Franci Frantar of the SPS and Radivoj Uroševič of the Police Trade Union (PSS) protested over the negotiations being focused solely on the cabinet's measures for balancing the budget, while completely neglecting the strike demands of the police unions, which extend also to other areas of police work.

According to Uroševič, the two unions, which insist on negotiations being held separately from the rest of the public sector, were given few answers and were told to speak to Interior Minister Vinko Gorenak directly.

However, Frantar stressed that the police were in talks with the minister on a daily basis, but added that these were not negotiations on their strike demands.

Both unions held separate meetings today to discuss further steps in their strike that has been going on since 18 April and the SPS wrote in a press release after its meeting in Celje that they had decided to step up the strike.

No details have been revealed apart from the fact that further steps in the strike had been coordinated by the unions and that the work-to-rule may cause disturbances in the coming holidays around Labour Day.

SPS president Zoran Petrovič told the STA during the meeting that the union discussed the government's proposal from Tuesday and could not agree with two of its 18 points.

Pay cuts can only be discussed when the promised raises have been realised, he stressed, adding that they would have also agreed to a deferral of holiday allowances, had they "seen readiness for serious social dialogue".

Opposition Positive Slovenia (PS) requested today an extraordinary session of the parliamentary Committee on Interior Policy to discuss the matter.

The PS said in a press release that the party refused to accept the interior minister's "undermining of trust into the police and its activities", requesting that the committee call on the minister to return to "amicable social dialogue".

The spat between the police unions and the interior minister came after unions last week initiated procedures for calling a referendum on the one-month deferral of the holiday bonus passed in parliament a few days earlier.

Petrovič stressed that the unions might take the state to court in case the bonus was not paid out in May.

Moreover, the unions protest against the proposed reduction in reimbursement of travel costs, saying this would mean officers would effectively need to pay out of their own pockets for coming to work.