Around a fifth of employees in Slovenia are organised in trade unions. The union structure is fragmented, with seven separate union confederations, although one of them, ZSSS, is clearly dominant.

There are no official figures on trade union density, but the Centre for Public Opinion Research at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana regularly surveys the population on a range of issues including union membership. The results for 2019 show total union membership accounting for 17.8% of the active population, which includes the self-employed and the unemployed.[1] If the figure were calculated just in relation to employees – the more usual measure of union density – the percentage would be slightly higher. With around one million economically active – the exact number varies depending on how it is measured, these figures suggest that in total there are around 180,000 trade unionists in Slovenia.

The estimate from the independent ICTWSS database of industrial relations statistics, which draws on the 2015 figures from the Centre for Public Opinion Research, puts union density in Slovenia at 20.4% in 2016.[2] The latest Eurofound report on Slovenia does not make a separate estimate, instead quoting the ICTWSS figures.[3]

The Slovenian trade union movement is highly fragmented, with seven main union confederations as well as many autonomous unions competing for membership. This makes it difficult to provide precise figures on membership in individual union bodies.

The largest confederation is ZSSS, which, on the basis of figures provided to the ETUC’s annual gender equality audit, had around130,000 members in 2019.[4] However, as detailed study of the Slovenian trade union movement since independence points out, this figure (like the figures from other union bodies) is difficult to reconcile with the survey figures from the Centre for Public Opinion Research.[5] This study suggests that, although the ZSSS is the largest trade union confederation in Slovenia, accounting for two-fifths of all union members, its membership is more likely to be around 70,000. The study explains the difference between this figure and the declared membership through the inclusion of individuals who do not pay union subscriptions in the declared membership, as well as union members identifying as members of individual union federations rather than the confederation in the survey.

The ZSSS is organised in 22 federations: seven in industry, six in private services, six in the public sector and three covering other groups, such as pensioners. The largest federation in ZSSS is SKEI, which organises in the metal and electrical engineering industry. The figures from the Centre for Public Opinion Research indicate that SKEI had around 18,000 members in 2015, accounting for around a quarter of the membership of ZSSS.

ZSSS was established in 1990 and grew from the trade union structures that had existed before Slovenian independence in 1991, but it faced competition from the start. A new trade union confederation KNSS - Neodvisnost was created in 1990 and two others KSS Pergam and Konfederacija ‘90 broke away from ZSSS shortly afterwards. While KNSS was formed as part of a political opposition to ZSSS – in general it takes a more right-wing approach on most issues – the other confederations were originally more narrowly based. KSS Pergam, which was established in 1991, began as an organisation concentrating on graphical and paper workers, although now its membership is wider, with affiliated unions in both the public and private sector. Konfederacija ’90, also set up in 1991, was initially concentrated in the west of the country.

Later two new confederations emerged. SZS-Alternativa, primarily representing transport worker unions formerly in KNSS – Neodvisnost, was founded in 1999, and in 2020 had 13 affiliated unions. Solidarnost, which has significant membership in motor manufacturing and rail transport, was set up in 2000.

The Centre for Public Opinion Research has provided figures on the membership of some of these smaller confederations, most recently in its 2019 survey.[6] KSS Pergam appears to be the largest, accounting for 3.7% of total union membership, based on the economically active population, probably around 7,000 individuals. The others are smaller with 0.7% of union members in KNSS – Neodvisnost and the same proportion in Konfederacija ‘90, in other words about 1,300 in each. However, it is difficult to be certain as a third of the responses to the survey (33.5%) are categorised under “other” unions.

The largest union body outside ZSSS is not among this group. It is a more recent confederation, KSJS, formed in 2006, when five of the largest unions in the public sector, primarily in education, health and social care, came together to form a new body. (They have since been joined by two other smaller unions.) At its formation, KSJS stated it had 73,421 members, with the teachers’ union SVIZ, which had 39,127 members, as its largest affiliate.[7] Since then, membership appears to have been broadly maintained. In its report to its congress in 2018 KSJS stated that it still had more than 72,000 members, although it accepted that this made it the second largest confederation in Slovenia.[8] The Centre for Public Opinion Research figures also suggest a membership of 60,000, although the fact that members choose to describe themselves as a member of an affiliated federation rather than the confederation makes it difficult to be precise.

In addition, there are a large number of autonomous unions, which are not affiliated to the seven confederations.

Since 1993, legislation (Zakon o reprezentativnosti sindikatov) has allowed union bodies, both individual unions and union confederations, to gain representative status. Representative union bodies can sign agreements that can then be extended to those not directly involved in the negotiations (see section on collective bargaining) and have greater rights at workplace level (see section on workplace representation. Representative confederations have a seat on the tripartite Economic and Social Council – ESS (see below) In order to be classed as representative, a union must, among other formal requirements, show that it is financially independent, has existed for at least six months, and has a certain level of membership.

A union confederation covering the whole country must have 10% of the employees in membership in the industries, activities or occupations where it seeks to be representative. A union operating outside a confederation must have 15% of the employees in membership in an industry, activity, occupation or local area in order to be representative there. The decision as to whether a union is representative is taken by the minister on the basis of evidence provided by the union, although where a union is seeking to be representative at purely at the level of an organisation, the decision is taken by the employer. In 2016, the government discussed the introduction of a much more restrictive definition of representativeness, which might have cut the number of representative confederations to just two.[9] However, these plans were not implemented.

Currently seven confederations are considered to be representative at national level. These are ZSSS, KNSS – Neodvisnost, KSS Pergam, Konfederacija ’90, SZS Alternativa, Solidarnost and KSJS. However, the extent to which the confederations are representative across different industries and occupations varies significantly. While 19 unions affiliated to ZSSS are listed as representative, covering activities from firefighting to metal and electronics, the confederation Solidarnost is representative only for motor manufacturing and rail transport as well as for municipal wardens.

There are also 43 other individual unions which are representative in particular industries and professions. These include the railway workers unions SDZDS and SZPS, the doctors’ union FIDES and the banking union SBS.

In total there are 2,660 registered trade unions in Slovenia, some of which are the local branches of larger unions. However, in total they only employ 173 people (figures for 2019).[10]

The seven confederations that are representative at national level sit on the tripartite economic and social council, the ESS, made up of representatives of the unions, employers and the government. ZSSS has two seats; all the others have only one each.

The relationships between the confederations, particularly between ZSSS and KNSS– Neodvisnost, have at times been difficult. However, they are able to work together and there was cross-union support for a major demonstration, organised by ZSSS and KSS Pergam, calling for higher pay in December 2018.[11]

Union membership has declined since independence in 1991, when around two thirds (66.5%) of the economically active population were in unions, compared with 17.8% in 2019.[12] Over this period, there has also been a change in the balance of union membership, with unions in the public sector maintaining membership while the unions in manufacturing have lost members. As a result, the share of public sector employees in overall union membership has increased from less than a third (29.5%) in 1991 to almost two-thirds (63.1%) in 2015.[13]

Unions are actively combating this decline, aiming to rebuild membership particularly among the young.[14] The ZSSS set up a separate union for precarious workers Sindikat prekarcev in 2016, which itself emerged out of a broader social movement (Gibanje za dostojno delo in socialno družbo – Movement for Decent work and Welfare Society)

Figures from the Centre for Public Opinion Research on the proportion of union members who are women show that a clear majority of union members are women – 61.9% in 2019, broadly in line with the average of the previous eight years. The proportion is lower in ZSSS, which responds regularly to the ETUC’s annual gender audit – 44.1% in 2019, also in line with previous years.[15] The lower percentage in ZSSS may reflect the distribution of its members between the public and private sectors.

[1] FDV - CJMMK, Slovensko javno mnenje, 1991 - 2019 provided by Živa Broder 2020

[2] Jelle Visser, ICTWSS Data base. Version 6.1. Amsterdam: Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies AIAS. October 2019

[3] Living and working in Slovenia by Aleksandra Kanjuo Mrčela and Barbara Luzar, Eurofound November 2019 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/country/slovenia#actors-and-institutions (Accessed 02.09.2020)

[4] ETUC Annual Gender Equality Survey 2019 – 12th edition, by Lionel Fulton and Cinzia Sechi, ETUC, April 2019 https://www.etuc.org/sites/default/files/circular/file/2019-05/ETUC_Annual_Equality_Survey%202019_FINAL_EN.pdf (Accessed 04.09.2020)

[5] Sindikalno gibanje v Sloveniji od osamosvojitve do danes: magistrsko delo by

Živa Broder, 2016 http://dk.fdv.uni-lj.si/magistrska/pdfs/mag_broder-ziva.pdf (Accessed 02.09.2020)

[6] FDV - CJMMK, Slovensko javno mnenje, 1991 - 2019 provided by Živa Broder 2020

[7] http://www.konfederacija-sjs.si/predstavitev/o-ksjs/index.php (Accessed 02.09.2018)

[8] http://www.konfederacija-sjs.si/dok/porocilo/index.php (Accessed 02.09.2020)

[9] Vlada želi z zakonom zdesetkati sindikate, Dnevnik.si 16 August 2016 https://www.dnevnik.si/1042748498/slovenija/novela-zakona-o-reprezentativnosti-sindikatov-bi-zdesetkala-sindikate- (Accessed 02.09.2020)

[10] List of representative trade unions (Seznam reprezentativnih sindikatov), Ministrstvo za delo, družino, socialne zadeve in enake možnosti (4.2.2020) https://www.gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MDDSZ/Delovna-razmerja/Seznam-reprezentativnih-sindikatov.pdf (Accessed 02.09.2020)

[11] Informacija o poslovanju nepridobitnih organizacij –pravnih oseb zasebnega prav v Republiki Sloveniji v letu 2019, AJPES, August 2020 https://www.ajpes.si//Doc/LP/Informacije/Informacija_LP_nepridobitne_organizacije_2019.pdf (Accessed 04.09.2020)

[12] Sindikalno gibanje v Sloveniji od osamosvojitve do danes: magistrsko delo by

Živa Broder, 2016

[13] ibid

[14] See Innovative trade union practices addressing growing precarity characterised by rescaled governance and the shrinking welfare state: the case of Slovenia by Barbara Samaluk in Innovative union practices in Central-Eastern Europe, edited by Magdalena Bernaciak and Marta Kahancová, ETUI, 2018

[15] ETUC Annual Gender Equality Survey 2019 – 12th edition, by Lionel Fulton and Cinzia Sechi, ETUC, April 2019 https://www.etuc.org/sites/default/files/circular/file/2019-05/ETUC_Annual_Equality_Survey%202019_FINAL_EN.pdf (Accessed 03.04.2020)

Around four-fifths (79%) of employees are covered by collective bargaining in Slovenia, although there are no official figures, and negotiations take place at industry and company level, as well as at national level in the public sector. Coverage has fallen since a change in the law in 2006 which removed the obligation on employers to be members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The framework

There is extensive collective bargaining in Slovenia. In the private sector there is collective bargaining between unions and employers at industry and company level. In the public sector, there is both an agreement covering the whole of the non-commercial sector, and separate agreements for different parts of it. However, national bargaining for the whole private sector, which had produced a collective bargaining of coverage level close to 100%, ceased to apply from 2006 onwards (see below).[1]

As well as bargaining at industry and company level, there have also been a series of tripartite national agreements between the unions, employers and government, covering a range of economic and social issues,

Industry level agreements must be registered with the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, and in September 2020 there were 44 on the register, excluding four which had been cancelled.[2] Around two-thirds are for the private sector, covering a wide range of industries and services, and most had been recently renewed. Agreements renewed in 2018 or later include commerce (retail and wholesale), where a four-year agreement was signed in 2018, the agriculture and the food industry, the metal industry, the graphical industry, construction and real estate (all signed in 2019), and the electrical industry, hospitality and tourism and banking (all 2020).There is also an agreement which covers a wide range of small business known as the KPdg, last updated in 2018.

Despite this wide range, there are gaps at industry level. For example the industry-level agreement for the chemicals and rubber industry was not renewed when it expired in 2014, although both employers and unions have said in the past that they would like to negotiate a new deal.[3] The agreement for crafts and entrepreneurship, known as KPOP, also expired at the end of 2018. In the view of the recent ETUI study on collective bargaining in Slovenia, one reason why the chemicals and rubber industry agreement has not been renewed is that the existing company agreements in the larger companies industry provide pay and conditions above those likely to be agreed at industry level.[4]

The information available on company agreements is limited. There is no requirement to register company level agreements, and no recent assessment of their number. However, in 2004, Eurofound estimated that “several thousand company collective bargaining agreements” had been signed.[5] Unions are also concerned that employers are trying to bypass industry level agreements and shift bargaining to company level.[6]

Collective agreements at industry level only normally apply to employers who are members of the employers’ association that has signed the agreement. However, under the terms of Article 12 of the 2006 Collective Agreements Act, known as ZKolP, industry level agreements can be extended by the minister of labour to all the companies in an industry under certain conditions. These are that the union and the employers’ association signing the agreement are representative, and that the employers in the employers’ association employ more than half the employees in the industry concerned.

In September 2020, 16 current agreements on the register were listed as being extended by the minister in this way: commerce, construction, hospitality and tourism, metal materials and foundries, the electrical industry, paper manufacturing, non-metallic minerals, textiles, clothing and leather, road passenger transport, the coal industry, forestry, postal and courier activities, small business (but only for driving schools) private security and real estate.[7]

In general agreements at a lower level can only improve on the arrangements reached at the higher level. However, Article 5.2 of the 2006 Collective Agreements Act introduced a provision under which a higher-level agreement can specifically permit lower level agreements to worsen conditions. Some agreements include this provision. For example the agreement for the metal industry states that “ derogation from the minimum standards [set out in the agreement] may be agreed for a limited duration not exceeding six months in a special agreement concluded between the employer and the representative trade union at the employer, in particular in cases of substantial deterioration of the business, recession in the industry and in similar substantiated circumstances.”[8]

The possibility of allowing company level agreements to set worse terms and conditions than those established at industry level was extended very slightly in the 2013 Employment Relations Act, known as ZDR-1. This allows individual employers use their own criteria in selecting workers for redundancy rather than applying the terms of the industry-level agreement, provided there is a local agreement with the union to do so (Article 102).[9]

In the public sector, the legal framework for collective bargaining is provided by separate legislation, the Public Sector Salary System Act, known as ZSPJS, which is regularly amended. Below this there is a separate agreement for the public sector (KPJS), and below that 16 agreements for different parts of the public sector, such as health and social care, compulsory social security and education, plus occupational groups like doctors and dentists, firefighters and the police.

In the past almost all employees were covered by collective agreements, primarily because in the private sector, on the employers’ side, collective agreements were also signed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), to which all employers had to belong . However, membership of the Chamber was made voluntary, and, under the 2006 Collective Agreements Act, that only employers or employers’ associations with a voluntary membership are able to sign collective agreements.

This has clearly reduced the coverage of collective bargaining. In the public sector all employees continue to be covered by collective agreements but in the private sector the number covered has fallen, despite the possibility of extending agreements to all employees in a specific industry. There are no official figures on collective bargaining coverage but the 2019 study by the ETUI estimates that private sector coverage was 73% in 2016, producing an average for the economy as a whole of 79%.[10]

In addition to collective bargaining between employers and unions, there is also a tripartite economic and social council (ESS), initially set up in 1994. It deals with a range of labour and social issues, and brings together eight representatives each from the unions, employers and government. As well as discussing issues, such as pensions and health care, it also covers taxation and reviews the government’s legislative proposals in the employment field.

The ESS has in the past reached agreements setting out joint goals across a range of issues. The most recent substantial social agreement to be signed was in February 2015, for the period 2015-16. It covered a wide range of areas and, on pay, stated that collective agreements were to be the basis for setting wages, that private sector pay rises would take account of inflation and productivity growth, and that public sector earnings would not rise faster than pay in the private sector. However, expectations that this might have a major impact were dashed when the employers withdrew from the agreement in November 2015, after the unions presented proposals for changes to the national minimum wage rules which were subsequently adopted.[11]

There have been conflicts over the role of the ESS since then, with both unions and employers complaining that it was being bypassed after issues were raised directly in parliament.[12] The issue was resolved through a new agreement between unions, employers and the government where the government promised that it would “strictly abide by and implement” the ESS rules and would not “adopt or propose for adoption” any regulations in the areas covered by the ESS without first having them considered in the ESS.[13]

Who negotiates and when?

At industry level the parties to collective agreements are the unions on one side and the employers’ associations, including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is now a voluntary body (see above), on the other. On the unions’ side the negotiating team at industry level typically consists both of full-time union officials and union representatives in individual companies.

At company level the negotiating parties are the individual employer and the local trade union.

There are no specific representativeness rules affecting unions’ right to bargaining. However, industry-level agreements can only be extended to all employees in the industry concerned if they have been signed by a representative union. Unions within a confederation must have 10% of the affected workforce in membership; unions operating outside a confederation must have 15%.

The Collective Agreements Act allows agreements to be negotiated for a definite or indefinite period (Article 9). In practice, many agreements, or at least key elements of them, are renegotiated annually, although this is not always the case. The 2018 graphical industries agreement, for example, is for an “indefinite period” but its pay annexes have been re-negotiated annually since then. In contrast the 2018 commerce agreement last for four years, until 31 December 2022 and the agreement for the hospitality and tourism sector lasts for more than two years – also ending at the end of 2022.

When an agreement expires, its terms continue in force until a new agreement has been concluded for a period of up to a year unless the signatories have agreed some other arrangement (Article 17).

The subject of the negotiations

As well as pay, negotiations cover working conditions and working time, absence arrangements, redundancy terms, training and a range of procedural issues such as dispute resolution, trade union facilities and information arrangements. The metalworking agreement, for example, includes provisions on service-related leave, leave for family occurrences such as weddings, disciplinary arrangements, mentoring for trainees, time off for union duties, long-service payments and pay protection for older workers.

On pay, most agreements contain pay rates based on a nine or eight-level grading structure, linked to education and qualifications, with very simple tasks requiring no specific education at the bottom and extremely challenging tasks requiring a doctorate or higher at the top. However, some of the differentials provided by this structure have been lost, as in many agreements the lowest grades are below the level of Slovenia’s national minimum wage.

Since the passing of the Minimum Wage Act (ZMinP) in 2010, minimum wages in Slovenia have been set by the minister of labour, following consultations with the unions and employers. The national minimum wage must go up in least in line with past inflation, although the minister should also consider wage trends, economic conditions and employment trends.

[1] For a detailed examination of collective bargaining in Slovenia see Slovenia: organised decentralisation in the private sector and centralisation in the public sector by Miroslav Stanojević and Andreja Poje in Collective bargaining in Europe: towards an endgame, edited by Torsten Müller, Kurt Vandaele and Jeremy Waddington, ETUI, 2019

[2] Records of collective agreements (Evidenca kolektivnih pogodb), Ministrstvo za delo, družino, socialne zadeve in enake možnosti https://www.gov.si/teme/delovna-razmerja/ (Accessed 29.09.2020)

[3] Sindikat KNG prekinil pogajanja za kolektivno pogodbo (KNG union suspended negotiations for a collective agreement), RTV-SLO, 22 October 2018 https://www.rtvslo.si/gospodarstvo/sindikat-kng-prekinil-pogajanja-za-kolektivno-pogodbo/469592 (Accessed 29.09.2020)

[4] Slovenia: organised decentralisation in the private sector and centralisation in the public sector by Miroslav Stanojević and Andreja Poje in Collective bargaining in Europe: towards an endgame, edited by Torsten Müller, Kurt Vandaele and Jeremy Waddington, ETUI, 2019

[5] Collective agreement register and archive proposed, Štefan Skledar, EIRO http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2004/01/feature/si0401103f.htm (Accessed 29.09.2020)

[6] Sindikati zasebnega sektorja bodo 5. decembra protestirali pred sedežem delodajalskih združenj Private sector unions will protest in front of the headquarters of employers' associations on 5 December RTV-SLO, 21 November 2018 https://www.rtvslo.si/gospodarstvo/sindikati-zasebnega-sektorja-bodo-5-decembra-protestirali-pred-sedezem-delodajalskih-zdruzenj/472472 (Accessed 29.09.2020)

[7] Records of collective agreements (Evidenca kolektivnih pogodb) Ministrstvo za delo, družino, socialne zadeve in enake možnosti

[8] Collective agreement for the Slovenian metal industry Kolektivna pogodba za kovinsko industrijo Slovenije, Article 5, updated 21 December 2018

http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=KOLP402 (Accessed 29.09.2020)

[9] Regulation of rights in collective agreements and the role of trade unions under the new Employment Relationship Act by Katarina Kresal Šoltes, 2013, in Delavci in Delodajalci: Revija za delovno pravo in pravo socialne varnosti, 2-3/2013 http://www.delavciindelodajalci.com/P/PDF/Delavci_in_delodajalci_2-3-2013.pdf (Accessed 29.09.2020) and Employment Relations Act (ZDR-1) Article 102

[10] Slovenia: organised decentralisation in the private sector and centralisation in the public sector by Miroslav Stanojević and Andreja Poje in Collective bargaining in Europe: towards an endgame, edited by Torsten Müller, Kurt Vandaele and Jeremy Waddington, ETUI, 2019

[11] Withdrawal of employer associations and chambers from the Social Contract for the 2015-2016 period - 2 December 2015, ESS News http://www.ess.si/ess/ess-eng.nsf/economic-and-social-council/Meeting%20Economic%20and%20Social%20Council (Accessed 29.09.2020)

[12] Economic and Social Council froze dialogue, Domovina, 28 September 2019 https://www.domovina.je/ekonomsko-socialni-svet-zamrznil-dialog/ (Accessed 29.09.2020)

[13] Protocol of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and Social Partners, ESS, 15 November 2019 http://www.ess.si/ess/ess-eng.nsf/economic-and-social-council/protocol-of-the-government-of-the-republic-of-slovenia-and-social-partners (Accessed 29.09.2020)

Workplace level representation in Slovenia is provided by both the union in the workplace and the works council. Both have information and consultation rights, although the works council’s rights in this area are more extensive, while only the union can undertake collective bargaining.

Employees at the workplace are represented both through their local union structures and, in workplaces with more than 20 employees, a works council. In practice works council members are frequently trade union activists, although the extent of trade union involvement varies from industry to industry.

The works council legislation, the Worker Participation in Management Act (ZSDU), dates originally from 1993 and draws heavily on the experiences in Germany and neighbouring Austria. Although there are no official figures on the presence of works councils in companies, some estimates have been made. Figures from 2004 suggested that around two-thirds (63.9%) of companies with more than 200 employees had works councils.[1] Another survey in 2007, which looked at companies with 10 or more employees, found that works councils were present in around one-fifth (22.9%).[2]

This second survey also found that, “despite the clear legal distinction between trade unions and employee representation bodies, the management does not distinguish between the two, since very often the same persons act as trade union representatives as well as employee representatives.”

An indication of the overall extent of employee representation at the workplace is provided by the results of Eurofound’s 2013 European Company Survey. These show that, in 2013, 39% of establishments in Slovenia with at least 10 employees had some form of official employee representation, either a workplace union organisation, a works council or a works trustee. This is slightly higher than the EU28 average of 32%. As elsewhere in Europe, larger organisations were more likely to have such a structure than smaller ones. The survey shows that 91% of establishments with more than 250 employees had representation, and that in those with between 50 and 249 employees, the percentage of workplaces with representation was still high at 76%. In smaller workplaces in Slovakia, those with between 10 and 49 employees, the survey indicates that just under a third (30%) had employee representation.[3]

Numbers and structure

The numbers and structures of trade union representatives at the workplace are set by the unions themselves. However, there is a legal basis for their presence – the 2013 Employment Relations Act (ZDR-1). This states that a union with members at an employer may “appoint or elect” and individual, known as a trade union trustee to “represent it with the employer” (Article 205). It is worth noting, however, that there may sometimes be more than one union at the same workplace and therefore more than one trade union trustee. The number with protection against dismissal (see below) is set out in a collective agreement

The arrangements for works councils are set out in much more detail in the Worker Participation in Management Act.

This provides that employees can set up a works council in any company with more than 20 employees. (Works councils in Slovenia are set up on a company rather than a plant basis.) In companies with 20 or fewer employees there is a right to appoint a workers’ trustee. (The right to set up a works council was extended to businesses which are not companies, such as sole traders, by legislation in 2007 amending the Worker Participation in Management Act. However, in these cases the lowest threshold is 50 employees.)

These calculation are based on the number of employees with a right to vote in works council elections, which in turn depends on having worked at the company for at least six months, irrespective of whether full-time or part-time or whether on a permanent or temporary contract. The six months requirement is removed in newly created companies.

The size of the works council varies according to the number of employees as follows:

There are then an extra two members for every further 1,000 employees.

The works council, which is a body composed entirely of employees, must elect a chair and a deputy chair and it draws up its own rules of procedure. It can set up specialist committees to cover specific issues, such as health and safety, or issues of particular interest to certain groups of workers. These can be broad groups like women or younger workers, but they can also cover specific parts of the company’s business, provided there are at least 10 employees with a right to vote in the part of the company concerned. The committees can also draw in employees other than the elected members of the works council, although two-thirds of the members of these specialist committees must be works council members, and only the works council can take the final decision.

The works council will typically meet once a month and normally there will be regular meetings with the employer.

Tasks and rights

A key task of the union representatives in the company is to carry out collective bargaining, in companies where this takes place. However, they also have a range of other rights, which are set out in various articles of the Employment Relations Act (ZDR-1).

In a section covering the “operation and protection of trade union trustees”, the law states that the trade union trustee has the “right to ensure and protect the rights and interests of trade union members with the employer” (Article 205), and that the employer is also “obliged to provide the trade union with access to the information necessary for carrying out trade union activity” (Article 203).

Several areas where trade unions have specific information and consultation rights are identified in the legislation. These include:

• a right to be consulted before adopting rules on the organisation of work, where the union must give a view within eight days (Article 10);
• an annual right to be informed about the number and reasons for using posted agency workers (Article 59);
• a right to be informed and consulted on business transfers (Article 76);
• the right to be informed and consulted on proposed large-scale redundancies (Article 99);
• a right to be given details of the annual working time schedule, and, where the union requests it, the employer must inform the union annually “on the use of working time, taking into consideration the annual distribution of working time, the performance of overtime work or the temporary redistribution of working time” (Article 148); and
• a right to be consulted in advance about the introduction of night work (Article 153).

These rights, which relate to the whole workforce, can only be exercised by representative trade unions – those which, as well as meeting several formal requirements, have at least 10% of the workforce in membership if they are part of a union confederation, or 15% if they autonomous.

In addition, unions have specific rights where their own members are concerned. The employer must inform the union, provide the employee affected wishes it, about the planned dismissal of a union member, and the union has the right to express its opinion in writing. Irrespective of the union’s view, the employer is still able to continue with the dismissal (Articles 85 and 86). The union is also able to participate in disciplinary proceeding against a union member, where the member concerned has authorised this (Article 174). These rights can be exercised by all unions on behalf of their members, whether or not they are representative.

Some collective agreements extend unions’ information rights. For example, the metalworkers’ agreement (signed in 2015 and updated in 2019) states that the employer should also inform the union about its employment policy, its anti-discrimination policies, its wage systems and pay levels, working time, and its results and business plans for the current year and in the medium and long term.[4]

The works council, under 2013 Employment Relations Act and the Worker Participation in Management Act 2007, has a wider range of specific information and consultation rights than the local union representatives.

Under the Worker Participation in Management Act, the works council’s general powers are described as:

• ensuring that laws and collective agreements are properly implemented and reaching agreements with the employer;
• proposing measures for the benefit of workers;
• accepting initiatives from employees, and, where justified, taking them into account when negotiating with the employer; and
• assisting disabled, older and other workers receiving protection to integrate into employment.

In practice the works council must:

• be informed on some issues;
• be consulted on some issues; and
• agree some issues before the employer’s proposals can go ahead.

The key information rights are set out in Article 89. This states that the works council must receive information on:

• the company’s economic situation;
• the development goals of the company;
• the state of production and sales;
• the general economic situation in the industry;
• changes in company activity;
• any reduction in activity;
• changes in the organisation of production;
• changes in technology; and
• receive a copy of the company’s annual accounts.

This information must be provided in advance where it relates to changes in company activity, reduction in activity, changes in the organisation of production, changes in technology and the annual accounts (Article 90).

In addition, under the Employment Relations Act, the works council, like the union, has the right be informed annually, where it requests it, “on the use of working time, taking into consideration the annual distribution of working time, the performance of overtime work or the temporary redistribution of working time” (Article 148). And like the union, it should be informed about the use of agency workers (Article 59), if it requests this. The works council must also be consulted before adopting rules on the organisation of work, if there is no union at the workplace (Article 10).These rights were added after a court case in 2006, which found that the earlier legislation, under which these rights could only be exercised by unions, was unconstitutional.[5]

Under the Worker Participation in Management Act, the works council must also be consulted on a range of issues. In these cases, consultation means giving the works council information at least 30 days beforehand and having a consultative meeting with the works council at least 15 days before the employer takes the decision concerned. The aim of the consultation is to arrive at a jointly agreed position.

The issues where this consultation is required include issues relating to the position of the company and issues relating to the position of employees. The main company-related issues are set out in Article 93 of the Worker Participation in Management Act. They are:

• changes in the company’s legal status;
• sale of the company or substantial parts of it;
• closure of the company or substantial parts of it;
• significant changes in ownership;
• a transformation in the status of the company under company law; and
• changes in corporate governance.

The employee-related issues (Article 94) are:

• the need for new staff (how many and what type);
• job classification;
• employee transfers (more than 10% moving out of the company or somewhere else within it);
• new rules on pensions and other benefits;
• job losses; and
• the disciplinary code.

The employer is also obliged to consult on health and safety issues (Article 91) and the works council’s rights in relation to health and safety, which include the right to be present at inspections, are set out in greater detail in the Health and Safety at Work Act (ZVZD-1).

In addition, under the Worker Participation in Management Act, there are some areas where the works council must agree with the employer’s proposals before they can be implemented (Article 95). These are:

• the arrangements for annual leave;
• performance assessment criteria;
• criteria for rewarding innovation (suggestion scheme);
• the use of social facilities, such as holiday homes, owned by the company; and
• the criteria for promotion.

In all these cases, if the works council objects to the proposal, the issue goes to an arbitration body, with equal number of members appointed by the works council and the employer and an independent chair, whose appointment must be agreed by both sides.

Prior agreement by the works council is also required in some other areas, otherwise subject to only information or consultation rights, if the consequence is an increase or decrease in the number of employees (Article 96). These are:

• changes in company activity;
• any reduction in activity;
• changes in the organisation of production;
• changes in technology;
• changes in the company’s legal status; and
• sale of the company or substantial parts of it.

However, the works council can only refuse consent if the proposal involving a loss of jobs does not include proposals for dealing with redundancies, as required by legislation, or has not been justified. As with other areas requiring the works council’s agreement, the issue goes to an arbitration body if the works council objects.

The works council has the same rights as the union in the areas of planned dismissal and in disciplinary cases, under the Employment Relations Act. In other words, it can express a view where someone is to be dismissed (Article 86) and participate in disciplinary proceedings (Article 174). However, the involvement of the works council only comes when the individual concerned is not a union member.

Election and term of office

The 2013 Employment Relations Act simply states that the trade union “may appoint or elect a trade union representative to represent it with the employer”. This leaves the arrangements, including the term of office, up to the union. The union must inform the employer who has been elected or appointed, and where no representative has been chosen, the union is represented by its president.

Works council members are elected by the employees in a secret ballot. Candidates can be proposed, either by a representative union in the company (one with either 10% or 15% of the workforce in membership, depending on whether it is part of a confederation) or by a number of employees. The number needed to nominate starts at three and increases with the size of the workforce in the company, up to a maximum of 50.

All employees who have worked in the organisation for at least six months have a right to vote, other than the director and senior management, plus their family members. Fixed term and part-time employees have the same voting rights as permanent full-time employees, provided they have sufficient service. However, agency staff, who are not employees are not able to vote.

The same restrictions apply to candidates for election to the works council, except for the period of service, which is 12 months rather than six months.

The term of office is four years, and there are no limits on the number of times an individual can be re-elected.

Protection against dismissal

Both works council members and trades union representatives have the same protection against dismissal. Provided they have not acted illegally or broken their employment contract they cannot be dismissed without the consent of the body to which they belong, except where the business is being wound up or the individual concerned has refused to accept a reasonable transfer (Employment Relations Act – Article 112).

The protection lasts for the entire period of office, plus a year after leaving office. The number of union representatives enjoying this protection is determined by collective agreement. The metalworking agreement, for example, leaves the number given protection to a local agreement between the union and the employer, with only one individual having protection if no agreement is reached.[6]

Time off and other resources

The 2013 Employment Relations Act (Article 203) requires that the employer should give trade union representatives “conditions … for the rapid and efficient performance of trade union activities in accordance with the regulations protecting the rights and interests of workers”. However, the details are often settled through collective agreements.

The agreement for the metalworking industry, for example, states that trade union trustees should have at least two hours paid time off a year per union member employed, with a minimum of 50 hours a year, provided 15% of the employees are union members. Employees holding senior union positions at national or regional level are entitled to between 15 and 45 days’ time-off a year, depending on the position they hold. There is also a right to training for union trustees (see below).[7]

The works council’s rights to paid time off and the resources necessary for their duties are regulated in Articles 62 to 67a of the Worker Participation in Management Act. The works council meets during working time and members are guaranteed five hours paid time a month to attend these meetings. In addition, they are entitled to three hours paid time a month for consultation with workers. Agreements with the employer can improve on these rights.

In medium and large companies time-off rights are more extensive. In companies with between 50-100 employees one member is entitled to be released from normal duties on a part-time basis. In companies with 101-300 employees it is two members. In companies with 301-600 employees one person is entitled to be released on a full-time basis, rising to two in companies with 601-1,000. Beyond this threshold there is one extra for each further 600 workers.

The company should also provide an office for the works council members, where they have some release from normal work, and pay for the material and equipment the works council needs, as well as the cost of administrative staff. Experts may also be paid by the company if this has been agreed in advance.

It is also possible for the works council to agree its own budget with the employer.

Training rights

There is no statutory right to training for union trustees, but some collective agreements provide for it. The metalworking agreement, for example, includes a right to 24 hours a year for trade union education for trade union trustees, and the agreement for hospitality and tourism is similar – providing three paid days’ training a year for trustees.[8]

Works council members, in contrast, have a statutory right in Article 63 of the Worker Participation in Management Act to 40 paid hours a year “for the training necessary for the effective work of the works council”. The legislation does not state who should pay for the training, but the Association of Works Councils of Slovenia, which is supportive of the role of works councils, argues that the implication of this legislation is that the employer should also pay for this.[9]

Representation at group level

Where a company is part of a bigger group it is possible to set up a works council bringing together representatives from the works councils of all the companies concerned (Worker Participation in Management Act – Articles 73 to 77). The size and the distribution of seats are decided by the members themselves, as are the issues that are dealt with at this level.

In practice there are very few bodies of this sort.

[1] Slovenia: the impact of the information and consultation directive by Samo Pavlin, Eurofound, March 2009 http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/comparative-information/national-contributions/slovenia/slovenia-the-impact-of-the-information-and-consultation-directive (Accessed 29.09.2020)

[2] Franca, V. and Pahor, M. Influence of management attitudes on the implementation of employee participation. Economic and industrial democracy, ISSN 0143-831X, 2014, vol. 35, no. 1, str. 115-142

[3] Eurofound (2015), Third European Company Survey – Overview report: Workplace practices – Patterns, performance and well-being, Figures for Table 44

[4] Collective agreement for the Slovenian metal industry Kolektivna pogodba za kovinsko industrijo Slovenije (31.12.19) Article 36 http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=KOLP393 (Accessed 29.09.2020)

[5] See Diplomsko delo svet delavcev by Sandra Gobec, July 2014

[6] Kolektivna pogodba za kovinsko industrijo Slovenije (31.12.19) Article 38

[7] Ibid Article 37

[8] Ibid and Kolektivna pogodba dejavnosti gostinstva in turizma Slovenije (03.07.20) Article 53 http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=KOLP511 (Accessed 29.09.2020)

[9] Stroški izobraževanja članov sveta delavcev, ZSDS https://www.delavska-participacija.com/koristne-informacije/vprasanja/stroski-izobrazevanja-clanov-sveta-delavcev/ (Accessed 29.09.2020)

There is employee representation at board level in larger Slovenian companies. Employee representatives have between a third and a half of the seats on the supervisory board of Slovenian companies with a two-tier structure. In companies with a single board they have at least a quarter.

Under the Worker Participation in Management Act (Articles 78 to 84a) employees are entitled to board level representation in any company which is not defined as a small or micro company in the Slovenian Companies Act.[1] This means there is board level representation in any company meeting at least two of the following three criteria: more than 50 employees, a turnover of more than €8.0 million, and assets worth more than €4.0 million, as well as in any company, which is a bank, an insurance company or is quoted on the stock exchange.

Slovenian companies can choose between a two-tier structure, with a supervisory and a management board, or a single board. The choice depends on the company’s articles of association – its rules.

In companies with supervisory boards, which meet the thresholds for employee board level representation, employees have between a third and a half of the members – the precise proportions are determined by the companies themselves. In companies with a single board, there must be at least one employee representative and at least one for every three board members, in other words, they make up at least a quarter of the total. Employee members cannot chair the board, as the chair has a casting vote in the event of a tie.

Employee representatives at board level, on both supervisory boards and the single board, are chosen by the works council from among the employees able to vote in works council elections. (This means that members of senior management cannot be chosen.) They can also be recalled by the works council. The method for choosing employee representatives and the procedure for their recall are both determined by the works council in its rules of procedure.

The term of office of supervisory and single-tier board members, both those representing employees and others, is set by the articles of association of the company, but under the Companies Act (Article 255) it cannot be more than six years in a joint stock company.

Employee representatives at board level, both in supervisory and single-tier boards, enjoy the same protection against dismissal as union representatives and works council members. Under the Employment Relations Act (Article 112), they cannot be dismissed without the consent of the body to which they belong, except where the business is being wound up or the individual concerned has refused to accept a reasonable transfer, or where they have acted illegally or broken their employment contract. This protection extends for a year after they have left office.

Employee representatives at board level have no specific training rights.

As well as having board-level representatives, in companies with more than 500 employees (fewer than this, if the company and works council so agree), the employees can propose a labour director to deal with human resources issues.

In companies with a two-tier structure, the labour director is a member of the management board. In companies with a single board, the labour director is one of the employee board members, as an executive director. The labour director is appointed by the shareholders on the basis of a nomination from the works council. In practice there are estimated to be fewer than 30 such labour directors in Slovenia.

[1] Zakon o gospodarskih družbah (ZGD-1) Article 55

Slovenian representatives on bodies relating to European Works Councils and the European Company are generally elected by a meeting of all employees. The exception is board level representation in the European company, where they are chosen by the SE representative body, in line with national practice for the choice of employee board level representation in Slovenian companies.

European Works Councils

Slovenian members of the special negotiating body (SNB) for a EWC are elected by a meeting of employees in a secret ballot. Candidates can be proposed by the works council, the unions in the company, or a group of at least 50 workers. The legislation does not specify whether or not they must be employees of the company.

The arrangements are exactly the same for Slovenian members of an EWC set up under the fallback procedure in the annex to the directive.

European Company

Slovenian members of the special negotiating body (SNB) for a European Company are elected by a meeting of employees in a secret ballot. Candidates can be proposed by the works council, the unions in the company, or a group of at least 50 workers. The legislation does not specify whether or not they must be employees of the company.

The arrangements are exactly the same for Slovenian members of the SE representative body, known in the Slovenian legislation as the works council, of the SE, where it is set up under the fallback procedure in the annex to the directive.

The employees’ representatives at board level in an SE set up under fallback provisions of the directive are to be elected or nominated by the works council of the SE. This is in line with national practice for the boards of Slovenian companies, where the employee representatives are chosen by the works council.

Further information on the national SE legislation can be found here.

Health and safety representation in Slovenia is primarily provided through the works council, which can be set up in any company with more than 20 employees. Only if there is no works council is a health and safety representative elected.

Basic approach at workplace level

It is the employer’s duty to ensure the health and safety of workers at work but the employer must allow workers to take part in discussions on all questions relating to health and safety at work, either directly or through their representatives.

There is also an explicit role for the trade unions in the workplace, who should be informed on some issues.[1]

Employee health and safety bodies

Employees exercise their rights to be informed and consulted on health and safety issues either directly or through the works council (svet delavcev). Only if there is no works council, is a workers health and safety representative (delavski zaupnik za varnost in zdravje pri delu) elected. In practice health and safety issues are frequently dealt with in a works council committee (odbor sveta delavcev), but this does not have final decision-making power.

Numbers and structure

Employees can set up a works council in any company with more than 20 employees. (Works councils in Slovenia are set up on a company rather than a plant basis.) They can also be set up in non-corporate structures. However, in these cases the lowest threshold is 50 employees.

The size of the works council varies according to the number of employees as follows:

The works council, which is a body composed entirely of employees, should elect a chair and a deputy chair and it can set up specialist committees to cover issues of particular interest to certain groups of workers.

One of these specialist committees is often a health and safety committee. However, although other employees can be involved in this committee at least two thirds of its members must also be members of the works council. In addition, although the committee has a formal position – for instance management must be informed of its membership and powers, it does not have fully delegated powers. Only the works council can take the final decision.

Research by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in 2014 found that only 34% of workplaces in Slovenia had health and safety representatives but 24% had a health and safety committee. The figure for health and safety representatives is below the EU-28 average of 58%, but Slovenia has slightly more workplaces with health and safety committees than the EU-28 average of 21%. (The figures are for workplaces with five or more employees.)[2]

Tasks and rights

The role of the works council in the area of health and safety is set out in both the Health and Safety at Work Act and the legislation on works councils (Workers’ Participation in Management Act).

Under the works council legislation, health and safety is one of the areas subject to consultation between the works council and the employer. However, it is not, as in the past, subject to joint decision making, and the health and safety issues that are subject to consultation are not set out in detail.

The health and safety legislation is more specific. It states that the employer should consult with employees or their representatives, either the works council or, if there is none, the health and safety representative on:

• the risk assessment and any measure which might affect health and safety at work;
• the designation of the safety officer, company doctor, workers designated for first aid, and employees responsible for fire safety and evacuation, and
• the provision of health and safety information to employees and the organisation of health and safety training.

In addition, the works council or health and safety representative can require that the employer adopt suitable measures and prepare proposals for the elimination or mitigation of occupational health and safety risks. They can request an inspection by the competent inspection service, if they consider that the safety measures taken by the employer are inadequate. They also have the right to be present at any inspection that concerns the safeguarding of health and safety at work, and have the right to submit observations.

The employer should provide the works council or health and safety representative, as well as the trade unions in the company, with the safety statement and risk assessment and documents on accidents at work kept by the employer. The employer should also inform the works council or health and safety representative and the trade unions of the findings, proposals or measures imposed by the health and safety inspectors.

Frequency of meetings

There is nothing in the health and safety legislation which states how often health and safety should be discussed. However, the works council legislation says that that the works council should meet at the request of either the employer or the works council “typically once a month”, although these meetings will discuss many other things as well as health and safety.

Election and term of office

Works council members are elected by the employees in a secret ballot. Candidates can be proposed, either by the unions in the company or by a number of employees. The number needed to nominate starts at three (20 to 50 employees) and increases with the size of the workforce in the company, up to a maximum of 50 (500 or more employees).

The health and safety representatives – to be elected only if there is no works council – is elected in the same way.

The term of office for both works council and health and safety representative is four years.

Resources, time off and training

Works council members have significant time off rights for their work, which, of course, covers more than health and safety. Works council members are entitled to time off in medium and large companies. In companies with between 50-100 employees one member is entitled to be released from normal duties on a half-time basis. In companies with 101-300 employees it is two members. In companies with 301-600 employees one person is entitled to be released on a full-time basis, rising to two in companies with 601-1,000. After this threshold there is one for every further 600 workers.

The company should also provide an office for the works council members, where they have some release from normal work, and pay for the material and equipment the works council needs. Experts may also be paid by the company if this has been agreed in advance.

The legislation states that a health and safety representative should be “granted the mode of work and rights which apply to a works council”.

Works council members or the health and safety representative should receive “adequate training” for the execution of their health and safety tasks.

Protection against dismissal

Workers and their representatives should not be placed at a disadvantage because of exercising their health and safety rights.

Other elements of workplace health and safety

Employers must designate one or more of their employees as a safety officer (strokovni delavec za varnost pri delu) to undertake health and safety tasks in the organisation. It is for the employer to decide on the number and the professional qualifications of the safety officers needed on the basis of the size and nature of the work process, the number of workers involved in activities posing a risk to health and safety, the number of shifts and the number of separate workplaces to be covered. Safety officers should be given the necessary training and should not be disadvantaged because of their actions.

Where there are health and safety tasks that cannot be undertaken by the internal safety officers, the employer may entrust them to competent external health and safety services, which must be authorised by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (see below).

National context

The ministry responsible for health and safety at work is the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (Ministrstvo za delo, družino, socialne zadeve in enake možnosti). The responsibility for monitoring compliance with health and safety laws and regulations lies with the Slovenian Labour Inspectorate (Inšpektorat RS za delo) an administrative body within the Ministry. The Inspectorate also monitors compliance with labour and social security law.

Trade unions and employers are able to influence health and safety policy through their membership of the Council of Health and Safety at Work (Svet za varnost in zdravje pri delu). This is an advisory body of the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and its memberships consists of health and safety experts plus representatives of employers and trade unions, who are appointed by the minister on the recommendation of the tripartite body in Slovenia, the Economic and Social Council (Ekonomsko-socialni svet – ESS).[3]

Psychosocial risks are specifically included in Slovenia’s main health and safety legislation, the 2011 Health and Safety at Work Act. It states: “The employer shall adopt measures to prevent, eliminate and manage cases of violence, bullying, harassment and other forms of psychosocial risks at the workplace which can pose a threat to workers’ health” (Article 24).

Key legislation

Health and Safety at Work Act 2011

Worker Participation in Management Act (consolidated text) 2007

Zakon o varnosti in zdravju pri delu (ZVZD-1) 2011

Zakon o sodelovanju delavcev pri upravljanju (uradno prečiščeno besedilo) (ZSDU-UPB1) 2007

[1] For more information see The role of employees' representatives in the field of occupational safety and health: the Slovenian perspective, by Valentina Franca; Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business; July 2011, Vol. 3 Issue 3, p413

[2] Second European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2016

[3] For more information on the national context see OSH system at national level – Slovenia by Nina Kos and Ana Lozar, OSH Wiki https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/OSH_system_at_national_level_-_Slovenia