Tougher Regulation for Employment Agencies
Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Anja Kopač Mrak told the MPs that the changes aimed at limiting violations of the rights of workers hired by temping agencies have been agreed on with the social partners.
According to her, they also look to limit precarious forms of work and improve the quality of job agencies' services. Key changes include a clearer distinction between the activity of recruiting workers for companies and providing services on the basis of temporary contracts.
Such agencies will have to register recruitment of workers as their main activity and foreign companies will be required to have full-fledged subsidiaries in Slovenia while associated companies will be banned from establishing employer (agency) - user (company) relationships.
An amendment changing financial conditions for such agencies, introducing a bank guarantee in the amount of EUR 30,000 as the financial requirement for agencies, was adopted at the relevant committee. The original proposal was a share capital in the same amount.
According to Kopač Mrak, oversight will also be stepped up, also with stiffer fines, which are increasing from up to EUR 10,000 to up to EUR 30,000. It will moreover be possible to strip repeat offenders of their licence.
Jakob Presečnik of the opposition People's Party (SLS) welcomed the changes as a tool to prevent numerous abuses. He wondered however whether the envisaged bank guarantees will mean an advantage for large agencies and whether this opens doors to international agencies.
The opposition New Slovenia (NSi) is happy that the proposal has been agreed on with the social partners, including the association of employment agencies. NSi deputy Jožef Horvat believes that the changes will bring higher standards in the protection of workers' rights and called on the ministry to secure tight supervision.
Andrej Vizjak of the opposition Democrats (SDS) noted that the given changes to the labour law were a fulfilment for the promise he had made as labour minister to social partners when the labour market reform was passed at the beginning of the year.
He added that the work of temping and recruitment agencies was also regulated as part of changes to the labour relationship act by setting up quotas for the number of agency workers in companies.
The MPs also passed today as part of the changes an amendment which enables representative trade unions and employers to get a licence for providing temping and recruitment services without having to register for the activity.
Vizjak was sceptical about the amendment, wondering what trade unions will do on the labour market and whether this gives them an opportunity to compensate for the loss of members who are not able to pay membership fee.