Union Urges New Govt to "Put People Before Capital"
"Whatever the new government does it should do to preserve jobs and create new ones," Semolič told the press conference in Ljubljana. Slovenia currently has 125,000 unemployed and changes to this figure will be an indicator of this government's success, he added.
The unions want the new government to realise that a new course must be taken. "Numerous neo-liberal concepts originating in Brussels and in certain European institutions that the former government clung to so hard are wrong" because they put the interests of capital before the people, Semolič said.
He urged the new government to listen to the IMF, which "realised its mistake and discovered that a drastic cutting of the budget deficit" has a severe impact on economic growth.
Stabilising public finances must be done but should not be achieved with brutal austerity. "Cutting the budget deficit to 3% of GDP in a single year is a cruel goal," Semolič stressed.
Semolič also called on the government to "fix the mistake" of lowering corporate income taxes and social contribution paid by employers.
The ZSSS also expects the government to be cautious regarding changes to referendum rules and to respect social dialogue.
Public service must remain public and must not become subject to market rules and privatisation, while the government must do more to strengthen the rule of law and change bankruptcy procedures to better protect the workers, Semolič added.