Ondrus: Changes in Legislation Needed on Unlawful Dismissal of Union Members

Bratislava, March 20 (TASR) - Slovakia needs to make changes in legislation against unlawful dismissals of employees who belong to trade unions in reference to cases in which companies have unlawfully dismissed trade union officials or exerted undue pressure on them in order to get rid of them, said MEP Branislav Ondrus (Voice-SD) at a press conference on Thursday. Ondrus appeared alongside Artur Bekmatov, who is Premier Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) adviser on workers' protection, social affairs and cooperation with trade unions. "In a short time we'll present how we propose to address this situation, because an amendment to the labour law in general is only one of the solutions. We'll also look at whether anything can be addressed in terms of the length of court proceedings. We want to find changes that will act as a sufficient deterrent for employers," stated Ondrus. The MEP added that no specific solutions have been found yet, with the goal at the moment being to bring attention to the issue. At the same time, the new changes in legislation should discourage companies from violating the law and dismissing workers who monitor their employers' compliance with legislation and agreements in relation to employees, such as collective bargaining agreements. am/df