Long-running standoff resolved as new govt strikes deal with public sector
Ljubljana, 17 December - After a wave of strikes in the public sector at the beginning of the year, which was cited as one of the reasons for the Miro Cerar government ending its term a few weeks ahead of time, the standoff was resolved on 3 December as the new government and public sector unions signed a pay rise deal just in time to avert a new series of strikes.
Ljubljana
The public sector's protest rally in front of the Government Palace.
Photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA
Valued at EUR 308m, which is not much more than what the previous government was willing to offer, the deal will secure a pay rise for most employees over the next two years. Teachers and nursing staff, in particular those in senior positions, will be among those to benefit the most, partly owning to higher bonuses for unusual working hours.
Not all the unions signed on to the deal, including those representing soldiers. The deal also raised concern as to how hospitals and elderly homes will pay for the higher wages.
However, the new government managed to resolve the strike under way for almost a year at SOVA, the national intelligence agency, after the agency's new boss resumed social dialogue with the staff.
In late December the government also signed a deal with the trade unions representing police officers, who had resumed their strike on 1 October. The deal takes police officers one bracket higher in the public sector pay system and secures higher bonuses for night shifts, Sundays and holidays, as well as extra pay for those working on the Schengen border.