Only two paid representatives from the National Union of Employers (RÚZ) office will take part in tripartite negotiations from now on, RUZ president Marián Jusko said at a press conference in Bratislava on September 29.
Jusko, a former governor of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), says the reason for this move was that the room for negotiation about submitted legislative proposals is being squeezed. He emphasised that the originally accepted rules for negotiation were not being adhered to, the TASR newswire wrote.
For example, he said that the Minimum Wage Act amendment, which will be approved by parliament in the days ahead, was submitted without being negotiated by the tripartite partners. RÚZ is against this proposal to raise the minimum wage to Sk8,900 (€293.71), for several reasons. It argues that the proposal works against people with lower salaries, and that it may set off a rash of layoffs and create difficulties in hiring the long-term unemployed. It also could result in an increase in prices of local services coupled with rising energy prices creating additional demands on the operating costs of companies, RÚZ said.
Jusko also pointed out that the minimum wage should be increasing in accordance with productivity growth, as was agreed by the tripartite and underlined by the European Commission – and also by Prime Minister Robert Fico. Meanwhile, the current minimum-wage proposal outstrips productivity growth, and the new minimum wage will therefore put upward pressure on the average wage, Jusko said. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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