Slovenia parliament passes pension reform

The National Assembly passed the government-sponsored pension reform act in a 49:35 vote on Tuesday, gradually raising the full-pension retirement age to 65 by 2026 in a bid to put the pension system on a sustainable footing. Passage of the law, which is set to take effect on 1 January, marks the culmination of months of bitter fighting with unions, which wanted to secure better retirement conditions for blue-collar workers who start working at a younger age. In a nod to union concerns that manual labourers would not be able to work until 65, the law stipulates that men with 40 years of service will be able to retire on full benefits at 60 and women with 38 years of service at 58.

At the same time, the law attempts to promote hiring by introducing relief for employers hiring first-time job seekers on permanent contracts, giving them a 50% break on social security contributions for the first year of employment and 30% for the second year. Labour, Family and Social Affairs Minister Ivan Svetlik was "quite surprised" that the coalition mustered enough votes, saying that some had managed to put politics aside so that reason prevailed. The law was passed with the help of the opposition People's Party (SLS) and the group of unaffiliated MPs, as the coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) voted against after failing to secure higher indexation of pensions in an emergency law for 2011. SLS president Radovan Zerjav said his party had not set out to save the coalition, it merely backed a good reform proposal.

The main opposition Democrats (SDS) meanwhile conceded in the debate that pension reform is necessary, but they said the way the government did it was not appropriate. Even though the government back-tracked from its original proposal, which would have raised the retirement age to 65 without exemptions, the fate of the law remains uncertain as the unions insist on putting it to referendum. Dusan Semolic, the head of the ZSSS union confederation, told the STA that his group would first seek an upper chamber veto and then seek a referendum. The Association of Employers welcomed the law, but its president Joze Smole said he doubted the law would take effect as planned considering opposition from the unions.

News source: Slovenian Times link: article

Jat Airways CEO, Srdjan Radovanović, resigned last night after mounting criticism from unions

Jat Airways CEO, Srdjan Radovanović, resigned last night after mounting criticism from unions, the management board and the media. Radovanović said that a media campaign had been orchestrated against him and Jat on behalf of Saša Vlaisavljević, former Jat CEO (now president of the airline’s management board), who fell from grace in a similar fashion as Radovanović. Serbian media state that Vladimir Ognjenović, deputy CEO will takeover. Ognjenović was part of two disastrous management teams, one led by Radovanović and the other by Vlaisavljević. The union “Nezavisnost”, which represents all employees at Jat Airways said that the airline’s CEOs have gone from bad to worse. The union criticised former CEOs Nebojša Starčević, Saša Vlaisavljević, Srdjan Radovanović and the CEO in waiting, Vladimir Ognjenović. The union says that the airline has been used as a political tool.

Srdjan Radovanović, a lawyer by profession, came to Jat in 2009 when he was appointed CEO. His grand plans for 2010 included the opening of new bases in Skopje and Banja Luka and the purchase of new aircraft. None of them materialised. During his management, Jat Tehnika and Jat Catering both went on strike. The airline has moved to derelict buildings near the airport, one of which is in such bad state that employees had to move back to the former headquarters this week until it is fixed. Radovanović’s plans to sell tickets in Serbian post offices and provide free taxi services to Jat passengers in Belgrade were strongly criticised by employees. However, during Radovanović’s management some grounded aircraft were returned to the sky and their interior refurbished. The airline launched its first media campaign in decades and employed new cabin crew. Passenger numbers have somewhat improved in 2010.

Vladimir Ognjenović, who is expected to take over the airline, worked as a Jat ground handler at Belgrade Airport since 1995 before being mysteriously propelled to the position of the airline’s representative in Copenhagen and then finally settling for the deputy CEO post. He is also a member of the ruling Democratic Party which named Vlaisavljević and Radovanović as CEOs. Most employees have little optimism he will lead the airline into better times.

News source: EX-YU Avitation link: article