Slovenian govt tables proposals for pension, labour, social welfare reforms

The government said in a statement it was due to discuss the proposed legislative measures with employers and the unions on Friday.

With the new proposals for pension legislation the government said it aims to establish a system that will be fair, transparent and financially efficient.

"The changes are necessary since the ratio between pensioners and people paying [pension] contributions in Slovenia has been continually worsening due to the aging of the population: between 2005 and 2011, this ratio has fallen from 1.67 to 1.53, which makes the pension funds unsustainable," the statement said.

The new proposal is that after 2018 men and women would be eligible for old-age pensions after 40 years of employment, shifting the focus away from an individual’s age when retirement is concerned.

According to the government, the key problems weighing on Slovenia's labour market are, on the one hand, the relatively high permanent employment security and, on the other hand, an undue level of flexibility when fixed-term employment is concerned.

"By introducing important changes to both these aspects, we will fundamentally intervene in the rigidity of the Slovenian labour market and thus make it possible, especially for the young, to obtain more stable employment," social minister Andrej Vizjak said.

According to the provisions of the new proposal, fixed-term employment would be limited by restricting the share of fixed-term employees working for one employer to 10%. In this way, the social ministry hopes to stimulate employers to take on more permanent employees, while at the same time introducing changes to permanent employment that will eliminate the present rigidity of the system.

The social ministry is also of the opinion that the current gap between expected pay and unemployment benefit is such that it does not motivate unemployed people to seek work. It therefore proposes to reduce unemployment benefits in the first three months and to shorten the period for which people are eligible to receive them to a maximum of 18 months.