The lowest base wage will increase starting on January 1, 2019, explained the Secretary General of the Retail Union of Slovenia Ladi Rožič at a press conference after the signing of the new contract. Employees from the first to the fifth pay grades will see wage increases of five percent starting on January 1. That amount will increase by an additional two percent beginning on July 1, 2019. For instance, a saleswoman in the fourth pay grade who now receives a base monthly wage of 624.10 will now see that amount increase to 655.31 euros in January and 667.79 euros in July.
Employees in the sixth and seventh pay grades, where the lowest base pay is now 814.97 euros (or 971.95 euros), will see an increase in the base wage of 10 percent in January. The new lowest base wages will increase to 896.47 euros (or 1069.15 euros).
Wage increases will match inflation
Rožič explains that the employees in pay grades one through five had already seen increases after previous negotiations. In addition to pay raises, the new collective agreement also calls for the lowest wages to be coordinated with increases in living expenses, as long as that amount is not greater than two percent.
“Wages in the wholesale and retail sectors are indeed low; the problems tend to be the most pronounced in the retail sector, which has more than 30,000 employees,” said Rožič. He explained that the union had wanted the minimum wage to serve as the basis of the increases, but the demand was not accepted.
Together, the wholesale and the retail sectors employ 108,000 people, while the collective agreement applies to some 87,600 employees.
Holiday and Sunday work
Beginning on September 1, employees will no longer have to work on public holidays, added Rožič. Until now, the contract called for employees to work 15 Sundays and five public holidays, but after the latest negotiations, all stores will be closed on all holidays, with some exceptions as defined by the relevant legislation and the collective agreement (service stations, pharmacies, warehouses, etc.).
But starting in September, employees will be allowed to work 20 Sundays per year (no more than two Sundays a month), while the price of Sunday labor will increase. The workers will be eligible to receive double pay, provided the additional pay isn’t less than 6.05 euros per hour. Currently, the amount is set at 5.40 euros per hour.
“Together with the pay raise, the hourly wage on Sundays will amount to about ten euros,” added Rožič. The new contract retains a provision allowing employees to work two Sundays a month. If an employee works three Sundays a month, his or her employer will face a fine of 500 euros. This will mean that the employer will have received 500-percent pay for working that day.
