Pay Talks With Public Sector Unions Start Tomorrow

By , 18 Oct 2018, 10:20 AM News
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STA, 17 October 2018 - The government adopted its negotiating position for talks with public sector trade unions, which Public Administration Minister Rudi Medved said would start on Friday. 

Speaking to the press after the government's correspondence session on Wednesday, he said the goal of the government and unions was to come to an agreement as soon as possible.

He believes the strike, announced by the unions for 4 December, will thus not be staged because a deal would be reached before this date.

As to the unions' criticism that the government had worked too long on its position for the talks, Medved said they had resorted to harsh rhetoric as a means of pressure.

He stressed the government had worked swiftly, with the core and expanded negotiating groups meeting several times and drafting several proposals.

Medved did not reveal the financial framework within which the government will negotiate, saying "if I disclose it, then these talks are unnecessary".

However, he said it was important to take into account macroeconomic indicators and public finance figures as well as the fiscal rule.

Under the negotiating position, the government would like the talks to produce certain commitments that would ease or make possible dialogue on amendments to the public sector pay system.

The government's idea is that by signing strike agreements with the trade unions it would close talks aimed at tackling pay disparities and job valuations.

This would allow the two sides to move on to talks on amendments to the public employees act and the public pay system act.

Strike agreements would allow for a calm dialogue, free from strike threats to focus on the problems that have been piling up, Medved said.

Apart from pay rises, the government also wants to reach an agreement to permanently shift promotion raises to 1 December of each year and to extend restrictions on performance bonus payments.

Individual ministries will be tasked to start talks on strike demands in their powers that are not directly related to pay increases, after agreeing positions with the government negotiating team.

The government also proposes for an independent institution to draw up an analysis to establish whether police force jobs and ranks should in fact be valued higher than other comparable professions as claimed by police trade unions, which unfroze their strike activities earlier this month.

On Monday, the board coordinating the strike committees of public sector trade unions launched preparations for a nationwide strike on 4 December.

The board argued that the new government had not yet relaunched pay talks after they were suspended when the previous government resigned in March.

The board's head Jakob Počivavšek said that the strike would be staged unless a deal to meet the strike demands was signed by 4 December.

The trade union of teachers, SVIZ, also threatened to go on a three-day strike on 4 December if no agreement was reached by then.

Both groups expect negotiations to resume from the point where they were left off under the previous government, whose last offer was valued at EUR 306m over three years.

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