Chapter 4 Labor Unions in Slovak Republic
I. Structure of Labor unions in Slovak Republic
We can date the history of the current labor unions in the Slovak Republic from the year 1989, when the Velvet Revolution took place.
Although the current labor unions were created independent of labor unions (LU) of the previous regime, the inheritance, especially moral and philosophical cared by the co-founders and the attitudes to and expectations about labor unions in the minds of citizens took their place in the process of a creation of the current LU.
Labor unions and their formal status are given from the international and Slovak law; therefore their existence is inevitable and necessary for normal run of business and society. First thing, which impresses a noninvolved spectator is the fact that labor unions in the Slovakia declare that LU might be created as by employees so by unemployed, housewives, retired or students.[3] The primary cell of the LU is a basic labor union organization, which can act individually or can create (or join together) with other labor unions union of labor unions, e.g. for a certain branch of economy. Any of basic labor unions has four main organs, members’ meeting, committee of the labor union organization, revision committee of the labor union organization and commission BOZP (safety and health protection on job) The next step is to establish a country’s labor union central and than is an international labor union organization. In the Slovakia, there are about fifty unions of basic labor unions and three country’s labor union centrals, KOZ, KUK (Confederation of artistic and cultural organizations) and Nezávislé Kresťanské odbory Slovenska (Independent Christian Labor Unions of Slovakia). Slovak country’s labor union centrals are members of international labor union organizations. The last two mentioned are much smaller, with several thousand members, and therefore their status and role in the society is very minor.
II. Number of unionized people
Labor unions entered the 1990’s with several million members, because it was typical during the rule of the totalitarian regime that almost everyone had to join LU. As the process of creation and development of the current LU continued, the number of unionized workers has systematically decreased, e.g. in the biggest country’s labor union central in the Slovakia, KOZ (Confederation of the Labor Unions), the number dived from 2 443 977 members in the year 1990 to 751 791 members in the year 1999 and consequently to approximately 600 000 members in the year 2003. The reason for this fact might be seen in several factors, that we can divide into tree main groups: first may be massive lay-offs and series of bankruptcies in the decade after the Velvet Revolution and strong anti-labor union movement among employers, which only supported the feeling of the average people of uselessness and failure of the current LU in Slovakia, as well as the concentration and size of firms is decreasing. Secondly, we could believe, as also some of the LU representatives admit, that the current situation of employees has improved in the terms of their rights and capacity in the employing organizations, partly also through the permanently improving education and assistance of HRM departments or “employee committees”. Finally, the third factor ought to be seen in the mentality and attitudes of the workers, LU activists and the whole society. Most of them are not mature enough as citizens for fighting for their rights trough the LU, and therefore do not understand the role of LU in the conditions of a modern democracy, which Slovakia is trying to become. This is also one of the main facts caused by the, for over forty years ruling, previous regime.
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Piatok, 22. novembra 2024
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