Representatives of employers walked out of the special session of the Social Partnership Council (HSR), at which a draft amendment to the law on social insurance was being discussed. The National Association of Employers (RUZ) and the Association of Employers of Slovakia (AZZZ) claim that tripartite rules were broken at the session, since Labor Minister Viera Tomanova did not allow them to present their proposal of how to solve the future deficits of Socialna Poistovna. Moreover, they are afraid that tripartite sessions in the future will serve only as a formal cloak for the preparation of bad laws by the Labor Ministry. Employers consider the amendment to the law on social insurance very bad. They emphasize that the draft is not accompanied by any analyses or impact studies. RUZ Vice President Jozef Spirko finds the current situation similar to the process of approval of the amendment to the Labor Code.
Employers are chiefly critical about plans to cancel the cap on the calculation base for paying insurance premiums for pension insurance. The current cap on the calculation base equals threefold the average salary, which is SKK 56,300. The Labor Ministry hopes that this measure will help decrease the deficit of Socialna Poistovna. The ministry expects that 21,000 employees will be affected by this measure; however, employers claim that as many as 110,000 will be affected.
Employers wanted to present several measures at the session on Monday, designed to generate savings of at least SKK 25 billion in the state budget, money which could be used to cover the Socialna Poistovna deficit. Employers suggested saving funds needed for the operation of public institutions. According to employers, higher insurance premiums as suggested in the draft will lead to slower growth of wages, higher costs for companies, the departure of qualified labor from Slovakia, slower GDP growth and attempts to avoid paying taxes. "If the state has a problem and does not have enough money for pensions, money in all spheres of public administration should be saved," said RUZ Vice President Jozef Spirko. Employers suggest decreasing the staff numbers at the Cabinet Office, decreasing the government reserve and prime ministerial reserve, unifying the collection of social contributions and taxes, restricting expenditures of the Foreign Ministry for representation abroad, higher effectiveness of active labor policy, introducing valorization of pensions according to the inflation rate and canceling Christmas contributions for pensioners.
Employers want to present their twenty measures to the prime minister on Tuesday, since the Cabinet is to deal with the draft amendment on social insurance at its session on Wednesday.
(EUR 1 = SKK 33.768 on August 20)