Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Protection of Workers' Claims (Employer's Insolvency) Convention, 1992 (No. 173) - Slovakia (Ratification: 1998)

The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in its report, in particular the adoption of the new Labour Code (Act No. 311/2001) and the various legislative amendments introduced in the laws on employment (Act No. 387/1996) and bankruptcy (Act No. 328/1991) since the submission of the first report on the application of the Convention.

The Committee notes that, under section 22(2) of the new Labour Code, the scope of employees’ claims covered by the guarantee fund extends beyond the minimum requirements set out in Article 12 of the Convention and includes not only claims in respect of unpaid wages, holiday pay, sick leave and severance pay, but also termination benefits, compensation for unfair dismissal, travel expenses, compensation for occupational accidents or diseases and court expenses. It also notes that section 22(4) and (5) of the Labour Code provides for new higher time and monetary limits on protected claims since guarantee entitlements now cover up to three months’ wages for the last 18 months of the employment relationship prior to the insolvency, or an amount not exceeding three times the average national monthly wage. The Committee further notes that, according to the bankruptcy legislation currently in force, wage and other service-related claims not settled by the guarantee fund, and arising from employment contracts in the last three years prior to the issue of the bankruptcy order, remain privileged debts of the first category and are satisfied before taxes and social security charges. Moreover, the Committee notes with interest that the Government reiterates in its report its earlier statement to the effect that it considers extending its acceptance to Part III of the Convention concerning the protection of workers’ claims by a guarantee institution, in conformity with Article 3, paragraph 2 of the Convention. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any decision taken in this respect.

Finally, the Committee would be grateful to the Government for information on the application in practice of the Convention in accordance with Part IV of the report form, especially with regard to the functioning of the guarantee fund, including for instance information on its financial situation and management, available statistics on the number of applications received, claims settled and amounts advanced per year, and the average rate of recovery of the amounts paid to beneficiaries.