News roundup - Wednesday, 18 September, until 3pm

Staffing, teacher pay top challenges for education minister candidate

LJUBLJANA - Education Institute director Vinko Logaj, who has been named candidate for education minister after the surprise resignation of Darjo Felda, remains tight-lipped about his priorities, but he told the STA that teacher shortages and low pay were among the most pressing challenges. "Staffing cannot be solved overnight, there is a need for broader systemic measures," he said, adding that there were many different things that needed to be sorted out to improve the situation.

Slovenia sending flood aid to Czech Republic

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia will send material aid to the flood-stricken Czech Republic today through the EU civil protection mechanism to help with post-flood recovery, the Defence Ministry said. Slovenia is sending 260 dehumidifiers to the Czech Republic, including 250 small ones for rooms up to 20 m2 and ten large ones for rooms up to 100 m2. The Slovenian Red Cross is meanwhile collecting financial aid to help all countries affected by Storm Boris. It already sent EUR 25,000 to the Red Cross organisations in Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania from its solidarity fund.

Slovenia has lowest material and social deprivation rate in EU

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Slovenia has the lowest rate of severe material and social deprivation among the EU member states, shows data published by Eurostat. In Slovenia the rate is at 2% while the EU average is at 6.8%. Slovenia is showing that with good social policy and strong political will the worst forms of poverty and deprivation can be prevented, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities said.

MyCol first to receive Vesna venture capital fund investment

LJUBLJANA - MyCol, a company creating temperature-sensitive labels, will be the first recipient of investment funds by the Vesna venture capital fund, a joint effort of Slovenian and Croatian development banks aiming to promote deep tech projects from both countries. The parties did not disclose the amount as they signed the contract.

Two-hour work stoppage staged at car part maker Cimos

SENOŽEČE/VUZENICA - Workers at two plants of car industry supplier Cimos staged a two-hour work stoppage after the trade union and the management had failed to reach a deal on a wage raise and a new wage model. The trade union wants the lowest base pay to be equalised with minimum wage and for other wages to increase proportionally. They are concerned about the future of the company following reports that the owner, German private equity fund Mutares, is planning to move part of the production to Serbia and sell one of the plants.

Slovenian sports association in Austria celebrates 75th anniversary

KLAGENFURT, Austria - A sport association of the Slovenian minority in the Austrian state of Carinthia, which brings together 33 clubs with about 3,000 athletes across various sports, is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Based in Klagenfurt, the Slovenian Sports Union is the umbrella organisation for the Slovenian and bilingual sports clubs in Austria. The anniversary ceremony on Tuesday saw the launch of a book on the associations's milestones, notable figures, clubs and competitions.

Zagreb collection of old masters on show in Ljubljana

Ljubljana, 18 September - The National Gallery in Ljubljana launched an exhibition of selected artworks from the Zagreb Museum of Arts and Crafts, which is currently closed for renovation following the 2020 earthquake. Entitled Old Masters from the Collections of the Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb, it features paintings, sculptures and prints by famous authors, their workshops or followers from the second half of the 14th century to the 18th century.