Salaries rise as they return to the level before the crisis, not due to a pay increase

Full holiday pay this year

21. marec 2018 ob 12.22 • Ljubljana - MMC RTV SLO

Salaries rise as they return to the level before the crisis, not due to a pay increase. Foto: BoBo

The government and unions have cancelled the extension of lower salary regulations and other austerity measures for the year 2016, when employees got more money in their pockets for the first time. In January promotion bonuses were paid again, in September pay scale was relaxed. This brought a higher gross pay basis, but it was not an increase, it only meant that salaries returned to the level of June 2012 – and that’s where they remain today.

Two years ago, holiday pay started to rise again, and this year all public employees will receive the full amount of their holiday pay – 790 euros gross. The same applies to the years of considerably lower retirement premiums.

Following the protest of cooks, cleaners and other workers at the bottom of the pay scale, the government fulfilled its commitment to fix errors in salaries up to 26th pay scale level, which included nurses, the uniformed professions, kindergarten teachers and their assistants. The government also raised the salaries of directors and head teachers, which had remained unchanged for a decade. Unresolved have remained anomalies above the 26th pay scale level, as well as a commitment by the government to move up comparable professions as the result of an increase in medical doctors’ salaries.

The treatment of doctors will result in complaints to the departing government. Especially when we consider the Ministry of Public Administration’s data: following the implementation of the strike’s agreement, 970 doctors moved up to the highest possible, 57th, pay scale level, and the number of the employees at this level rose by 96%. Before that, only 16% of doctors were at the highest level, today 31% are located there. The salaries of almost one third of doctors increased by 20%: there are now more than 500 such doctors at the UKC Ljubljana, one even moved up by 10 levels, which meant a 40% increase in his salary.