REPORT for Slovenia(SKEI)

Bogdan Ivanovič

Secretary SKEI

1

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 9/ 2012

Number of members

35,472 35,628 33,745 32,335 30,973 28,618

Number of trade union branches

359 360 349 349 353 357

2

3

Basic information about the country

Government1.The government consists of the coalition parties (right-wing or centre-right)2.Public opinion poll released by the DELO daily newspaper in August 2012 (scale 1 to 5): - the government had the lowest score so far (2.28) - only 24.6% of the respondents assessed the work of the government positively and 68.8% negatively - the National Assembly’s score was only 2.413.Public opinion poll May 2012: - 65.5% of the respondents believed Slovenia should keep the euro, persist in resolving the crisis and pursue the common EU policy (only 28.3% of the respondents favoured the euro zone exit) - 68.5% of the respondents believed that employees in the private sector were moreaffected by the crisis than the public sector employees) - 73% of the respondents considered themselves as European citizens - On a scale of 1 to 5, the probability that the standard of living would worsen was assessed 3.54 and 3.42 the probability that the economic situation would worsen

4

4. Ninomedia public opinion poll April 2012 (scale 1 to 5) regarding trust in Slovenian management, trade unions, journalists and politicians (they all have a high level of self-trust, poor mutual trust; the average scores regarding trust are indicated): - corporate management 2.47 - trade unions 2.57 - politicians 1.67 - journalists 3.09

Trust in trade unions: - business community 2.23 - politicians 2.26 - journalists 2.58 - self-trust (mainly youth) 3.78

Trust in journalists expressed by trade unions is quite high (2.98).

5. The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer 2012: trust in businesses at a global level dropped to 53 %; banks and financial services remain least trusted.

5

Population

-On 1 January 2012, Slovenia had the population of 2,055,496 (1,016,371 men and 1,038,765 women)-85,555 or 4.2% were foreigners-Life expectancy at birth was 76.3 years (male) and 82.65 years (female)-In 20120, the mean age of bride at first marriage was 30.8 years and of groom 33.7 years-In 2010, 15,416 foreign citizens moved to Slovenia from other countries (9,841 men and 5,575 women)-28 % of the working-age population have higher or university-level education (19% in private sector and 49% in public sector), 58% have secondary school education and 14% primary school or lower education (7% in public sector and 17% in private sector)-Mean age of active population is 41.3 years, of whom 30,300 are persons with disabilities or 4% of active population-At the end of 2011, the number of foreign daily migrants from neighbouring countriesaccounted for 2,250 people

6

Unemployment rate

-In July 2012, the registered unemployment rate was 11.7% (11.5% in July last year)

-ILO unemployment rate is about 8%

-Unemployment rate is slightly higher for women than for men

-In July 2012, the active population accounted for 917,442 people of whom 810,546 were people in employment and 106,896 were registered unemployed people

-Public sector employs 18.1% of people per hours worked (21.8% on average in the EU)

7

GDP and value added

-In 2011, GDP per capita was € 17,260

-In the 2nd quarter of 2012 (as a year-on-year change) it fell by 3.2% and by 1.0% inthe first half of the year -The main reasons for the decline are: - lower government consumption - lower household consumption - shrinkage of investments - low domestic demand

-GDP by purchasing power parity amounts to € 21,000

-In 2011, added value per employee amounted to € 37,512 (a 3% growth; the same increase recorded in labour cost)

8

Inflation rate

-I-VIII 2012 =1.8% (2.1% - harmonised to purchasing power)

-VIII 2012/VIII 2011 = 2.9% (3.1% - harmonised to purchasing power)

-VIII 2012 – IX 2011/VIII 2011 – IX 2010 = 2.5% (2.6% - harmonised to purchasing power)

-In 2011, the increase in prices of consumer goods and services (measured per purchasing power) was 16% below the EU–27 average); GDP per capita in purchasing power standardswas also at 84% of the EU–27 average

-In 2011, the at-risk-of-poverty rate was 13.6% ( 273,000 of people lived below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold; without social transfers the at-risk-of-poverty rate would be 24.2 %)

-The monthly at-risk-of-poverty threshold for a one-member household is € 600, while a four-member family should have at least € 1,260 of disposable net monthly income

9

Share of industry – division according to the represented sectors

The data refers to performance in 2011 in comparison with C metal manufacturing activities:-C 24 manufacture of basic metals included 84 companies or 1.2%, employing 7,142 people or 4.3%, generating € 278,662 of revenue per employee and € 42,671of added value per employee

-C 26 and 27 manufacture of electrical equipment included 474 companies or 6.8%, employing 24,119 people, generating € 134,084 of revenue per employee and € 34,479 of added value per employee

- C 25, 28, 29 and 30 metal industry included 2,203 companies, employing 50,482 people, generating € 125,151 revenue per employee and € 32,982 added value per employee

10

5 main recent problems in the country

1.The slowdown of economic activity in Slovenia’s main trading partners in the second quarter of 2012; worsening is expected in the second half of this year. Poor outlook for the months ahead. In the first half of the year, Slovenia’s exports were down 0.5% (better first quarter and worse second quarter). The economic climate indicator declined again in August 2012.

2.A decline in domestic demand and a drop of exports resulted in a lower added value per employee in most of the sectors (in the first half of the year, a 2.2% decline in manufacturing industries, lowering chances of a real growth of wages next year).

3.An increase in the number of people registered as unemployed in the country due to the expiry of fixed-term employment contracts in the education sector and due to the bankruptcies.

11

4. The volume of loans granted by domestic banks to Slovenian companies is decreasing and the banks’ asset quality continues to deteriorate. The banks are applying tougher lending conditions, mainly by raising margins. Lending conditions for households are also getting tighter.

5. Lack of trust among the social partners and apathy in the population thinking that nothing can be done to improve the situation substantially: - It is evident in the private sector that trust is key to success: in the segment of employees, suppliers, banks, environment and social partners

- If top managers fail to show to the employees that they trust them and that, at the same time, they are trustworthy, a decline in business performance is unavoidable - this is most obvious concerning the bank–company relationship (a mutual mistrust)

- We have found ourselves in an absurd situation in which consulting agreements have become a synonym for fraud, theft and unnecessary “waste” of money

12

Aims of trade unions in recent years and the upcoming period

-Activities aimed at fair reforms (social security, employment law, labour market…)-Industrial policy-Care for people and workers regarded as a priority-Improving working conditions and employee well-being-Fight against poverty and exclusion -Fight against reallocation of social and political power to prevent excessive predominance of employers through capital over the interests of labour without social responsibility of the companies (a balanced care for profit, dividends and investments on the one hand and the level of earnings, quality of work and life on the other hand)-Projects aimed at increasing the added value per employee-Attracting new trade union members-Strengthening trade union action capability (including attempts of merger), education and training of trade union personnel-Boost SKEI’s visibility and public image

13

Collective bargaining

Collective bargaining system-The bases are provided by the Collective Agreements Act and ILO Collective Bargaining Convention No. 254-The right to collective bargaining exists; however, employers sometimes “misunderstand” the “voluntary nature” of collective bargaining- The necessary structures for collective bargaining exist at all levels in the country

Coverage by collective agreements (national, regional, sectoral, company)- Collective agreements cover the national and company level of activities-SKEI is a partner for 3 sectoral-level collective agreements-All 3 sectoral-level collective agreements have extended validity-(they apply to all employers and all employees in a sector)

14

Main problems

- Employers intend to weaken the central collective bargaining at sectoral level and move it to the company level for specific matters; at company level, however, they “avoid” collective bargaining and wish to move it to the sectoral level-Employers expect a “major” change in employment law and “put off” bargaining concerning the improvement of the provisions in favour of the workers-Employers do not let their bargaining team to negotiate through a sectoral collective agreement on an increase in all basic salaries ( not only the lowest) or automatism-Employers are not “enthusiastic” about a real growth in basic salaries to keep pace with productivity growth (added value per employee); they would rather have it in “business” performance as a variable pay-Certain employers insist on the possibility of the so-called “negative stimulation” if the standards or expected performance levels are not achieved-Currently, there is a bargaining “deadlock” on wage increase (probability of a strike)

15

Wage development (real/nominal wages)

-On the basis of collective bargaining on sectoral and company levels real average salaries increased last year more that at the national level: - in metal materials and foundries by 8.43% in nominal terms (6.63% in real terms), amounting to € 1,454 - in metal industry by 4.85% in nominal terms (3.05% in real terms), amounting to € 1,361 -in manufacture of electrical equipment by 4.58% in nominal terms (2.78% in real terms), amounting to € 1,346-The outcome of last year’s bargaining is to be transferred to the current year, when in spite of the lowering in average salary in the country (due to austerity measures in public sector), the average salaries are growing in real terms under 3 collective agreements (we need a favourable outcome of bargaining this year for this trend to continue) - Minimum gross salary amounts to € 763.06 (€ 584 net or depending on the income tax relief)

16

Thank you for your attention