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Tripartite Fails to Reach Accord on Rise in Minimum Wage
Monday 02 August 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, August 2 (TASR) - Members of the so-called tripartite, a three-sided social dialogue involving employers, trade unions and the state, failed on Monday to agree on a proposal to raise the minimum wage by 3 percent from €307.7 to €317 per month as of 2011, Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Minister Jozef Mihal told TASR on the same day.
The initiative, which was discussed at the first tripartite session under Mihal's remit, was drafted by the ministry.
"No agreement has been reached. If the social partners don't come to an agreement by October, then the rise in the minimum wage will be decided on by the Government at one of its sessions due in October," said Mihal. If no agreement is reached by October, the ministry will come up with the same proposal as was discussed by the tripartite on Monday.
According to employers, the rise would harm Slovak industry. They also claim that, given the repercussions of the crisis, the minimum wage should be left as it is, which, however, is something that trade unions oppose.
The session was also attended by Prime Minister Iveta Radicova. "I listened to the part of the discussion that addressed the minimum wage. As the stances of both trade unions and employers aren't subject to change, the decision is likely to be left up to the Government. We'll assume a responsible stance on the task," she said.
"We'll decide in a manner that will make sure that people won't lose their jobs," said the premier in reference to past cases in which a rise in the minimum wage allegedly led to the closure of entire textile-industry factories, with people laid off from one day to the next.
The proposed 3-percent rise is based on last year's increase in the average salary.
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