Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) - Slovenia (Ratification: 1992)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Article 1 of the Convention. Migration policy. In reply to the Committee’s previous request to provide information on the content of the Strategy of Economic Migration (SEM) for the period 2010–20 and on its implementation, the Government explains in its report that, in the past ten years, Slovenia has joined the countries that experience a lack of manpower which is the consequence of the ageing of the active population and lack of adequate or qualified staff on their labour markets. SEM addresses these demographic challenges by a number of policies and measures, in particular by providing for an active immigration policy based on principles of equal treatment of foreign workers and protection of their socio-economic rights for work and employment. The Government states that the key results of the implementation of the SEM include the following: better information of migrant workers about their rights, obligations and work and employment options; conclusion of bilateral agreements on employment; faster recognition of foreign qualifications for doctors and dental practitioners; introduction in legislation of a single application procedure for work and residence permits; introduction of circular migration with Bosnia and Herzegovina; inclusion of measures on legal immigration within the Strategy on the Western Balkans; and adoption of a regulation determining occupations in which the employment of foreigners is not tied to the labour market. Considering the current demographic and labour market challenges described by the Government, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the steps being taken to adopt a migration policy post 2020, the content of the migration policy and its implementation, and any results achieved in relation to the application of the Convention.

Articles 2 and 4. Provision of accurate information and assistance. Further to its previous comments concerning the funding and functioning of the INFO point for foreigners, the Committee notes that a new INFO point has been established and is funded by the Slovenia Employment Services with the aim of providing information on all relevant legal issues pertaining to work and to assist advisers of the European Employment Service (EURES) which is a cooperation network formed by public employment services set up to facilitate employment mobility among the member States and maintain a database of available jobs, provide information on workers’ rights and living conditions in other European Union Member States. The Committee asks the Government to confirm that this service is provided free of charge to migrant workers and to continue to provide information on the type of information and assistance provided to migrant workers, including those from countries outside Europe, and to those wishing to emigrate.

Article 6. Equal treatment with respect to conditions of work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the concern raised by the Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (AFTUS) that allowing foreign workers with an employment permit to work only for the employer who obtained the permit increased the employers’ opportunity to exploit them in respect to conditions of work. The Committee notes the Government’s reply that, under the Employment, Self-employment and Work of Aliens Act, No. 47/2015 (ZZSDT), which sets out the new requirements and procedures for the issuance of the single work and residence permit, a third-country national may be employed in the country if there are no unemployed persons registered that would be suitable to fill the job vacancy, and the employer meets the requirements of actively operating, being registered for compulsory social insurance and being registered to conduct activity based on business receipts or investments. Pursuant to section 37 of the ZZSDT, during the period of the validity of the single permit, a third-country national is allowed to change jobs within the same employer, to change employers, and to take up employment with two or more employers on the basis of the written authorization of the competent authority which the Committee understands is the Employment Service. During this process, the migrant worker is not obliged to leave the country; thus he or she is no longer limited to one employer, and therefore not in a position of dependency. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the practical application of these provisions including the number of requests and approvals of third-party nationals to change employers.

With respect to protection of equal conditions of work, the Committee notes that the working conditions of migrants is regulated by the Employment Relationship Act (ERA) 2013, as amended, which applies equally to nationals, third-country nationals, and posted workers. The Committee also notes that according to the Government, statistics on violations of ERA are not disaggregated by third-country nationals and thus it is not possible to ascertain the number of violations of the Act pertaining to migrant workers. The Committee asks the Government to consider taking steps to disaggregate the statistics on violations of the Employment Relations Act 2013, so as to be able to monitor, ensure and report on the application of the Act to migrant workers, specifically as concerns equal protection of remuneration, hours of work, overtime arrangements, rest periods and annual leave. Please report on any steps taken in this regard.

Equal treatment with respect to accommodation. With respect to previous concerns raised by AFTUS regarding housing conditions of migrants and supervision of these conditions, the Committee notes that section 10 of the Employment, Self-employment and Work of Aliens Act No. 47/2015, provides that employers and hirers who provide accommodation to third-party nationals shall ensure compliance with the minimum housing and hygiene standards, which is the same as the requirement in the former Employment and Work of Aliens Act No. 47/2015. The Committee notes that there were 15 violations of these provisions in 2014, six in 2015, seven in 2016, and three in 2017. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the violations concerning the accommodations of migrant workers and to indicate the sanctions and remedial measures applied. Please also provide information on any other measures taken to promote better application of section 10 of the Act, including any measures to raise awareness of rights and obligations with respect to accommodations.

Equal treatment with respect to social security. The Committee refers to its previous comments concerning the issue of deregistration of foreign workers from social insurance before their contracts have ended. It notes that new procedures have been adopted through the Employment, Self-employment and Work of Aliens Act No. 47/2015, which according to the Government, strengthens protection against illegal deregistration. In this connection, the Committee notes that the Act provides that where a foreigner is deregistered from the compulsory social insurance schemes because his or her employment contract has terminated but still holds a valid single permit, the Employment Service must notify the foreigner who has 15 days to stop the possible illegal deregistration or to correct any errors. Noting that this new procedure appears to place more responsibility on the foreign worker to correct an illegal deregistration, the Committee asks the Government to provide full information on the manner in which the new procedure operates in practice to prevent, correct and sanction illegal deregistration and to ensure that foreign workers are treated no less favourably than nationals with respect to health insurance and social security.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the results of the labour inspection services concerning violations of the Employment and Work of Aliens Act, the Employment, Self-employment and Work of Aliens Act No. 47/2015, the Employment Relationship Act, 2013, and the Prevention of Undeclared Work and Employment Act, 2014. It also notes the number of violations of applicable labour laws and regulations applying to persons employed by Slovenian employers and posted in EU Member States and to persons posted in Slovenia. Further, the Committee notes that over the last few years, the number of violations of the Employment Relationship Act, 2013, concerning the rights of workers posted to other countries largely exceeds the number of violations concerning the rights of workers posted to Slovenia. Most of these violations were in relation to the failure to include all the compulsory elements in the contract of employment for performance of work abroad. Regarding posted workers, the Committee welcomes the adoption of EU Directive No. 2018/957, pursuant to which Member States of the European Union shall apply to posted workers the terms and conditions of employment of the host country in a series of matters, that include remuneration, maximum work periods and minimum rest periods, minimum paid annual leave, minimum age, health, safety and hygiene at work, and accommodation. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the adoption of relevant national transposition measures; and to indicate any education or guidance provided to employers and migrant workers, including posted workers to other countries, on their rights and obligations with the aim of improving compliance with the legal requirements set out in the above-mentioned laws. It also asks the Government to continue to provide information on violations of the above-mentioned Acts concerning migrant workers, disaggregated for migrant workers as for posted workers, and the sanctions imposed. Please also indicate whether courts or other tribunals have issued decisions involving questions relating to the application of the Convention, and if so, provide summaries of these decisions.

Statistics. The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government on the work permits issued by citizenship for the reporting period. It notes that they not only show a continuing overall decrease in the number of permits issued, but that in 2016, the number of countries from where workers came greatly decreased, and in the first half of 2017 permits were issued only for foreigners from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia). The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide statistical data on migration flows to Slovenia, including information on the type of permits granted, and the sectors in which migrants are employed, disaggregated by sex and nationality. With respect to strengthening the national system of statistics on international migration, the Committee refers the Government to the Guidelines concerning statistics of international migration (ICLS/20/2018/Guidelines) adopted by the 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians in October 2018, for consideration and guidance.