Fico: Lack of Labour Force Chief Challenge for Slovak Cabinet in 2018

Fico: Lack of Labour Force Chief Challenge for Slovak Cabinet in 2018

Bratislava, January 3 (TASR) – The lack of a labour force will be the main challenge for the Slovak Government in 2018, stated Prime Minister Robert Fico at a press conference on Wednesday.


Noting that he debated the issue several times with industries and other business organisations in 2017, Fico said that one key question was always posed: “What will we do together to find a labour force among the jobless? … and what measures is the Cabinet, in cooperation with employers, ready to take?”

According to Fico, the Government will continue “to draw EU funds effectively” in 2018 and increase the minimum wage above €500 per month.

“We also realise that we’ll have many sleepless nights in 2018 pondering how to ensure salary growth in the public and state sector. We realise that we have obsolete salary charts that stipulate salaries for some categories of staff that are currently below the minimum wage,” said Fico, adding that this issue might cost €300 million “if done properly”.