The disputed legislation amending collective bargaining that passed the Smer-dominated parliament on November 27 will end up at the Constitutional Court, representatives of parties grouped within the opposition People’s Platform (Slovak Democratic and Christian Union-SDKÚ, Christian Democratic Movement-KDH and Most-Híd) said at a press conference.
“The law goes against [principles of] free competition, freedom of choice, and against sanity,” SDKÚ vice-chairman Ivan Štefanec said for the TASR newswire. “We’re convinced that the legislation goes against the Slovak Constitution.” He added that the law demands that people observe contracts that they haven’t signed themselves. Štefanec said the law will be ruled unconstitutional just as a similar one was in the neighbouring Czech Republic.
KDH vice-chair Július Brocka warned that the amendment will also harm workers. Parliament overrode President Ivan Gašparovič’s veto. The law states that higher-level collective agreements will be extended to all companies within a particular industrial field with more than 20 employees, whether the company has agreed to the contract or not.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
