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Slovenia - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Ljubljana

 

CLIMATE

Mediterranean climate on the coast. Continental climate with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east.

 

LANGUAGES

Slovenian 91%, Serbo-Croatian 6%, other 3%.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Slovenia’s legal system is based on civil law system.

 

CURRENCY

Slovinian Tolar (1 USD = 258.250 SIT as of March 15, 2002).

 

SLOVENIA - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

 

SLOVENIA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U.S. Embassy at Ljubljana

Prešernova 31

Ljubljana, Slovenia 1000

Telephone: [386] (1) 200-5500

Fax: [386] (1) 200-5555

E-mail: Email@usembassy.si

http://www.usembassy.si/

 

Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia at Washington D.C.

1525 New Hampshire Avenue N.W.

Washington D.C. 20036

Telephone: (202) 667-5363

Fax: (202) 667-4563

E-mail: Slovenia@embassy.org

http://www.embassy.org/slovenia/ 

 

SLOVENIA - HOLIDAYS

 

SLOVENIA - LEAVE

Annual Leave: Minimum 18 days paid annual leave each year.

 

Maternity Leave: One year – 100% of pay (paid by social security).

 

SLOVENIA - MINIMUM AGE

The minimum age for employment is 16, although during the harvest season or for other farm chores, younger children do engage in labor.

 

(Section 6.d. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Slovenia – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

SLOVENIA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The gross monthly minimum wage is 92,186 tolars per month (approximately $373), which provides a decent standard of living for a worker and family.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Slovenia – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

SLOVENIA - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessors are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

 

SLOVENIA - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution stipulates that trade unions, their operation, and their membership shall be free, and the Government respects this right in practice. All workers, except police and military personnel, are eligible to form and join labor organizations.

 

There are two main labor federations, the Association of Free Slovene Trade Unions, and the Union of Slovene Rail Workers, with constituent branches throughout the country. A third, much smaller, regional labor union operates on the Adriatic coast. Unions formally and in practice are independent of the Government and political parties, although individual union members hold positions in the legislature. There are over 100 active trade unions in the country. The largest union has a membership of approximately 400,000, out of a total workforce of approximately 1,002,200. The Constitution provides that the State shall be responsible for "the creation of opportunities for employment and for work."

 

The Constitution provides for the right to strike. The law restricts strikes by some public sector employees. However, after government budget-cutting, some public sector professionals (judges, doctors, and educators) became increasingly active on the labor front, conducting strikes and writing letters to the Ministers of Labor and Interior on the draft labor law.

 

There are no restrictions on unions joining or forming federations and affiliating with international union organizations.

  

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The economy is in transition from the former Communist system, which included some private ownership of enterprises along with state-controlled and "socially owned" enterprises to a fully market-based economy, and the collective bargaining process continued to develop. The Government still exercised a dominant role in setting the minimum wage and conditions of work; however, in the private sector, wages and working conditions are agreed to annually in a general collective agreement between the labor unions and the Chamber of Economy. The Economic and Social Council, comprised of government officials, managers, and union representatives, negotiates public sector wages, collective bargaining rules, and major regulatory changes. Of the 40 members of the upper chamber of Parliament--the National Council--4 represent employers, 4 represent employees, and 4 represent farmers, small business persons, and independent professional persons. Should a labor dispute prove unresolvable in these fora, it initially is heard by district-level administrative courts and may be appealed to the Supreme or Constitutional Court, depending on the nature of the complaint.

 

The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and there were no reports that it occurred.

 

Export processing zones (EPZ's) exist in Koper, Maribor, and Nova Gorica. Worker rights in the EPZ's are the same as in the rest of the country.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor; however, trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation was a problem (see Section 6.f.).

 

The law prohibits forced or bonded labor by children and there were no reports that such practices occurred.

 

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

 

The minimum age for employment is 16, although during the harvest season or for other farm chores, younger children do engage in labor. In general urban employers respect the age limits.

 

In March the Government ratified ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, and it is scheduled to enter into force in May 2002.

 

The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children, and such practices are not known to occur (see Section 6.c.).

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The gross monthly minimum wage is approximately $373 (92,186 tolars) per month, which provides a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The workweek is 42 hours with one paid 30-minute break per day. Employees are entitled to a minimum of 18 days annual leave per year. In general businesses provide acceptable conditions of work for their employees.

 

Occupational health and safety standards are set and enforced by special commissions controlled by the Ministries of Health and Labor. Workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardy to their continued employment.

  

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The law does not prohibit specifically trafficking in persons; although the law on "enslavement" prescribes criminal prosecution for a person who "brings another person into slavery or a similar condition, or keeps another person in such a condition, or buys, sells or delivers another person to a third party" or brokers such a deal; trafficking of women through and to the country is a problem.

 

The country was primarily a transit point for trafficking in persons, although it was also a destination country. Most victims are women trafficked into sexual exploitation from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Moldova, Russia, Romania, and Bulgaria. They are trafficked into the country and also onward to Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Police estimate that approximately 1,000 women are trafficked through the country every year, and approximately 400 women per year are trafficked into the country. Slovenia is also a country of origin, but the number of women trafficked out of the country is not known and is believed to be very low.

 

The Government has no programs to prevent trafficking or to assist victims, although victims generally are not treated as criminals. Victims usually are deported either immediately upon apprehension or following their testimony in court. Although the Government does not provide protection services, NGO's have safe houses and counseling services for female victims of violence; however, these are generally full and NGO's report that a trafficking victim would not be given shelter unless she was in immediate danger. Victims of trafficking who do not have proper identity documents are given shelter at a refugee center until they can be returned to their native country. There are no NGO's that assist women trafficked to Slovenia.

 

SLOVENIA - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

SLOVENIA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The workweek is 42 hours with one paid 30-minute break per day.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Slovenia – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)