Commission Report 2002 (Slovakia)

• Progress since the last Regular Report
• Overall assessment
• Conclusion

Chapter 13: Social policy and employment

Progress since the last Regular Report

Since the last Regular Report, there has been further progress towards finalising transposition of the acquis on social policy and employment.

In the area of labour law, the new Labour Code, which was adopted last year, was further amended by Parliament before its entry into force in April 2002. The amendments concern the extension of maximum working time as well as the possibility to work under an external part-time agreement, during weekends and overtime in extraordinary situations and for emergency works, thus aiming at bringing more flexibility to employment relations.

In the framework of transposing the Posting of Workers Directive, the Labour Inspectorate was designated as the responsible national body in April 2002. The Inspectorate will act as the liaison body providing information concerning labour conditions in Slovakia.

Legal conditions were also created to increase the effectiveness of labour inspections relating to illegal labour. In the second half of 2001 the labour inspection departments carried out 1 676 checks (i.e. inspections, complaints, petitions) in the industrial relations area. In order to strengthen the enforcement structures in the field of labour law, 38 and 27 new labour inspectors were recruited in 2001 and 2002 respectively.

Progress in the field of equal treatment for women and men has also been achieved as a result of the new Labour Code, which provides for equal treatment as regards access to employment, career, vocational training and working conditions. Moreover, the new Act on Social Insurance approved in May 2002 aims at finalising transposition of the Directive on equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security.

As regards health and safety at work, some further progress has been made in transposing the relevant legislation, especially the minimum health and safety requirements for construction sites, as well as protection at work with asbestos, from the negative effects of noise and vibrations, at work with chemical agents, with carcinogens and mutagens, with biological agents and in mining. However, financial impact assessments have not yet been carried out for all directives. Further alignment has been achieved by an amendment of the Act on human health protection in November 2001. The Act lays down basic requirements for the protection of people's health aimed at eliminating and/or minimising negative influences on human health.

As regards administrative capacity for health and safety protection, there has been some progress. A Labour Protection Information Centre has been established as an independent department of the National Labour Inspectorate, directly subordinate to the General Labour Inspector. It began operations in March 2002 and has seven employees. Basic and further training of labour inspectors and inspectorate staff is provided within the structures of the National Labour Inspectorate.

In the field of public health, there has been some progress. Implementation of the updated National Programme of Health Promotion began in 2001. The surveillance of all infectious diseases based on compulsory reporting is an obligation laid down in Slovak legislation. Surveillance is carried out under Ministry of Health regulations as well as the relevant national programmes. The surveillance, prevention and control of communicable diseases is regulated by the Act on human health protection. No major impediments have been identified for Slovakia to implement the relevant EU legislation, with the possible exception of the need to improve diagnostic methods. Surveillance of particular diseases is executed by the network of State health institutes. National Reference Centres for priority diseases and medical problems have been established.

Slovak authorities have continued efforts to promote social dialogue at all levels, although the national tripartite social dialogue was interrupted between September and December 2001 following disagreement on a Government proposal for price increases for natural gas. An amendment to the Collective Bargaining Act entered into force in January 2002. The Act regulates the conclusion of higher-level collective agreements, introduces the concepts of conciliators and arbitrators, and lays down the conditions for concluding collective agreements as well as for the selection and verification of the professional qualifications of conciliators. It also contains provisions governing the resolution of collective disputes and sets out the details concerning the calling and commencement of a strike. Administrative capacity at the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family has been increased by the recruitment of one extra employee at the department for labour relations and collective bargaining. The department is responsible for recording, collecting and analysing higher-level collective agreements and for arranging intermediaries and arbitrators in the case of disagreements. In 2001 a total of 73 collective labour agreements were recorded and five arbitrations organised. Social dialogue is also moving to the regional level. Regional tripartite structures have been established in various regions of the country.

As regards employment policy, the Joint Assessment of Employment Policy Priorities (JAP) was signed between the Commission and Slovakia in November 2001. As part of the monitoring process of the Employment Policy Review, a progress report on the implementation of the priorities identified in the JAP was submitted to the Commission by Slovakia in June 2002. This report represents an important step in assessing the extent to which Slovakia is progressing towards its objectives of labour market reform and adaptation of its employment system in order to prepare for future participation in the European Employment Strategy after accession.

The situation in the labour market deteriorated slightly in the reference period. The unemployment rate increased from 19.1% in 2000 to 19.4% in 2001. The male unemployment rate was 20.1%; female unemployment was slightly lower at 18.6%. The high and rising long-term unemployment at 58% is of great concern.

Unemployment is particularly high among the young and the low-skilled and especially severe among the Roma population. The lack of labour mobility is largely due to deficiencies in the housing market. Higher levels of vacancies have accompanied higher levels of unemployment, suggesting a regional and skills' mismatch as well as disincentives to take up jobs. Provisions for early retirement and sick leave may also entail certain disincentives. The number of unemployed undergoing training has grown considerably in 2001, albeit remaining at a low level (4.7% of registered unemployed). More training should be provided for displaced workers.

In April 2002 the Government adopted a National Employment Action Plan for 2002­ 2003 which represents the continuation of the process of gradual implementation of the European Employment Strategy in Slovakia. The measures under the Plan are divided into four areas: improving employability; business development; supporting adaptability of companies and their employees; strengthening equal opportunity policies.

Very slow progress has continued towards establishing the necessary management structures for the European Social Fund (ESF). The ESF Management Department established at the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family in September 2001 has five employees. Training has been ongoing for the work in the ESF implementing units and their regional branches.

As a follow-up to the Gothenburg European Council, where the EU invited the candidate countries to translate the EU objectives into their national policies, the Commission and Slovakia have initiated a joint co-operation exercise to prepare for future participation in the EU social inclusion process after accession. This exercise consists in joint identification of the social exclusion challenges and relevant policy responses. The Slovak Statistical Office co-operates with Eurostat to produce data on poverty and social exclusion. Preliminary figures suggest a very low but increasing level of income disparities as well as of poverty after social transfers, together with important regional disparities and a particular vulnerability of the Roma population. Furthermore, the high Slovak unemployment figures suggest closely associated problems of social exclusion.

As regards other areas of social protection, a new Act on social insurance was adopted in May 2002 and will enter into force in July 2003. The Act establishes the first pillar of pension reform, sets pensions according to the premium paid by an individual employee, progressively raises the retirement age for women to 60 years, adjusts child benefits and no longer registers women with more than six children as unemployed.

As regards anti-discrimination, no progress can be reported (see also Section B.1.2. ­ Human rights and the protection of minorities).

Overall assessment

In the field of labour law, Slovakia adopted the national measures aiming at the transposition of the acquis with the entry into force of the Labour Code. Regarding labour law enforcement, it will be important to ensure sufficient institutional capacity. Slovakia will have to transpose the Directives related to the involvement of workers in the European Company and to information and consultation of workers.

Notwithstanding the legislative progress achieved in the field of equal treatment for women and men, effective implementation and enforcement are crucial and attention now needs to be turned to developing appropriate and adequately financed information, training and institutions. Moreover, the Concept of Equal Opportunities between Women and Men adopted by the Government in March 2001 has been criticised by several sources as rather ineffective and declaratory, for want of sufficient financial support in the 2002 State budget.

In the field of health and safety at work, effective administrative capacity needs to be reinforced. There is still a particular need to co-ordinate the supervision and enforcement of the relevant provisions on health and safety legislation. Particular attention must be paid to the financial impact of the implementation of health and safety legislation on enterprises. The system of fines, which appears to be inefficient because of the low level of fines, should be improved.

In the field of public health, efforts should be continued for the development of a health monitoring system in order to obtain health data and indicators comparable with the Community health monitoring system. With regard to the surveillance and control of communicable diseases, particular emphasis should be put on improving diagnostic methods, on implementing a system of quality control and on further progressing towards accreditation of most laboratories. Progress is needed to transpose and implement Community tobacco legislation also with respect to the current acquis, and efforts should also be continued in developing the necessary infrastructure for its implementation. In general, progress is needed to improve the health status of the population, as it is still lower than the EU average. Major health concerns are the increase in smoking and drug use, particularly among young people.

Slovakia has a regulated, structured system of social dialogue, which needs to be progressively improved. Autonomous bipartite social dialogue should be promoted in order to increase its coverage in terms of labour force and enterprises covered by collective agreements. Tripartite social dialogue should be further developed in order to allow social partners to discuss issues of national importance, including in new policy areas such as employment or social inclusion. Administrative capacity of the government and social partners in this area should also be enhanced. Communication between representatives at all levels of the social dialogue should be improved. Further training is needed for social partners' representatives at national, sectoral and company levels on EU legislation, policy and decision-making processes as well as on successful negotiation practices. Attention should be paid to the issue of low membership in employers' associations and trade unions.

As regards employment policy, the Joint Assessment of Employment Policy Priorities for Slovakia (JAP) represents an important step in the accession preparations. Progress in the implementation of these policies is assessed regularly and it will be important to ensure effective monitoring of the phasing-in of the priorities and commitments contained in the JAP. The structural problems inherent in the labour market should be addressed, and particular attention should be paid to promoting active labour market policies rather than passive measures. It is important to implement measures to raise participation in education and their integration on the labour market among the Roma minority. Incentives to work should be clearly increased. Implementing an active strategy of supporting and encouraging job search and employability requires the systematic interaction of the Public Employment Service with the unemployed throughout the unemployment spell; this can only be achieved with a re-orientation of the priorities of the National Labour Office and improvements to the services it can provide to both job-seekers and employers.

Development of the administrative structures for management of the ESF has been seriously delayed. The relationship between the ESF Management Department at the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family and the intermediary bodies within the National Labour Office and the Education Ministry and their regional units should be clarified as soon as possible. Further development of training systems in this area also remains of utmost importance. It is also important that the content of future ESF interventions is embedded in the European Employment Strategy and the fight against social exclusion.

A national integrated strategy on promoting social inclusion, taking into account the EU objectives, needs to be developed. As poverty and social exclusion are multi-dimensional by nature, it is important to promote an integrated approach mobilising various governmental bodies and all relevant stakeholders in the process. It is also crucial to improve and develop social statistics systems on poverty and social exclusion in line with the EU commonly agreed indicators on social inclusion.

As regards other areas of social protection, sustained efforts are required to implement the reforms that have been introduced, including the pension reform.

Legislation transposing the EC anti-discrimination Directives based on Article 13 of the EC Treaty will have to be introduced and implemented. Further efforts will be needed in order to ensure full conformity, including the establishment of the Equality Body.

Conclusion

In its 1997 Opinion, the Commission concluded that social reforms needed to be further developed, the social dialogue ameliorated and the health system improved. Slovakia needed to make substantive progress in the fields of health and safety at work and labour law. Efforts to implement the acquis effectively needed to be continued. Provided that Slovakia pursued efforts both in terms of adoption and of application of the acquis, it should be possible to take on the obligations of EU membership in the medium term.

Since the Opinion, Slovakia has made good progress in aligning with the acquis, in particular in the spheres of labour law and health and safety at work. Overall, Slovakia is well advanced in terms of legislative alignment and administrative structures are mostly in place.

Negotiations on this chapter have been provisionally closed. Slovakia has not requested any transitional arrangements in this area. Slovakia is generally meeting the commitments it has made in the accession negotiations in this field.

In order to complete preparations for membership, Slovakia's efforts should now focus on completing transposition and effectively implementing the acquis in the remaining areas of health and safety at work, equal treatment for women and men, tobacco and anti-discrimination, on developing social dialogue in line with EU practice, on tackling the problem of unemployment and on enhancing overall administrative capacity and inter-ministerial co-ordination, notably as regards the European Social Fund.

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