Slovakia - Union resists zero indexation of public service wages - December 31, 2025

Union confederation KOZ SR warned it would not sign higher‑level collective agreements for the public and state service for 2026 if the Government insists on ‘zero indexation’ of contractual wages. KOZ SR argued that the zero‑rise approach would break earlier commitments linked to agreements for 2025–2026, including the understanding that a one‑off payment of € 800 in 2025 was accepted only with a 5% wage increase from January 2026. The union message frames the issue as a credibility test for social dialogue: if signed deals are later denied, collective bargaining loses meaning. KOZ SR also connected pay restraint to living‑cost pressures and warned against consolidating public finances ‘at the expense of employees’.

Read on: in Slovak…

For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org. For previous full issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit https://www.etui.org/Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter or consult the archive with all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org.