President of the Republic of Slovenia on worker’s rights

Ljubljana, 11.2.2011  |  press release

The Slovenian President, Dr Danilo Türk, today received representatives of the Invisible Workers of the World (IWW) and representatives of self-organised groups of workers from SCT and Vegrad; he talked with them about the exploitation of migrant workers and on severe violations of workers' rights regarding their severance benefits, unpaid wages, and unpaid contributions for health and social security, and about their personal and material distress.

In a statement to the press after the talks, President Türk emphasised that he had organised the talks to call attention to the acute character of the present crisis and the severe problems that some workers are facing after the collapse of construction companies. President Türk underlined that the human dimension and urgent nature of this crisis should be considered, but the situation now calls for rapid action.

Further to this, President Türk said the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs is already preparing some measures; however, their results cannot be expected at once. He emphasised that further activities will be necessary, and called on the Government to prepare practical measures within the days to follow to help, in particular, workers staying in workers’ hostels, and to assess which activities should have priority.

President Türk also appealed to all of the Slovenian trade unions to get actively involved, since they currently appear rather passive in this area. He stressed that he wishes this situation to be resolved and that this is the right moment for action.