The agreement on resolving the strike demands of FIDES, among other things, states that the first meeting of the negotiating teams will be held in January, while the objective is for the Government to form a separate health pillar within the public sector wage system by 1 April 2023 and submit the proposed act for legislative procedure by 30 June 2023. If the content of the agreed separate health pillar is not implemented as of 1 January 2024, the Government undertakes to eliminate wage disparities in the E1 wage subgroup in separate negotiations with FIDES. New classifications in salary grades enter into force on 1 January 2024. Other strike demands will be addressed in the separate health pillar within the public sector wage system.

While observing the agreement signed on 9 January 2023 in the procedure of resolving the strike demands of the Education, Science and Culture Trade Union of Slovenia, the Government adopted the starting points for negotiations to conclude the Annex to the Collective Agreement for the Education Sector in the Republic of Slovenia and the starting points for negotiations to conclude the Annex to the Collective Agreement for Research Activities.

The proposed amendments to the Act determining aid to the economy to mitigate the consequences of the energy crisis, which were adopted today by the Government, stipulate that micro, small and medium-sized companies that have a regulated price of electricity are not entitled to the aid to the economy pertaining to electricity under the Act determining the aid to the economy to mitigate the consequences of the energy crisis for the duration of the regulation. The amendments also affect the implementation of measures to preserve jobs, as the conditions for subsidising part-time work and temporary layoffs are subject to the conditions of the aid to the economy.

The Government issued two decrees on the determination of compensation to electricity suppliers and natural gas suppliers. It adopted the amendment to the Decree on the determination of the electricity price for micro, small and medium-sized companies, in which monthly consumption from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 is observed as a reference, as this was the time when the consumption after the epidemic had already returned to normal and not 90 per cent of the consumer’s consumption in 2021, as the consumption was atypical in that period due to the epidemic.

The objective of the proposed Act on the aid to provide greater air connectivity is to improve Slovenia’s air connectivity by preserving the existing and promoting the establishment of new regular air routes to and from Slovenia. The aid will be allocated to air carriers for the establishment of new air routes or more frequent flights on the existing air routes in compliance with the European Commission’s Guidelines on state aid to airports and airlines. Only direct air routes with no intermediate transfers or stops will be financed. The aid will be allocated in the form of a subsidy that represents up to 50 per cent of the airport charges that air carriers have to pay to airports.

The proposed amendments to the Labour and Social Security Registers Act address the problems identified during the practical implementation of the Act and observe the changes proposed by the Labour Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia regarding more efficient supervision of the provisions governing working hours, breaks and rest. The observance of the provisions on working hours, rest and breaks is important from the aspect of ensuring health and safety at work and the compliance with the fundamental workers’ rights to breaks, rest and the free use of non-working days.

The central new amendment to the Promotion of Digital Inclusion Act establishes a mechanism that will enable the free loan of basic computer equipment in accordance with a priority order of beneficiaries.