News roundup - Monday, 22 January, until 3pm

Fajon: Palestinian state only guarantee for safety of Israelis

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The only guarantee for the safety of Israelis is a Palestinian state, Slovenia's Tanja Fajon said at a session of EU foreign ministers which was also attended by their Israeli counterpart Israel Katz. Fajon said a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and serious talks on a two-state solution were needed. She will send a similar message at Tuesday's open session of the UN Security Council in New York, because of which she left the Foreign Affairs Council session early.

Watchdog's inquiry of Golob suspended as pre-trial proceedings take precedence

LJUBLJANA - The anti-graft watchdog told the press it has suspended its investigation into the alleged pressure from Prime Minister Robert Golob on former Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar and other ministry employees after the prosecution said that revealing certain documents from the file to Golob would hurt the interest of the pre-trial proceedings in the matter initiated by the police in late October 2023. The watchdog had to take into account that the proceedings conducted by the police take precedence as they are related to suspicion of criminal acts.

More health services affected as doctors step up strike

LJUBLJANA - More services are being affected across the healthcare system after doctors who are members of the Fides trade union are stepping up their strike activities. While cancellations of non-urgent procedures continue, some doctors have also started to work to rule, strictly observing all provisions on working hours, rest and lunch breaks. Milenko Stanković, a vice-president of the Fides trade union who works at UKC Ljubljana, said only the bare legal minimum of services would be provided at the hospital.

Internal investigation finds human error cause for December train accident

LJUBLJANA - An internal investigation by the national railways operator has shown that human error was to blame for an accident that resulted in two deaths on railway tracks just south of Postojna in late December. It found that the signalman failed to inform the maintenance crew that a passenger train was approaching. In the month since the accident, Slovenian Railways has mandatory a number of safety procedures that were only advisable before the tragic incident. Two other investigations into the accident still are ongoing.

Average gross pay up by 10% in November

LJUBLJANA - Average gross pay in Slovenia reached EUR 2,427.10 in November, which was 9.8% higher than in October in nominal terms and 10.9% higher in real terms, data from the Statistics Office show. Average net pay reached EUR 1,594.13, which was 11.1% higher than in October in nominal terms and 12.2% higher in real terms. Compared to November 2022, average gross pay increased by 8.1% nominally and by 3.1% in real terms. Net pay was 7.7% higher in nominal terms and 2.7% higher in real terms.