Trade unions organised the first in a series of protest rallies against proposed amendments to the Labour Code on Tuesday, February 1. It took place outside the Yazaki plant in Michalovce (Košice Region), the TASR newswire reported.
“It’s been several weeks since the employers’ proposal on changes to the Labour Code was made public. The alterations include abolition of all kinds of bonuses and salary compensation and will make basic salaries and other bonuses all subject to agreement between employers and employees,” said board member of the KOVO trade union Jozef Balica.
According to Balica, the protests were started in eastern Slovakia because the area features the highest jobless rate and poor social conditions for employees. A total of 100 employees of Yazaki Michalovce and the nearby Bosch-Siemens plant attended the gathering. “We believe that people were intimidated ... we counted on larger numbers and greater support,” said the head of KOVO trade union association, Emil Machyňa. More venues and dates for protests are due to be announced at a press conference in Košice on Wednesday, February 2.
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.
