The managers expressed their concern as Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs Andrej Vizjak presented the proposal for labour market reform to the Manager Association on Tuesday.

The managers called for more flexible labour legislation and adjustments to tax legislation, which they believe should make part of the reform, the Manager Association stated in a press release on Wednesday.

Vizjak pointed to several solutions that would enable companies a more flexible relationship with employees, but the Manager Association's president Dejan Turk assessed that the proposals would not boost Slovenia's competitiveness.

The association was especially critical of the the planned standard employment contract for an indefinite period. The association's executive director Sonja Šmuc said such a contract would increase costs for companies.

On the other hand, the managers agreed with the minister that employees who have for years contributed to the company's results were eligible for appropriate compensation.

The managers argued that neither the length of lunch break nor the travel allowance or the amount of severance pay were vital for the economy's turnaround and competitiveness.

"The key priorities are flexibility and tax legislation," said general manager of the German-owned Hella Saturnus Christof Droste, who argued that lesser flexibility was a false illusion of security.

"Greater flexibility in fact means greater security, providing greater guarantee that jobs will be created and kept in Slovenia," Droste was quoted as saying in the press release.

The Manager Association pledged to submit its comments and proposals for labour market reform to the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs shortly.