Areas of activity – Social dialogue

Areas of activity - Social dialogue

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Social dialogue

Social dialogue is a process of negotiation, coordination and acceptance of positions between different interest groups.
Social partners are representatives of interest groups of labor (employees - unions) and capital (employers - Employers' Associations, Chambers of Commerce) and the state.

Social dialogue can be bipartite or tripartite. This allows for bilateral or trilateral communication between workers, employers and the state, or between their representatives.

Bipartite Social dialogue takes place between employers and employees, the aim of which is to conclude collective agreements.

Tripartite Social dialogue takes place between the two social partners and the state at the national level, with the primary aim of adopting a social agreement.

Tripartite cooperation of social partners is all forms of contact between the state, employers and employees in the preparation and implementation of economic and social policy, with the aim of achieving social peace.

Social dialogue serves as an attempt to balance the seemingly opposing interests of the state (economic growth), capital (competitiveness) and unions (wages) through mutual concessions based on trust with the aim of achieving long-term prosperity.
In addition to defending their own interests, all social partners have in common that the declared goal of all is to achieve social peace. The goal of social dialogue is common, namely the achievement of long-term prosperity, and in this process, each social partner must give up part of their demands in exchange for the common good.
Social dialogue, as an organized exchange of views between social partners, leads to binding agreements on open issues of the economic and social development of the country.
The subject of social dialogue is usually the rights, obligations and responsibilities of employers and employees, wages and wage policy, employment, all types of social insurance, social security, employee safety and the like.

Levels of regulation of socio-economic issues:

the state level, where all the most important issues are resolved – in the economic and social world
level of activity or industry
individual economic entity level

Economic and Social Council

It was established in 1994 on the basis of a special Wage Policy Agreement for 1994. It operates on the basis of a tripartite dialogue between social partners and is not included in the formal structure of constitutional institutions.

It is composed of representatives of the state and social partners, namely: government (5), employers (5) and trade unions (5) members. The term of office of members and deputies is three years.

It acts as a consultative forum on economic and social policy issues and participates in the formulation, implementation and amendment of the social agreement.

It prepares initiatives, proposals, recommendations and reports for the Government, the National Assembly and the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia.
The ESF makes decisions by consensus, which are binding on the authorities and working bodies of all three social partners.

In its operations, the ESS has so far paid most attention to the wage system and policy, in connection with the fiscal, tax, economic and social policy of the state.

The ESF has significantly contributed to the successful implementation of basic economic and social reforms in the transition process, and has also been an important factor in the process of accession to the EU and integration into the international economic area. The ESF has made a significant contribution to strengthening social justice and social peace, which are key to the socio-economic development of the country.

AREAS OF ESS ACTION:

concluding a social agreement,
social rights and rights from compulsory insurance,
employment and labor relations problems,
collective bargaining system,
prices and taxes,
economic system and economic policy,
legal security,
cooperation with the International Labour Organization and the Council of Europe,
worker co-management,
trade union rights and freedoms,
other matters relating to the field of economic and social affairs.

Rules of Procedure of the Economic and Social Council

Collective Agreement for Crafts and Entrepreneurship (KPOP)

"The Association of Craft Employers and Entrepreneurs devotes a large part of its activities to bipartite social dialogue, which is most emphasized in negotiations with unions with the aim of concluding collective agreements that will be acceptable to employers and workers and will enable the further development of craft and entrepreneurship."

In April 2023, the Association of Crafts and Entrepreneurs of Slovenia and the Trade Union of Crafts and Entrepreneurship of Slovenia signed Collective Agreement for Crafts and Entrepreneurship – KPOP, which started to be used from 1.5.2023The contract is concluded for an indefinite period.

The new KPOP is the successor to the oldest collective agreement for the private sector, which was negotiated at the end of 1971 and was valid with amendments until the end of 2018. In March 2023, a new agreement was agreed, which once again brings a more stable and predictable labor law environment to the field of crafts and small businesses, which the economy urgently needs. Both contracting parties proceeded from an understanding of the importance of the development of crafts and entrepreneurship and the consequences that crafts and small business activities have for the social security of workers, the state and our common good, and they are committed to negotiating for the benefit of the development of crafts and entrepreneurship and the interests of all those they represent.

KPOP applies to employers, members of the association, who carry out craft activities as their main activity according to Regulations on craft activities or Lists of activities that are usually carried out in a craft manner according to the Crafts Act, but it applies to all workers employed by these employers, their agency workers, pupils and students undergoing mandatory practical training, while the regulations from the KPOP do not apply to managers.

At a time when the KPOP was not in force, employers could use a template for preparing individual rules on employment relationships, which was prepared together with the Chamber of Crafts and Entrepreneurship of Slovenia. However, from 1 May 2023 onwards, due to the possibility of using the KPOP, there is no longer a need for employers to prepare or use individual rules.

Collective agreements represent labor law regulations as uniform minimum standards for both contracting parties, therefore the KPOP must be assessed as a whole. The essential advantages for employers are the following:

In addition to labor law regulations for employees, the KPOP also applies to agency workers, schoolchildren and students undergoing mandatory practical training. However, it does not apply to managers.
It defines additional reasons for concluding fixed-term employment contracts.
It defines project work, which provides the possibility of concluding fixed-term employment contracts for a period longer than two years, i.e. for the entire duration of the project.
It determines the duration and monitoring of probationary work and internships according to tariff classes.
It defines cases of temporary performance of other work that is not subject to an employment contract.
It defines the reasons and additional cases for temporary reallocation of working time for overtime work. The daily, weekly and monthly time limit for overtime work is taken into account as an average limit over a period of 6 months.
In the case of uneven distribution and temporary reallocation of working hours, it allows full-time working hours to be considered as an average over a period of 12 months.
It defines the planning and use of annual leave and the number of days of leave that are tied only to employment with the current employer.
For small employers, the minimum notice period is being reduced from 80 to 60 days for regular dismissal of an employee with more than 25 years of employment.
It regulates disciplinary liability and sanctions for violations of contractual and other obligations arising from the employment relationship, such as reprimands, withdrawal of credit ratings, and the duration of the measure itself. It also defines liability for damages.
It determines the amounts of the minimum basic salaries in eight tariff classes and the amounts of salary supplements.
It regulates the possibility of paying annual leave allowance in several installments in the event of the employer's insolvency, with payment no later than November 1 of the current calendar year.

Collective agreement for crafts and entrepreneurship was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 46/2023 on 21.4.2023 and No. 62/2023 on 6.6.2023.