WEBVTT 00:00:02.765 --> 00:00:08.598 Today is a historic day when the Government and trade unions 00:00:08.718 --> 00:00:12.720 finalised the agreement on the pay system. 00:00:13.668 --> 00:00:19.503 This agreement will improve the situation of the employees 00:00:19.623 --> 00:00:26.320 and lay foundation for quality work of the public sector. 00:00:27.080 --> 00:00:31.760 I want to thank everyone who gave their signatures, 00:00:31.880 --> 00:00:35.000 the representatives of trade unions 00:00:35.120 --> 00:00:39.480 and the Government negotiation team, led by Klemen Boštjančič, 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:44.147 and his deputy Mojca Ramšak. The work they did 00:00:44.375 --> 00:00:48.440 might have been invisible, especially to the public, 00:00:48.668 --> 00:00:54.960 but the negotiations have been going on and were respectful. 00:00:55.165 --> 00:00:58.560 This is what I want to stress. 00:00:58.680 --> 00:01:04.160 We have always been respectful and this is why we are here today. 00:01:04.358 --> 00:01:08.680 When the dialogue is respectful, 00:01:08.878 --> 00:01:14.400 everything is possible. I believe we will continue the dialogue 00:01:14.683 --> 00:01:19.720 not only on the big issues, but also on implementing the agreement 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:25.920 and other areas because this is how the result will last. 00:01:26.220 --> 00:01:31.400 The agreement we signed today will have a long-term impact. 00:01:32.324 --> 00:01:37.905 No one will be getting the minimum wage anymore. 00:01:39.002 --> 00:01:42.476 A wage, lower than the minimum wage. And from today, 00:01:42.597 --> 00:01:48.641 wages will be automatically adjusted to the inflation. 00:01:48.893 --> 00:01:54.920 This is why the employees will not be paid properly just once, 00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:58.560 they will be getting it all the time. 00:01:59.046 --> 00:02:05.607 As the trade unions have said and I agree, it is important 00:02:05.727 --> 00:02:11.000 to make the public sector attractive if we want a quality service. 00:02:11.158 --> 00:02:17.120 Attractive to young people and experts to stay there. 00:02:17.459 --> 00:02:23.520 Today, we laid the foundation for it. We will keep working on it 00:02:23.913 --> 00:02:30.480 and we will be even more proud of our public sector than today, 00:02:30.779 --> 00:02:35.040 which is what the employees deserve. 00:02:35.394 --> 00:02:38.840 Thank you again and good luck, Slovenia. 00:02:39.508 --> 00:02:41.440 Thank you. Mr. Štrukelj, go ahead. 00:02:43.723 --> 00:02:48.819 Hello. Over the last few weeks, 00:02:49.384 --> 00:02:55.668 we have not been sleeping much, and not only because of work 00:02:55.788 --> 00:02:59.749 and because our colleagues from specialist services 00:02:59.869 --> 00:03:03.640 have been sleeping even less, 00:03:03.893 --> 00:03:07.600 but because of responsibility that we all have. 00:03:07.720 --> 00:03:12.480 The trade unions have been very well aware 00:03:12.927 --> 00:03:18.640 of our part of responsibility and we take the responsibility now. 00:03:20.899 --> 00:03:27.437 But at the same time as having this big responsibility, 00:03:27.557 --> 00:03:33.448 we are happy to come to the end 00:03:33.568 --> 00:03:36.240 and we proved 00:03:36.649 --> 00:03:40.298 that the social dialogue in Slovenia 00:03:40.419 --> 00:03:46.274 is on the same level as in other democratic countries. 00:03:46.394 --> 00:03:50.167 We had a real say 00:03:50.287 --> 00:03:52.869 in terms of our work conditions 00:03:52.990 --> 00:03:58.773 which is an important improvement in the quality of our lives 00:03:58.894 --> 00:04:05.000 after the standstill we witnessed a couple of years ago. 00:04:06.095 --> 00:04:11.041 I want to mention two achievements 00:04:11.161 --> 00:04:15.935 that will last. The Prime Minister already mentioned one 00:04:16.055 --> 00:04:21.085 and I will say it again. No basic wage 00:04:21.205 --> 00:04:25.145 will not be under the minimum wage which impacted 00:04:25.265 --> 00:04:29.960 the biggest improvement 00:04:30.392 --> 00:04:34.769 of the situation of the colleagues with low wages 00:04:34.889 --> 00:04:38.640 a little above the minimum wage. 00:04:39.001 --> 00:04:43.880 The other important fact is that the law states 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:49.587 that wages have to be adjusted to the inflation every year 00:04:49.831 --> 00:04:53.525 which will keep the real value 00:04:53.662 --> 00:04:57.630 of the work in the public sector. 00:04:58.296 --> 00:05:01.755 I want to use this opportunity 00:05:01.875 --> 00:05:06.473 to stress that a quality public sector, 00:05:06.593 --> 00:05:10.753 quality public services, from healthcare, 00:05:10.873 --> 00:05:15.385 schools, social services, culture, safety, 00:05:15.505 --> 00:05:19.240 can be our big advantage, 00:05:19.491 --> 00:05:21.280 but this can happen 00:05:21.401 --> 00:05:28.060 only if the work of public sector employees is properly valued. 00:05:28.180 --> 00:05:31.375 It is written in our Constitution 00:05:31.495 --> 00:05:35.956 that Slovenia is a social state which can be achieved 00:05:36.076 --> 00:05:40.520 through quality public service 00:05:40.803 --> 00:05:45.119 that does not differentiate between the poor and the rich, 00:05:45.239 --> 00:05:50.960 less or more educated, but makes it possible for everyone 00:05:51.080 --> 00:05:54.945 to get the same access to key services. 00:05:55.065 --> 00:06:00.069 This is why I appeal on the Government and all of us 00:06:00.189 --> 00:06:04.703 to take care of the public sector because the alternative 00:06:04.823 --> 00:06:10.970 is separation into classes which will make 00:06:11.090 --> 00:06:16.080 it harder for our country to remain stable. 00:06:16.403 --> 00:06:20.680 The Public Sector Trade Union Confederation 00:06:20.971 --> 00:06:24.800 has put everything into the negotiations 00:06:25.084 --> 00:06:29.040 and I want to thank my colleagues 00:06:29.426 --> 00:06:33.424 for their hard work. 00:06:33.700 --> 00:06:39.000 I also want to thank Jakob Počivavšek from another group. 00:06:39.565 --> 00:06:43.960 Thank you. Mr. Počivavšek, go ahead. -Maybe switch. 00:06:47.227 --> 00:06:51.274 The pay system reform 00:06:51.394 --> 00:06:56.503 and the project we finished after two years. 00:06:57.318 --> 00:07:04.037 This is a project that plays out every 10 years. 00:07:04.370 --> 00:07:08.777 The last change or so extensive change 00:07:08.897 --> 00:07:12.763 happened almost 16 years ago. 00:07:13.677 --> 00:07:18.877 But it wasn't just a reform of the pay system. 00:07:19.304 --> 00:07:24.170 We had negotiations about other topics as well 00:07:24.303 --> 00:07:28.483 and that made them even more challenging and complex. 00:07:28.710 --> 00:07:33.523 Besides the change of the system, we have a new valuation of the posts, 00:07:33.797 --> 00:07:38.423 we negotiated on the right to disconnect and on holiday pay 00:07:38.610 --> 00:07:41.090 for the years 2025 and 2026. 00:07:41.423 --> 00:07:45.650 There were a lot of ball in the air and we had to catch them at the end 00:07:45.783 --> 00:07:49.830 to close this juggling successfully. 00:07:50.037 --> 00:07:56.303 I am very happy that a lot of trade unions signed this today. 00:07:56.543 --> 00:08:03.410 I don't remember that such a number of trade unions would ever sign 00:08:03.590 --> 00:08:09.537 and that they would be so unanimous on supporting, 00:08:09.703 --> 00:08:11.370 what was agreed upon. 00:08:11.517 --> 00:08:15.530 I understand it as a recognition to those 00:08:15.623 --> 00:08:21.677 who put a lot of effort into closing these negotiations. 00:08:21.817 --> 00:08:25.837 Sometimes it looked like it may not end in a way 00:08:26.003 --> 00:08:31.377 as it did in the end. 00:08:31.777 --> 00:08:36.363 I think it's a very good agreement 00:08:36.577 --> 00:08:42.610 that brings key benefits, especially in the areas 00:08:42.750 --> 00:08:45.590 where trade unions have been trying its hardest for years. 00:08:45.883 --> 00:08:50.923 With it I mean problems with the lowest wages in public sector. 00:08:51.030 --> 00:08:56.330 Nobody will have a basic wage lower than the minimal wage. 00:08:56.450 --> 00:09:00.657 We managed to move the whole salary scale higher 00:09:01.050 --> 00:09:06.123 and have agreed upon aligning the salary scale with inflation, 00:09:06.303 --> 00:09:08.790 but it's not all yet. 00:09:09.150 --> 00:09:13.337 A lot of times it is overlooked 00:09:13.490 --> 00:09:17.310 that the new Law brings a lot of changes, 00:09:17.703 --> 00:09:24.823 which are addressing the flaws that we saw in the last 15 years 00:09:25.190 --> 00:09:31.517 or some institutes have degenerated, 00:09:31.710 --> 00:09:36.223 mainly in times of austerity measures after the economic crisis. 00:09:38.290 --> 00:09:43.243 Considering that quite a lot of funds will be needed 00:09:43.370 --> 00:09:46.790 to solve the problems with salary scale, 00:09:47.030 --> 00:09:52.417 I believe that this is some kind of solidarity act among trade unions 00:09:52.550 --> 00:09:54.417 in supporting this project. 00:09:54.577 --> 00:09:58.577 A lot of them didn't achieve everything they wanted, 00:09:58.737 --> 00:10:04.457 in order that we could solve the problem of the lowest wages. 00:10:04.623 --> 00:10:11.157 Considering the challenges the public sector has with personnel, 00:10:11.363 --> 00:10:16.937 many issues need improvement, not only wages, 00:10:17.190 --> 00:10:22.463 but it's an important step, 00:10:22.657 --> 00:10:26.803 because otherwise the public services could disintegrate 00:10:26.877 --> 00:10:30.670 or the quality of the services could deteriorate. 00:10:30.803 --> 00:10:38.270 In this way we can reinforce them and get better personnel 00:10:38.417 --> 00:10:43.643 or keep the personnel that works very hard already. 00:10:43.843 --> 00:10:49.177 I would like to thank everybody from trade unions and the government 00:10:49.317 --> 00:10:51.097 for fair negotiations. 00:10:52.557 --> 00:10:56.937 Within the workgroups and on negotiations 00:10:57.190 --> 00:11:00.623 the dialogue was informed and substantive. 00:11:00.763 --> 00:11:05.037 I'm sure that this was also a reason for successful negotiations 00:11:05.157 --> 00:11:10.143 and building the trust, needed for addressing some other issues 00:11:10.297 --> 00:11:15.803 that we agreed upon to work on in the future 00:11:15.917 --> 00:11:17.530 or to improve them. 00:11:18.250 --> 00:11:20.063 Thank you. -Thank you. 00:11:20.297 --> 00:11:26.037 I invite here the deputy of the chief negotiator from the government. 00:11:26.650 --> 00:11:29.003 Thank you. -Step a little closer. 00:11:29.297 --> 00:11:34.743 I believe that today we are happy and proud in front of the public, 00:11:34.937 --> 00:11:40.257 because we concluded the process, which was long and challenging. 00:11:40.503 --> 00:11:47.237 All negotiators worked through this process with a thought 00:11:47.370 --> 00:11:51.990 to do something good for the public employees and sector in general. 00:11:52.543 --> 00:11:55.417 The negotiations weren't easy. 00:11:55.650 --> 00:11:58.137 The trade union's representatives were demanding. 00:11:58.303 --> 00:12:03.897 We were also demanding, but fair and understanding, 00:12:04.037 --> 00:12:09.790 because we were led by the thought that the result will be beneficial 00:12:09.923 --> 00:12:14.097 for public employees and public sector in general. 00:12:14.530 --> 00:12:20.637 Namely, with the results of this negotiating process 00:12:20.863 --> 00:12:26.757 the public employees will get higher and better valuation of work. 00:12:27.130 --> 00:12:32.177 With it, the public sector will become a better employer 00:12:32.383 --> 00:12:38.410 and the result of these negotiations will bring some kind of system 00:12:38.657 --> 00:12:43.937 that will also entice quality personnel in the public sector 00:12:44.077 --> 00:12:47.137 and keep those that are already there. 00:12:47.330 --> 00:12:50.550 In this way, the sector will become more efficient and better. 00:12:50.690 --> 00:12:55.223 It will be able to provide a proper service to our citizens 00:12:55.330 --> 00:12:59.390 and that is a primary purpose of the public sector. 00:13:00.163 --> 00:13:04.323 We are aware that the work is not done yet. 00:13:04.703 --> 00:13:08.117 There is still much to be done to assert this system in practice. 00:13:08.250 --> 00:13:11.243 We don't have to negotiate anymore, 00:13:11.437 --> 00:13:18.950 but we will have to actively implement everything in the practice, 00:13:19.210 --> 00:13:25.583 so that employers will actually put the regulations in practice 00:13:25.717 --> 00:13:29.170 and ensure the employees a higher payment 00:13:29.290 --> 00:13:32.110 or a payment according to the new system. 00:13:32.523 --> 00:13:37.377 I believe that a lot of employers from a public sector are in distress, 00:13:37.523 --> 00:13:41.117 because they don't know, how they will manage to implement everything 00:13:41.277 --> 00:13:42.877 until the 1st of January. 00:13:43.003 --> 00:13:46.347 I assure you that the Ministry of Public Administration 00:13:46.460 --> 00:13:48.490 and other Ministries 00:13:48.877 --> 00:13:56.590 will do everything possible to help the employers with implementation, 00:13:57.702 --> 00:14:03.900 provide expert advice and help, including explanations, guidance 00:14:04.021 --> 00:14:07.698 and information systems to help employers. 00:14:07.819 --> 00:14:11.188 I believe that, knowing that we're all working together 00:14:11.309 --> 00:14:16.096 to do something good for our civil servants, we will succeed. 00:14:16.217 --> 00:14:19.115 Finally, I would also like to thank 00:14:19.236 --> 00:14:22.642 all of those involved in this process, 00:14:23.005 --> 00:14:26.780 colleagues and all those involved on the trade union side. 00:14:26.901 --> 00:14:29.495 You have been demanding but fair. 00:14:29.616 --> 00:14:34.404 And it was a pleasure to come to this result in the end. 00:14:34.561 --> 00:14:39.097 On the government side, I would first like to thank 00:14:39.218 --> 00:14:42.054 the outstanding leader of the government negotiating side, 00:14:42.175 --> 00:14:45.014 the Minister of Finance, Klemen Boštjančič. 00:14:45.135 --> 00:14:46.915 He's away on official business, 00:14:47.036 --> 00:14:50.202 but I believe he would have loved to have been here. 00:14:50.323 --> 00:14:52.295 The whole government negotiating group, 00:14:52.416 --> 00:14:55.612 the negotiating groups on a pillar-by-pillar basis, 00:14:55.733 --> 00:14:57.703 which were led and assisted 00:14:57.824 --> 00:15:01.578 by extremely dedicated colleagues from other line ministries, 00:15:01.699 --> 00:15:04.689 not only the Ministry of Public Administration, 00:15:04.810 --> 00:15:07.695 of course, the colleagues in the Ministry of Public Administration, 00:15:07.816 --> 00:15:12.044 both in the negotiating groups and in the expert services. 00:15:12.165 --> 00:15:15.898 Last but not least, I would also like to thank you, the media, 00:15:16.019 --> 00:15:21.083 for informing the public about our progress. 00:15:21.827 --> 00:15:24.946 You have often been with us, even long into the night, 00:15:25.067 --> 00:15:27.731 when marathon negotiations were taking place. 00:15:27.852 --> 00:15:31.294 Many times you also had a little difficulty getting an interview, 00:15:31.415 --> 00:15:36.392 because all of us were focused on the negotiations. 00:15:37.017 --> 00:15:40.279 But I think that, in the end, we all achieved our goal together, 00:15:40.400 --> 00:15:44.489 including through your reporting. And that's what counts in the end. 00:15:44.610 --> 00:15:47.195 So thank you very much. -Thank you very much. 00:15:47.316 --> 00:15:50.899 I would like to thank the Prime Minister for coming, 00:15:51.020 --> 00:15:52.884 for sharing this signature with us. 00:15:53.005 --> 00:15:58.509 I would ask the rest of you to stay in case there are any more questions. 00:15:58.630 --> 00:16:00.978 Thank you very much. Goodbye. 00:16:01.443 --> 00:16:05.290 Do you have any other questions? -About the trade unions? 00:16:05.411 --> 00:16:09.704 They have not signed today, what will that mean for them? 00:16:09.825 --> 00:16:14.986 What will happen to the second pillar? 00:16:18.705 --> 00:16:24.486 I would just say that as far as the second pillar unions, 00:16:24.607 --> 00:16:27.171 to which your question refers, 00:16:27.401 --> 00:16:33.095 to my knowledge, the collective agreements for the second pillar 00:16:33.439 --> 00:16:35.039 are all concluded. 00:16:35.160 --> 00:16:39.602 The trade unions that have to conclude these collective agreements 00:16:39.723 --> 00:16:41.999 in order for them to be valid 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:44.194 have signed the collective agreements, 00:16:44.315 --> 00:16:49.087 so that's no obstacle to the system coming into force. 00:16:49.520 --> 00:16:53.150 I don't have a precise overview of exactly how many trade unions 00:16:53.271 --> 00:16:57.446 have signed or not, but the number, as far as we have looked, 00:16:57.567 --> 00:16:59.211 is extremely high. 00:16:59.332 --> 00:17:02.209 The trade unions that have chosen not to sign, 00:17:02.330 --> 00:17:07.387 have their own reasons, which they will probably explain. 00:17:07.508 --> 00:17:10.246 I think, however, what counts 00:17:10.367 --> 00:17:13.252 are the trade unions that have signed 00:17:13.373 --> 00:17:16.201 and that are actually demonstrating a very high degree of legitimacy 00:17:16.322 --> 00:17:18.302 of what we have agreed. 00:17:19.199 --> 00:17:23.193 Any other questions? -Can it be done later? -Yes. 00:17:23.314 --> 00:17:25.227 One of the trade unions has already informed us 00:17:25.348 --> 00:17:28.889 that the decision-making procedures are still ongoing, 00:17:29.010 --> 00:17:32.294 that it will then sign, depending on the decision-making procedure. 00:17:32.415 --> 00:17:34.605 But we will certainly leave it a few days 00:17:34.726 --> 00:17:38.442 and call on all the trade unions that may not have been able to come today. 00:17:38.563 --> 00:17:44.824 But, as my colleague said, the acts are signed to such an extent 00:17:44.945 --> 00:17:47.094 that all the acts are adopted and in force. 00:17:47.215 --> 00:17:50.004 Which trade union will sign later? 00:17:50.125 --> 00:17:54.996 The trade union of the employees of the judiciary, 00:17:55.117 --> 00:17:56.997 the professionals in the judiciary. 00:17:57.118 --> 00:18:01.200 Maybe just a message to all public sector employees. 00:18:01.321 --> 00:18:06.309 When can they expect results on their payrolls? 00:18:06.430 --> 00:18:11.882 We have already talked a lot about this. 00:18:12.509 --> 00:18:14.393 Well, if the world is still standing, 00:18:14.514 --> 00:18:19.079 then on 1 January 2025, 00:18:19.304 --> 00:18:21.963 the new pay system will come into force, 00:18:22.084 --> 00:18:26.787 and the first improved salaries will be in early February. 00:18:26.908 --> 00:18:31.402 Of course, with all the effects that a rise in basic salaries has 00:18:31.523 --> 00:18:35.791 on bonuses, on merit and on everything else, 00:18:35.912 --> 00:18:42.304 so that with today's signature, this should be a fait accompli. 00:18:42.425 --> 00:18:48.050 I would, of course, point out what Mrs Ramšak has already pointed out, 00:18:48.171 --> 00:18:50.893 in particular the Ministry of Public Administration, 00:18:51.014 --> 00:18:53.609 but also in one part the trade unions 00:18:53.730 --> 00:18:56.202 have a lot of work to do between now and then. 00:18:56.323 --> 00:19:00.505 The trade unions will use this time to inform the members 00:19:00.626 --> 00:19:08.626 as much as possible about how this new system will work, 00:19:08.747 --> 00:19:13.093 in order to reduce the number of questions 00:19:13.402 --> 00:19:16.414 and dilemmas that are bound to arise. 00:19:16.535 --> 00:19:23.344 This is an extremely large system of 190 000 civil servants, 00:19:23.532 --> 00:19:26.295 and this is now an extremely important task. 00:19:26.416 --> 00:19:30.303 To prepare for as smooth a transition as possible 00:19:30.424 --> 00:19:32.595 to this new salary system. 00:19:33.876 --> 00:19:37.545 A question for the trade unions. 00:19:37.666 --> 00:19:42.006 Do you think that the salaries are now fully regulated? 00:19:42.136 --> 00:19:45.024 Are there any other things that need to be sorted out? 00:19:45.145 --> 00:19:48.578 There has been a lot of talk about eliminating salary disparities 00:19:48.699 --> 00:19:54.527 within the pillars. How will this be dealt with in the future, if at all? 00:19:54.648 --> 00:19:58.930 In addition to the collective agreements, 00:19:59.051 --> 00:20:04.544 the agreement that will accompany these collective agreements 00:20:04.665 --> 00:20:06.997 will also be signed today. 00:20:07.118 --> 00:20:13.884 In this agreement, we have also agreed to start work 00:20:14.154 --> 00:20:17.385 on a job evaluation methodology which, 00:20:17.776 --> 00:20:22.316 if everything goes well and if we manage to agree on it, 00:20:22.694 --> 00:20:27.860 could mean a revision of job evaluation in the public sector 00:20:27.981 --> 00:20:31.922 and the establishment of more appropriate ratios. 00:20:32.043 --> 00:20:36.668 I do not rule out that there will be some negotiations in the meantime, 00:20:36.789 --> 00:20:38.789 perhaps on some changes. 00:20:38.910 --> 00:20:41.471 This is a matter for negotiation 00:20:41.592 --> 00:20:44.710 in the various parts of the public sector, 00:20:44.831 --> 00:20:48.495 but it is certainly necessary to implement this system 00:20:48.616 --> 00:20:51.328 during this transitional period. 00:20:51.694 --> 00:20:56.257 In addition, there are some other things that we have agreed on, 00:20:56.378 --> 00:20:59.203 including the development of performance criteria, 00:20:59.324 --> 00:21:01.710 which we need to agree on in the coming year. 00:21:01.831 --> 00:21:06.187 So we have not quite finalised all the elements, 00:21:06.308 --> 00:21:10.744 and we still have a few tasks to do in the future. 00:21:12.399 --> 00:21:13.605 Thank you very much.