely to continue to act as a barrier to mass migration by Slovak workers.
Alcohol and cannabis use surveyed
STUDENTS at primary schools are drinking alcohol more often than in past years and a significant number of 15-year-olds admitted that they had smoked cannabis and that it is not difficult to obtain in Slovakia. These are some of the findings from an international study researching the behaviour of pupils aged 11, 13 and 15, the TASR newswire reported.
Moody’s confirms Slovakia's A1 rating
MOODY’S Investors Service confirmed Slovakia’s rating of A1 with regard to its foreign obligations and domestic currency on May 17 and added that the outlook is stable.
GDP growth nears pre-crisis levels
SLOVAKIA will continue crossing its fingers for continued economic vigour in its biggest trading partner, Germany, which surpassed expectations by recording 4.8 percent GDP growth in the first quarter of 2011. While still slightly lagging German growth, Slovakia also generated some very optimistic economic numbers – close to the rate of growth registered before the financial and economic crisis. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that the Slovak economy will be among the fastest growing economies of the European Union over the next two years.
Highways chief fired
QUESTIONABLE procurement practices have led to the dismissal of National Highway Company (NDS) boss Alan Sitár. Transport Minister Ján Figeľ fired him on May 12 shortly after the minister and several media outlets received anonymous whistle-blowing letters that described allegedly overpriced purchases of training and consulting services that had been approved by Sitár for the state-run firm.
Business calls for more Labour Code changes
BUSINESSES do not hide their enthusiastic opinions about the Labour Code that was in place in Slovakia in 2007 before it underwent some significant changes under the government of Robert Fico. Although the modifications proposed by the government of Iveta Radičová are moving the Labour Code closer to what businesses call a ‘flexible law’, the Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS) insists that the current draft, which was adopted by the cabinet on April 28, does not go far enough.
Malženice power plant fired up
REPRESENTATIVES of the Slovak government, regional and local political officials and representatives of the E.ON energy group officially opened a new combined-cycle power station in Malženice near Trnava on May 16.
Tigers in Bratislava
BRATISLAVA Zoo and its employees are happily welcoming three cubs born to the zoo’s protected white tigers (Panthera tigris).
Slovakia’s youth facing joblessness
THE NUMBER of young people without jobs in Slovakia remains high. At the end of March, people aged between 20 and 29 made up the biggest group of jobseekers – 111,100, i.e. almost 30 percent of all jobseekers, who numbered more than 390,000 people, the SITA newswire reported, citing data from the Labour, Social Affairs and Family Office (ÚPSVAR). The second most numerous group of jobseekers were people aged 30 to 39 (92,200), followed by the 40 to 49-year-old group (84,600).
English-language academics writing about Slovakia, Part III
THE DIVISION of Czechoslovakia nearly two decades ago into Slovakia and the Czech Republic has contributed to the publication of an increasing number of original English-language academic books by authors that focus on Slovakia.
Books in English now available
The Color Purple. Alice Walker. Phoenix Paperbacks, 2004 re-edition.
Services of executive search firms are in demand
THE SLOVAK economy is showing clear signals of recovery and this has been reflected in the labour market, bringing more work to executive search companies. Companies in Slovakia have started looking for managers and experts either to replace individuals with unsatisfactory past performance or to hire individuals for newly-created positions and they are often doing so with the help of executive search companies, which say they are also asked more and more to perform personnel audits and outplacement services.
Would you like a church in Kvetnica?
THE BUILDING of the Church of St Helen in the Poprad suburb of Kvetnica, which is owned by Seniorpark, a non-profit organisation that operates a seniors’ home in the town, will be donated to any organisation that will maintain the church’s original purpose.
Quote of the week
“Only extraterrestrial creatures could make this up.”
Slovakia to issue EU Blue Cards
SLOVAKIA, like other European countries, faces an aging society and is starting to look beyond its borders to fill in gaps in its labour force. To create a more unified structure for work migration the European Union has developed a system of Blue Cards to allow skilled workers to more easily obtain entry to EU countries. Slovakia is now taking action to transpose the EU’s legislation into its national laws. The Slovak parliament will discuss a draft revision to the country’s law on illegal work as well as an amendment to the law on foreigners staying in Slovakia at its current session that opened on May 17.
April survey shows Smer ahead
According to a recent political opinion poll, had parliamentary elections in Slovakia taken place in April the biggest party would have been the opposition Smer party with 47 percent of all preferences. The survey was conducted from March 28 to April 24 by Median SK on a sample of 1,112 respondents aged 18 to 79. Compared to the situation a month earlier, Smer preferences rose by almost 4 percentage points from 43.2 percent, the SITA newswire reported, citing the poll.
Karol Mello released from custody by regional court
Karol Mello, until recently Slovakia's most wanted criminal, who is accused of the double murder of a woman and a 10-year-old boy in Most (Bratislava Region) in 2004, was released from custody by the Bratislava Regional Court on Thursday, May 19.
SDKÚ explains its rejection of Paluda; SaS not satisfied
Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) leader Richard Sulík has expressed disappointment at the explanation given on Thursday, May 19, by fellow coalition party leader Mikuláš Dzurinda as to why the latter's Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) had rejected SaS’s candidate for the post of National Security Authority (NBÚ) director, Supreme Court judge Peter Paluda.
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- Convicted of multiple murders, Slovakia’s mafia boss seeks release from prison
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- UK appoints Bilal Zahid as new ambassador to Slovakia
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- 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
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- Convicted of multiple murders, Slovakia’s mafia boss seeks release from prison
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- 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
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- 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 ›
