MAJOR CHANGES to business legislation by the Fico government often caused negative consequences in the areas of protection of ownership rights, contractual freedom, and entrepreneurial initiative, according to the National Union of Employers (RÚZ). The RÚZ further claimed that the excessive scale and frequent changes to the laws dissuaded potential investors, the SITA newswire reported.
RÚZ president Marián Jusko said that employers had felt the deterioration of the legislative process as well as of the content of adopted laws over the past four years.
“This must not happen again,” he said, as quoted by SITA. The standard procedure for passing law should allow comments on draft bills, and allow debate about their impact, he added.
According to Jusko, at present unemployment is the most serious problem of the local economy. The current economy has growth potential but has not created new jobs, and measures that have led to a more rigid labour market have been harmful in this field, he said. The economy has also been plagued by doubts about the sustainability of government finances, Jusko said, adding that Slovakia is witnessing ongoing deformation of its business environment as a result of corruption.
The only law that was seen as positive by employers was the revised Act on Trade-licence-based Business. On the other hand, the restricted contractual freedom between the employer and the
employee, enforced extension of higher collective agreements, unreasonable increases in the minimum wage and ignorance of the critical financing of the social system were the changes with the gravest negative influence, according to the RÚZ, SITA wrote.
