Collective bargaining in Slovakia

Collective bargaining is voluntary for the social partners and takes place without interference from the state. Two-tier collective bargaining takes place at sector and company levels, where multiemployer and single-employer collective agreements can be concluded. No national-level collective bargaining exists in Slovakia. Provisions agreed in both multiemployer and single-employer collective agreements are legally binding for the contracting parties. There is no separate collective bargaining for white- and blue-collar workers. Multiemployer collective agreements can be extended to employers performing comparable activities as indicated by the statistical classification of economic activities (NACE). Collective agreements are equally applied to all employees, regardless of whether or not they are a member of a trade union.

Since the economic crisis, there has been a trend of the decentralisation of bargaining from sector to company level. For instance, 27 and 23 new multiemployer collective agreements were registered by the MPSVR SR in 2011 and 2012, respectively. In both 2017 and 2018, 14 new multiemployer agreements were registered. Some multiemployer agreements are concluded for more than one year, which affects the number of new agreements concluded in the respective year. For instance, in 2019 and 2020, 20 and 11 new multiemployer agreements were registered, respectively. In 2022, 13 new agreements were registered.

Wage bargaining coverage

According to the social partners, up to 35% of employees nationally are covered by a collective agreement. According to the European Company Survey (ECS) 2013, about 30% of employees were covered at company level when all levels are considered. At sectoral and regional levels, the coverage is about 10%. Similarly, at occupational and cross-sectoral levels, the coverage is also 10%.

Collective wage bargaining coverage of employees from different sources

* Percentage of employees working in local units where more than 50% of the employees are covered under a collective pay agreement against the total number of employees who participated in the survey.

Sources: Eurofound, ECS 2013 and 2019 (including private sector establishments with >10 employees (NACE codes B–S), with multiple answers possible); Eurostat [earn_ses10_01], [earn_ses14_01], [earn_ses18_01], Structure of Earnings Survey 2010, 2014 and 2018 (including companies with >10 employees (NACE codes B–S, excluding O), with a single answer for each local unit).

According to KOZ SR, the overall coverage of employees by company collective agreements in Slovakia was 26.4% in 2019. In the private sector, the coverage was 15.4%, that is, higher than the coverage estimated by the ECS 2019. The overall coverage by collective agreements is, however, higher (around 35%) because employees in several companies that are not covered by company agreements are covered by multiemployer agreements. Since 2021, when the extension of representative multiemployer agreements was abolished, coverage has decreased. According to KOZ SR, the number of employees covered by collective agreements decreased by about 140,000 employees between 2021 and 2022.

Collective bargaining takes place at two levels: single-employer collective bargaining at company or establishment level and multiemployer collective bargaining in most sectors in the economy. Multiemployer and single-employer collective bargaining plays an important role in determining employees’ working conditions, working time and wages. While multiemployer collective bargaining is important, single-employer collective bargaining is dominant.

Collective bargaining exists in the private and public sectors. For instance, in the public sector, separate multiemployer (multisector) collective agreements are concluded for the civil and public services. The collective agreement for the public service covers employees in the education (including research) and healthcare sectors primarily.

Levels of collective bargaining, 2022

Articulation

Vertical coordination exists because collective bargaining at sector and company levels is interlinked. In company-level collective agreements, more favourable employment and working conditions can be agreed than what is defined in the respective multiemployer collective agreement.

Bargaining rounds usually start a couple of months before the end of the calendar year, when collective agreements usually expire. Either party can start negotiations, but trade unions usually take the first step by submitting their first proposal to the employer, company management or employer organisation. Employer representatives are expected to respond within 60 days. Collective bargaining usually consists of one or more bargaining rounds. The number usually depends on the demands of the trade unions and the economic situation on the employer side. It can also be influenced by the style of negotiation (consensual or conflicting).

Collective bargaining is coordinated vertically across different bargaining levels. There is a direct link between multiemployer and single-employer collective bargaining. Due to the link, multiemployer bargaining rounds usually precede single-employer bargaining rounds. According to the Labour Code, in company collective agreements, provisions can only be agreed that are equal to or more favourable for employees than those defined by the Labour Code or provisions agreed in the multiemployer collective agreement. For instance, an equal or higher wage increase can be agreed. There is no ‘pattern-setting’ collective bargaining or agreement. Collective bargaining in individual sectors is formally independent without formalised horizontal coordination.

The extension of collective agreements is allowed by law. Multiemployer collective agreements can be extended to other employers in the same industry or sector according to the rules specified by Act No. 2/1991 on collective bargaining, as amended. A proposal for the extension can be submitted by either contracting social partner, but it is usually the trade unions that do so. The proposal is submitted to the MPSVR SR, and a special working group deals with it. Due to frequent changes in the regulation of extensions regarding the consent of employers affected by the extension, extensions are rarely applied. For instance, there were four extensions in 2005–2006, there were five extensions in 2009 and none during 2010–2013.

Since 2014, the extension of a collective agreement had been possible without the consent of the employer affected by the extension. Some trade union associations, particularly OZ Kovo, used this option to their advantage. In March 2016, the Constitutional Court decided that the extension mechanism was not in compliance with the constitutionally acceptable spirit of legislation. On 1 September 2017, amendments to the legislation introduced the term ‘representative multiemployer collective agreement’. Now, only such agreements could be extended, and the consent of employers that had not signed the collective agreement was not required. In both 2019 and 2020, five multiemployer agreements were extended. On 1 March 2021, the extension of representative agreements was abolished (Act No. 76/2021, Article II) and, in 2022, no multiemployer collective agreement was extended.

Deviations from multiemployer collective agreements are allowed only in favour of employees. For instance, it is not possible to derogate from collective wage agreements in order to pay wages below the collectively agreed level. Opt-out clauses are usually not applied in collective agreements, and opening possibilities are subject to mutual agreement between contracting parties.

The collective agreement can remain valid unless the period of validity of some obligations is negotiated differently in it. When the date of validity or expiration is not specified in the collective agreement, it is valid for one year. Company collective agreements and multiemployer collective agreements in the public sector used to be agreed for one year, but recently multiemployer agreements in the public sector have been agreed for a longer period. Multiemployer collective agreements in the business sector used to be valid for two to three years.

Industrial peace should prevail for the duration of the collective agreement. Peace clauses as such are, however, usually not included in collective agreements. Act No. 2/1991 on collective bargaining includes a provision according to which a collective labour dispute can arise through the non-fulfilment of provisions or rights agreed in the existing collective agreement (dispute of rights). In such cases, the contracting social partners can use the procedure of labour dispute resolution. To settle emerging labour disputes, internal mechanisms are provided for in some company collective agreements.

Besides weekly working time and wage increases, common subjects of collective agreements include workers’ representation rights, occupational safety and health, rules regarding dismissals (mainly severance pay), supplementary payments (for example for overtime work, working on holidays or night work), flexible forms of working time, the creation of a social fund in companies and its utilisation, and non-discrimination and gender equality at work. In 2020, the conditions for homeworking during the COVID-19 pandemic were agreed in company collective agreements.