News roundup - Monday, 27 March, until 3pm

Higher Education Union urges minister's resignation as strike talks fail

LJUBLJANA - The Higher Education Union announced it would resume preparations for a strike and called for the resignation of Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Igor Papič, who they said had engaged in weeks of negotiations without having a proper mandate from the government. After the text of a strike-averting agreement addressing wage disparities had been coordinated, the union found out that Papič did not have the government's mandate for number of topics they had agreed on, the trade union's head Gorazd Kocijančič told the press.

Govt rating keeps falling

LJUBLJANA - The voter approval rating for the government keeps falling with the latest poll released by the commercial broadcaster POP TV on Sunday showing the number of opponents outstripping the number of supporters for the first time since the start of term. The government enjoys the support of 41.5% of those questioned, against 42.4% who do not support it. Compared to the month before, the share of supporters fell by 4.5 percentage points. This is the second poll after that run by Delo two weeks ago to show opponents outstripping supporters. The ruling party Freedom Movement lost 3.3 points to 23.5%.

Iztok Seljak new head of Manager Association

LJUBLJANA - Iztok Seljak, CEO of Hidria Holding, was elected the new chairman of the Manager Association for the 2023-2026 term. Seljak, so far a member of the association's supervisory board, succeeds Andrej Božič. "Our common fundamental goal of all Slovenian managers and leaders is to significantly raise the standard of living in Slovenia to a level comparable to that of the most developed countries," Seljak was quoted as saying by the Manager Association.

Strike at A&E Europe attempts to prevent closure

MARIBOR - Almost all of roughly a hundred workers at the Maribor-based sewing thread manufacturer A&E Europe stopped working for two hours demanding of the US owner to backtrack on its decision to close down the factory. If the demand is not met, a full-day strike will follow. The workers say A&E Europe's clients were taken away by its Germany subsidiary A&E Gütermann, which the Slovenian company granted an unsecured EUR 2.1 million loan in 2021. The management will resume talks with worker reps on Tuesday.

Abortion numbers in Slovenia very low, experts say

LJUBLJANA - Although not all women in Slovenia have their own gynaecologist because there are not enough of them, the number of abortions and teen pregnancies in the country is very low, experts said at a news conference dedicated to youth and sexuality. This is due to good education, which starts already in primary school, and availability of contraception. There are currently 154 gynaecology clinics available at primary level, but 200,000 women older than 15 do not have their gynaecologist, said gynaecologist Mojca Grebenc. For all women to have access to one, more than 50 more clinics would be needed.

Week of Slovenian Drama brings a host of innovative plays

KRANJ - The 53rd Week of Slovenian Drama is opening this evening at the Prešeren Theatre in Kranj to mark World Theatre Day. The festival will feature 12 productions of Slovenian plays in as many days. What they all have in common is innovative approach to the medium. The festival will start with an awards ceremony, at which the Slovenian Association of Drama Artists will present the Marija Vera Award for lifetime achievement to actress Milada Kalezić and the Polde Bibič Award for lifetime achievement to director Dušan Mlakar.

Slovenian-Lithuanian co-production wins award in Vilnius

VILNIUS, Lithuania - A co-production of Lithuania's Klaipeda Puppet Theatre and Slovenia's Ljubljana Puppet Theatre has won Lithuania's prestigious theatre award celebrating shows for children and young adults. Yesterday, the Lithuanian Culture Ministry awarded the annual Golden Stage Cross prizes, the country's top awards for theatre, at the National Drama Theatre in Vilnius. In the category of productions for children and young adults, the co-production Tunnel took home the prize.