The Government and public sector trade unions sign documents implementing salary reform

Prime Minister Robert Golob welcomed today's signing of the acts. “Together, we have proved that social dialogue as one of the fundamental values ​​of modern-day countries also works in Slovenia when there is the will on both sides. “As we had a common goal, i.e. to ensure high-quality public services in the future and improve the salary situation of public employees, a historic turning point was reached during intensive negotiations for improving the salary situation of 190,000 public employees whose interests are represented by both their unions and the Government," said Prime Minister Golob.

On this occasion, the Deputy Head of the Government Negotiating Group and State Secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration, Mojca Ramšak Pešec, highlighted the reached consensus that is extremely important for the future of the public sector and the well-being of public employees. "By implementing the reform of the salary system and, at the same time, of the public employee system, we will achieve significant systemic changes for the next decade, both with new, higher-valued jobs and by introducing the right to disconnect, so that the public sector will become a desirable working environment in the future, which will attract young people and retain existing employees with improved working conditions," said Mojca Ramšak Pešec, and, together with the Minister of Finance, Klemen Boštjančič, who headed the Government’s negotiating team, thanked the expert services on the side of the Government and trade unions, as well as the leaders of the pillar negotiations for their responsible work.

In light of the agreement reached, the Minister of Finance Klemen Boštjančič emphasized the progress achieved in ensuring more adequate salaries for all public sector employees who perform key tasks for the well-being of our society. “Today's agreement will enable greater flexibility and adaptability of the salary system, which, together with fiscal sustainability, will better meet the needs of the modern public sector," added the Minister.

The achieved better salary position and career development of public employees remunerated for above-average work and the improved working conditions were also highlighted by the Minister of Public Administration, Franc Props, as part of the agreement’s signing. Minister Props said that the commitment and professionalism of public employees was key to the provision of efficient public services, also taking into account their optimization and digitalization.

The leaders of the union negotiating groups, Branimir Štrukelj and Jakob Počivavšek, also expressed their gratitude for the constructive negotiation process and their satisfaction with the agreement reached. They highlighted the partial alignment of wages with inflation, the priority of improving employees' wage situation, and the key achievement that no job will be classified below the minimum wage as the main result of the negotiations.

The Government and public sector trade unions today signed the following documents:

• Agreement on the salary system reform and the new classification of posts and titles into salary grades in the public sector;
• Collective Agreement for the Public Sector;
• Annex to the Collective Agreement for Non-Commercial Activities in the Republic of Slovenia;
• Agreement on the Classification of Positions and Titles of the Salary Pillar of Public Employees in Healthcare, Social Assistance and Compulsory Social Security Services;
• Agreement on the Classification of Positions and Titles of the Salary Pillar of Public Employees in Research Activities, Education and Culture; and
• Collective agreement s and annexes to collective agreements for activities and professions in the public sector.

The Trade Union of Physicians and Dentists of Slovenia (Fides) also embraced the improvements to the revised public sector salary system by signing an Annex to the Special Substantive Employment Conditions Section of the Collective Agreement for Physicians and Dentists in the Republic of Slovenia this afternoon at the Ministry of Public Administration, which determines the positions and titles classified in the E1 salary subgroup and the criteria for filling the positions.

In the afternoon, representatives of the police unions signed with the Minister of the Interior, Boštjan Poklukar, and the Minister of Public Administration, Franc Props, a Collective Agreement for Public Order and Security Activities, as follows from the commitment under the Procedure manual on activities to conclude negotiations on the public sector salary system reform and eliminate basic salary disparities.

The agreement with representative public sector trade unions to begin implementing the salary system reform on 1 January 2025 will, on the one hand, ensure improved salary conditions all public employees, and, on the other hand, respond to future challenges of the public sector, as it is currently faced with the challenges of globalization and rapid technological development, as well as the challenges of employee management. The salary system reform introduces the means for pursuing the goals of a modern and efficient public sector, which leads to an improved the economy through the provision of quality public services.

The Government headed by Mr. Robert Golob made reforming the salary system one of his administration’s priority commitments to Slovenia’s efficiency, improved economic situation and progress. The Government was primarily targeting the challenges of today's society, on how to deal with the shortage of labour in various areas of the public sector, and on how to encourage responsible work and address the career development of public employees that who are key to the provision of everyday services.

In line with the Implementing Decision of the Council of the European Union approving the Recovery and Resilience Plan, salary system reform is a constituent part of the Modern and Resilient Public Sector reform. The reform will be completed when the Act regulating the salary system in the public sector comes into force. The implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan is funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.