"The direction the employers are heading is obvious: the reduction of labour rights, gained through decades," warns the largest Slovenian syndicate at the occasion of the World Day of Decent Work.

At this occasion the Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia addressed an open letter, signed by their president Dušan Semolič, to the government and to the deputies of the national assembly. The Day of the Decent Work has been organized since 2008 by the International Trade Union Organization (ITUC).

This year's international Day of Decent Work emphasizes the right to unionize at all levels. Yet the leaders of the largest Slovenian trade union warn that this right might be sacrificed in order to "improve the economic competitiveness".

Increased cancelling of collective labour agreements
The Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia claims that the infringement of the right to decent payment, and the non-payment of contributions for certain social insurances is accompanied by new employers' aspirations, i.e. cancelling of the collective trade labour agreements. Thus the employers have already cancelled the collective agreement for chemical and rubber industry, and the collective agreement for construction industry.

The employers are, according to the opinion of the union representatives, aspiring towards reduction and even cancelling of certain labour rights gained through decades, like paid meal breaks, reimbursement of travel expenses, seniority bonus, adequate minimum wage...

They also warn that the last annual report of the Human Rights Ombudsman contains also the reports by initiators of different kinds of 'punishments' because of their memberships in a trade union.

"We all know where this direction leads: towards a textile factory in Dhaka in Bangladesh, where due to deplorable conditions more than one thousand workers died a couple of months ago. Towards Chinese factories of Foxconn and Pegatron, where the workers producing the popular iPhones are exposed to a tremendous pressure," wrote the representatives of the Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia in the open letter.