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Slovak Republic - Initial report [2001] UNCESCRSPR 5; E/1990/5/Add.49 (11 July 2001)

UNITED NATIONS		E
	Economic and Social Council	Distr. GENERAL E/1990/5/Add.49 11 July 2001 Original: ENGLISH

Substantive session of 2001

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT
ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

Initial reports submitted by States parties
under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant
Addendum
Slovak Republic
[28 February 2001]
GE.0143327 (E) 290801

CONTENTS

Paragraphs Page

Introduction 1 3 3

I. GENERAL INFORMATION 4 11 3

II. IMPLEMENTATION OF INDIVIDUAL

ARTICLES OF THE COVENANT 12 173 9

Article 1 13 15 9

Article 2 16 10

Article 3 17 18 11

Article 4 19 11

Article 5 20 12

Article 6 21 29 12

Article 7 30 43 16

Article 8 44 53 20

Article 9 54 89 24

Article 10 90 102 34

Article 11 103 117 37

Article 12 118 135 41

Article 13 136 155 47

Article 14 156 54

Article 15 157 173 54

CONCLUSIONS 174 175 60

List of annexes 61

Introduction

1. In accordance with the provisions of article 16 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (further referred to as the “Covenant”), the Slovak Republic a State party to this international document is submitting a report on the legislative, administrative and other measures adopted by the Slovak Republic in order to implement the provisions of the Covenant. The submitted document represents the initial and second periodic reports of the Slovak Republic. The report was elaborated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic in cooperation with other relevant sectors on the basis of the United Nations manual containing recommendations and principles which should be taken into account in the content and format of individual initial reports concerning United Nations international human rights conventions. The valuable experience of nongovernmental organizations active in the field of human rights in the Slovak Republic was used in the elaboration of this report.

2. The Covenant was signed on behalf of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic on 7 October 1968 in New York and subsequently ratified by the President. The instrument of ratification was deposited with the United Nations SecretaryGeneral, the Covenant’s depository, on 23 December 1975. In accordance with the provisions of article 27, the Covenant entered into force on 3 January 1976. For the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the Covenant entered into force on 23 March 1976. The text of the Covenant was published through a Minister of Foreign Affairs Decree of 10 May 1976 published in the Collection of Laws under No. 120 in 1976. The President of the CSSR ratified the Covenant with a declaration concerning article 26 (1). As a result of succession from the former Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (CSFR) (formerly the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic/Czechoslovak Republic), the Slovak Republic became a State party to the Covenant on 28 May 1993 with retroactive effect from 1 January 1993.

3. In line with the provisions of article 23 of the Covenant, the Slovak Republic agreed that international action for the achievement of the rights recognized in the Covenant includes such methods as the conclusion of conventions, the adoption of recommendations, the furnishing of technical assistance and the holding of regional meetings and technical meetings for the purpose of consultation and study organized in conjunction with the Governments concerned.

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

4. The Slovak Republic was established on 1 January 1993 on the basis of Constitutional Act No. 542/1992 Coll. on the Dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic. Following the elections to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in September 1998, 74 political parties and 22 political movements operate in the territory of the Slovak Republic and are listed in alphabetical order in the table below. The initial and second periodic report monitors the period from the establishment of the Slovak Republic on 1 January 1993 to 31 October 2000.

Table 1. Political parties

Table 2. Political movements

5. At the time of the establishment of the republic, extraordinary attention was paid to continuity and stability of the legal system the basic prerequisite for the stability of State institutions and observance of human rights. Constitutional laws, laws and other generally binding legal regulations [of the CSFR] remain in force in the Slovak Republic unless they are at variance with the Constitution (article 152 (1) of the Constitution). All fundamental norms guaranteeing democracy, legality, and human rights and freedoms, including international treaties to which the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic was a party on the day of its dissolution, were assumed to the Slovak legal system. The Slovak Republic succeeded to the following United Nations human rights conventions Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (No. 32/1955 Coll.) and International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (No. 95/1974 Coll.). The notice of succession to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (No. 120/76 Coll.) and to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (No. 120/76 Coll.) was published in the Collection of Laws under No. 53/1994 Coll. The Slovak Republic succeeded to the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (No. 116/1976 Coll.), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (No. 62/1987 Coll.), Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (No. 143/1988 Coll.), Convention on the Rights of the Child (No. 104/1991 Coll.), and the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (No. 169/1991 Coll.). The Slovak Republic ratified the second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (published in the Collection of Laws under No. 327/1999 Coll.) and the instruments of acceptance of the amendment to article 43 (2) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child were deposited on behalf of the Slovak Republic on 29 July 1999.

6. The Slovak Republic is a party to a number of international conventions and multilateral treaties signed or ratified by organizations other than the United Nations. These include the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereafter ECHR), published in the Collection of Laws under No. 209/1992 Coll., which, in article 14, enacts the enjoyment of human rights without discrimination on any grounds. The Slovak Republic became a contracting party to the ECHR on 1 January 1993 and on 1 November 1998 ratified Protocol 11 to the ECHR restructuring the machinery established by the Convention. The Slovak Republic signed Protocol 12 to the ECHR relating to article 14 of the ECHR in Rome on 6 November 2000. On 14 September 1995, the Slovak Republic was the third Council of Europe member to ratify the Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities and this document entered into force for the Slovak Republic on 1 February 1998. Through resolution No. 1026 of 27 March 1998, the National Council of the Slovak Republic expressed its agreement with the European Social Charter (ESC) and the Prime Minister, on behalf of the President, ratified the Charter on 29 May 1998. The Slovak Republic undertook to implement 18 articles of the ESC immediately following the entry into force of this human rights document.

7. In accordance with article 11 of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic and article 2 of Constitutional Act No. 23/1991 Coll. introducing the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms as a Constitutional Act of the Federal Assembly of the Czech and Slovak Republic, international treaties on human rights and fundamental freedoms ratified by the Slovak Republic and promulgated in a manner determined by law take priority over its own laws, providing that they secure a greater extent of fundamental rights and freedoms, and are generally binding in its territory.

8. Fundamental rights and freedoms are protected by the Constitution in the Slovak Republic. The Slovak legal system respects the equality of citizens before the law and provides equal protection to everyone. Article 12 of the Constitution provides that fundamental rights and freedoms in the territory of the Slovak Republic are guaranteed to everyone regardless of gender, race, colour of skin, language, creed and religion, political or other beliefs, national or social origin, affiliation to a nationality or ethnic group, property, descent or other status. No one may be harmed, preferred or discriminated against on these grounds. The Constitution maintains this basic principle in all of its provisions. Provisions on economic, social and cultural rights set forth in the Covenant are enacted in the fifth section of the second chapter of the Constitution, articles 35 to 43.

9. The geographical location of the Slovak Republic and its historical development have left a significant mark on the ethnic structure of our country’s population. Along with citizens of Slovak nationality (85.7 per cent), citizens affiliating themselves with a further 11 nationalities live in the Slovak Republic (according to Statistical Office data as of 31 December 1994): Hungarian (10.6 per cent), Roma, Czech (1 per cent), Ukrainian, Ruthenian, German, Moravian and Silesian, Croatian, Polish, Bulgarian and Jewish. From the standpoint of historical development, sociodemographic characteristics, urban indicators, the level of development of ethnic cultures, ethnic identity and relations with the majority nation, there are large differences between individual nationalities living in the territory of the Slovak Republic. As of 31 December 1999, almost 5.4 million people lived in the territory of the Slovak Republic. There were 946 males per 1,000 females. The number of the male population had increased by 25,000 since 1993, while the number of women increased by as many as 37,000 over the same period. The fall in the number of children, in particular male, is apparent in the population structure and results from the decreasing birth rate. According to Statistical Office data, the fall in the number of newly born children will be even more apparent after the turn of the century, when people born during the population boom in the 1940s (19401950) will reach the age of 60.

10. Economic, social and cultural rights in the Slovak Republic are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Slovak Republic (hereafter “the Constitution”). Article 35 (1) of the Constitution enacts the principle of free choice of profession and training for it, as well as the right to engage in entrepreneurial or other gainful activity. The right to work is guaranteed by the Constitution under article 35 (3) and the right to just and adequate working conditions is set forth in article 36 of the Constitution. Another guarantee of the observance of economic, social and cultural rights in Slovakia is the right to associate freely, the right to establish trade unions and the right to strike (article 37 of the Constitution). Women, minors and persons with impaired health are entitled to enhanced protection of their health at work and special working conditions (article 38 of the Constitution). The Constitution guarantees social rights under article 39, which states the following: “Citizens have the right to adequate material provision in old age, in the event of work disability, as well as in the event of losing their provider.” The right to the protection of one’s health is enacted in article 40 of the Constitution, together with the right to free health care. Marriage, parenthood and the family are under the protection of the law and the special protection of children and minors is guaranteed (article 41 (1) of the Constitution). Special care, protection in labour relations and corresponding working conditions are guaranteed to women during pregnancy, while children born in and out of wedlock enjoy equal rights (article 41 (2) and (3) of the Constitution). Article 42 of the Constitution enacts the right to education for everyone, while school attendance is compulsory. Citizens have the right to free education at primary and secondary schools. Article 43 of the Constitution enacts the right of free access to cultural heritage and guarantees freedom of scientific research and art. The rights to the results of creative intellectual activity are protected by law. All listed rights are also enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms adopted through Constitutional Act of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic No. 23/1991 of 9 January 1991.

11. Through the Slovak Republic’s accession to the Council of Europe and succession to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the relevance of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Commission for Human Rights in Strasbourg was established.

II. IMPLEMENTATION OF INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES
OF THE CONVENTION

12. The internal legislation and measures taken for its implementation in the Slovak Republic equally protect the economic, social and cultural rights of the citizens of the Slovak Republic and persons under the jurisdiction of the Slovak Republic (not only citizens of the Slovak Republic).

Article 1

13. This article is identical with article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Slovak Republic has presented its position on this article in section II, article 1 of its initial report to the Committee on Civil and Political Rights. The Slovak Republic expressed its position on the right of selfdetermination in its initial report under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in 1996 (CEDAW/SVK/1) and published on 20 July 1996 (sect. 1, arts. 34).

14. The Slovak Republic is a sovereign and democratic State with the rule of law. It was established on the basis of a constitutional act on the dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic. On 17 July 1992, the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Slovak Republic was adopted. By virtue of the internationally recognized natural right of peoples to selfdetermination, it declares the sovereignty of the Slovak Republic as the basis of a sovereign nation. All basic norms of the former CSFR, guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, and human rights and freedoms, were assumed to the Slovak legal system. The provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms were incorporated directly into the Constitution. Slovakia is a parliamentary republic based on the division of power between legislative, executive and judicial branches. The Head of the Slovak Republic is the President. The President is elected by the citizens of the Slovak Republic in direct elections by secret ballot for a period of five years (amendment to article 101 of the Constitution through Constitutional Act No. 9/1999 Coll. amending the Constitution of the Slovak Republic and Act No. 9/1999 Coll, on the Method of Election and Dismissal of the President of the Slovak Republic by Popular Vote). The right to elect the President is given to citizens of the Slovak Republic who have reached the age of 18 and are present in the territory of the Slovak Republic on the day of the elections.

15. Section 1, article 4 of the Constitution states the following: “Natural wealth, underground water, natural medicinal springs and waterways are in the ownership of the Slovak Republic.” A more detailed definition of article 4 of the Constitution was incorporated in Act No. 44/1998 Coll. on the Protection and Use of Mineral Resources (Mining Act), as amended by later regulations.

Article 2

16. Measures aimed at eliminating all forms of racial discrimination and exercising the rights formulated in the Covenant are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Slovak Republic and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the provisions of which were incorporated in the provisions of the Penal Code (Act No. 140/1961 Coll. as amended), as stated under article 2 in the initial report concerning the Convention submitted to CERD in 1999. With reference to article 11 of the Constitution, all rights set forth in the Covenant are directly applicable in Slovakia’s internal legislation. In conformity with article 14 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as amended by Protocol 11, valid from 1 November 1998 (the full text was published in the Collection of Laws under No. 102/1999) and provisions of the International Convention on Human and Civil Rights, article 12 (2) of the Constitution lays down the following: “Basic rights and freedoms in the territory of the Slovak Republic are guaranteed to everyone regardless of gender, race, colour of skin, creed and religion, political or other beliefs, national or social origin, affiliation to a nationality or ethnic group, property, descent, or other status. No one may be harmed, preferred, or discriminated against on these grounds.” Article 52 of the Constitution states: “In the Slovak Republic, foreign nationals enjoy basic human rights and freedoms guaranteed by this Constitution, unless these are expressly granted only to [Slovak] citizens.” The ban on discrimination is also laid down in the Civil Code, the Commercial Code and paragraph 6 of Act No. 634/1992 Coll. on Consumer Protection, as amended by later regulations.

Article 3

17. Equal rights for men and women are laid down in article 12 of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, which reads as follows: “People are free and equal in dignity and rights. Basic rights and freedoms are undeniable, inalienable, illimitable, and irrepealable. Basic rights and freedoms in the territory of the Slovak Republic are guaranteed to everyone regardless of gender, race, colour of skin, language, creed and religion, political or other beliefs, national or social origin, affiliation to a nationality or ethnic group, property, descent, or other status. No one may be harmed, preferred, or discriminated against on these grounds.” All legal regulations of the Slovak Republic guarantee the equal status of men and women. The Labour Code guarantees women the right to enjoy equal status at work with men.

18. In order to ensure equal rights for men and women, in 1996 the Government created the Coordination Committee for Women’s Issues (CCWI), a national institutional mechanism functioning as a coordination, initiatory and advisory body to the Government for the support of women’s interests in all areas of the life of society. The CCWI was the guarantor of the elaboration of the National Action Plan for Women approved by the Government in 1997 with the aim of improving the status of women in selected strategic areas of the life of society. Another step relating to the institutional framework for ensuring equal rights to men and women was the establishment of the Equal Opportunities Department (EOD) at the Labour Ministry in 1999. The key task of the EOD is the harmonization of Slovak law with European Union law.

Article 4

19. The rights provided by the Covenant may be subjected to limitations in the Slovak legislation on the basis of provisions set forth in chapter II, section 1, article 13 (1) to (4) of the Constitution, which read as follows: “Duties may be imposed only by law and within its limit and only if the fundamental rights and freedoms are respected. Any limits imposed on fundamental rights and freedoms can be set only by law, under conditions laid down by this Constitution. Legal limitations of constitutional rights and freedoms must apply equally to all cases meeting the set conditions. When restricting constitutional rights and freedoms, attention must be paid to their essence and meaning. These restrictions must not be used for any other than the set purpose.” Article 35 of the Constitution states “A different regulation of rights listed under sections 1 through 3 can be specified by law for foreign nationals”. The Constitution sets forth another limitation under article 3 (3): “Activities of trade unions and the establishment and operation of other associations protecting economic and social interests can be restricted by law if such a measure is unavoidable in a democratic society to protect the security of the State, public order, or the rights and freedoms of others.” Article 37 (4) of the Constitution lays down the following: “The right to strike is guaranteed. The conditions will be defined by law. This right does not appertain to judges, prosecutors, members of the armed forces and armed corps, and members of the fire brigade.” Article 41 (4) of the Constitution states: “Care of children and their upbringing are the right of their parents; children are entitled to parental care and upbringing. Parental rights may be limited and minor children may be taken away from their parents against the latter’s will only by means of a court ruling based on the law.” The last limitation of rights in the Constitution is defined in article 54: “The law may limit the right of judges and prosecutors to engage in entrepreneurial and other economic activities and the right listed under article 29 (2); the law may also limit the rights listed under articles 27 and 28 of employees of State administration bodies and territorial selfgovernment bodies in designated functions, if these are related to the execution of their duties. The law may restrict the right to strike of persons in professions which are vital for the protection of life and health.” A limitation of the right to strike is also laid down by Collective Bargaining Act No. 2/1991 Coll. as amended by Act No. 519/1991 Coll. and 54/1996 Coll.

Article 5

20. This article is identical with article 5 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Slovak Republic has presented its position on this article in section 11, article 5, of its initial report submitted to the Committee on Civil and Political Rights in 1995. The provisions of the International Convention on Human and Civil Rights were incorporated in article 11 of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. Article 11 reads as follows: “International treaties on human rights and fundamental freedoms ratified by the Slovak Republic and promulgated in a manner determined by law take priority over its own laws providing that they secure a greater extent of fundamental rights and freedoms.” Under article 13 (3) and (4) of the Constitution, when restricting fundamental rights and freedoms there is a balance between public and private interest. In these provisions, the Constitution literally states that “legal restrictions of constitutional rights and freedoms must apply equally to all cases and when restricting constitutional rights and freedoms, attention must be paid to their essence and meaning.” Legislators do not possess unrestricted competencies in the exercise of their legislative power. They are limited and bound by the Constitution. The Constitutional Court has also stated this fact in one of its legal opinions: “If the National Council of the Slovak Republic intends to regulate certain social relations by law, it can do so only to the extent and in a manner which conforms with the Constitution.” (PL. ÚS No. 29/95, Collection of Findings and Rulings of the Constitutional Court, 1995, Košice 1996, p. 77).

Article 6

21. The realization of the right to work in the Slovak Republic is guaranteed by the Constitution (sect. 5, art. 35 (3)) and related legal regulations, in particular the Labour Code (Act No. 65/1965 Coll. as amended by later regulations) and National Council of the Slovak Republic Act No. 387/1996 Coll. on Employment as amended by Act No. 70/1997 Coll., Act No. 354/1997 Coll., Act No. 366/1997 Coll., Act No. 386/1997 Coll., Act No. 394/1998 Coll., Act No. 56/1999 Coll., Act No. 292/1999 Coll., Act No. 95/2000 Coll., Act No. 241/2000 Coll., and Act No. 245/2000 Coll. These legal regulations express the basic principles of the legislation on labour law relations.

22. The Slovak Republic is a contractual party to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention of 1964 concerning Employment Policy (No. 122), which, following ratification by the President of the Czechoslovak Federal Republic (CSFR), entered into force on 15 July 1976. The ILO Convention of 1958 concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation (No. 111) entered into force following ratification by the President of the CSFR on 21 January 1965. The Slovak Republic is a signatory of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Slovak Republic submitted its initial report under that Convention in 1999 (CERD/C/328/Add.1). (The right to work was addressed in paragraphs 176 to 178 of that document.)

23. Under article 35 (3) of the Constitution, citizens have the right to work. The State, to an appropriate extent, provides materially for citizens who are unable to exercise this right through no fault of their own. The objective to reach and maintain the highest and most stable employment possible is enacted in paragraph 1 (1) of National Council of the Slovak Republic Act No. 387/1996 Coll. on Employment as a goal of the employment policy. The aim of the employment policy is, in particular, to provide work for everyone who can and wants to work and seek employment; make free choice of employment and acquisition of qualifications for a suitable profession possible; create and maintain a balance between labour supply and demand; minimize the extent of unemployment; provide unemployment benefits at an appropriate level to citizens who through no fault of their own become unemployed, so that they are motivated to seek employment; provide training and requalification for professions, corresponding with labour market demand; create conditions for the creation of new jobs; create conditions for the maintenance of employment and prevention of collective redundancies; take measures to support professional mobility with the aim of adapting labour supply to the possibilities for employment in various professions, and territorial mobility with the aim of supporting the relocation of employees to areas with opportunities for suitable employment; and provide free employment mediation and free advice to citizens.

24. The key measures for the implementation of these goals were formulated in the Policy Statement of the Government of the Slovak Republic of 1998, Employment Policy Concept until 2002, approved through governmental resolution No. 1036 of 25 November 1999, which contains the “National Employment Plan”, and the “Analysis of the current situation in unemployment and possible solutions” (a document approved through governmental resolution No. 100 of 23 February 2000). The abovementioned Employment Policy Concept until 2002 was preceded by the Employment Policy Concept (including State policy, labour market policy and the employment services concept) approved through governmental resolution No. 75 of 1 February 1996. As set forth in paragraph 3 (2) (a) of National Council of the Slovak Republic Act No. 387/1996 Coll. on Employment, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (MLSAF) determines labour market policy priorities for the relevant year and the long term. As regards employment, the Government’s Policy Statement of 1998 states the following: “Basic priorities of the Government’s policy include growth in productive employment based on economic growth and restructuring of the economy that takes the need to create new job opportunities into account, thereby creating conditions for gradually decreasing unemployment”.

25. The right to work, free choice of profession and just and suitable working conditions was enacted in article III of the Basic Principles of the Labour Code, which is based on the provisions of articles 12 and 36 of the Constitution. Article III provides that these rights appertain to a natural person without any restrictions or discrimination with regard to race, colour of skin, language, gender, social origin, age, religion, political or other opinions, political affiliation, involvement in trade unions, or affiliation to a nationality or ethnic group. A labour law relationship can only be established with the consent of the natural person and employer. The exercise of rights and obligations arising from labour law relations must be in conformity with ethical rules and civic coexistence and no one may abuse these rights to the detriment of another party to the labour law relationship or coemployees. Act No. 292/1999 Coll. amending National Council of the Slovak Republic Act No. 387/1996 Coll. on Employment as amended by later regulations was based on ILO Convention No. 168/1998 concerning Employment Promotion and Protection against Unemployment and Recommendation No. 176 supplementing this Convention. Effective from 1 December 1999, pursuant to the amendment to Employment Act No. 387/1996 Coll. “employers must not publish job offers containing any restrictions or discrimination with regard to race, colour of skin, language, gender, social origin, age, religion, political affiliation, involvement in trade unions, affiliation to a nationality or ethnic group, or other status”.

26. The Labour Code is a labour law document ensuring equal job opportunities and conditions for everyone, i.e. for both men and women. The ban on night work of women was discriminatory in nature. The Slovak Republic is neither bound by ILO Convention No. 4 of 1919 concerning Employment of Women during the Night nor ILO Convention No. 41 of 1934 concerning Employment of Women during the Night (Revised). It is, however, bound by ILO Convention No. 89 (Revised) of 1948 concerning Night Work of Women Employed in Industry, published in the Collection of Laws under No. 17/1991 Coll. and in Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) Notice No. 110/1997 Coll. The ban on night work of women was lifted through Act No. 297/1999 Coll. amending the Labour Code, which cancelled the discriminatory provisions paragraphs 151 and 152 of the Labour Code; the conditions for night work were newly defined in the provisions of paragraph 99 of the Labour Code. The law’s provisions impose on employers the obligation to provide equal conditions for night work for men and women. In the new Labour Code, expected to enter into force on 1 January 2002, provisions will be added providing employees with the possibility to turn to a court if the principle of equal treatment is not fulfilled. In conformity with the requirements of the Governing Body of the International Labour Office for 2000, the Slovak Republic will elaborate a detailed report on the application of ILO Convention No. 89 of 1948 concerning Night Work of Women Employed in Industry.

27. National Council of the Slovak Republic Act No. 387/1996 Coll. on Employment, as amended by later regulations, provides foreigners and stateless persons who are participants in legal relations arising under this act with the same legal status as the citizens of the Slovak Republic. The employment of foreigners itself is governed by international treaties and the Slovak legal system. The employment of foreigners in the territory of the Slovak Republic falls under the competence of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. The Border and Alien Police Department of the Presidium of the Police Force cooperates in the field of the employment of foreigners by issuing permits for residence in the Slovak Republic for this purpose. A foreigner may be employed only if he has been granted longterm residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic on the basis of a visa awarded for the purposes of employment and an employment permit by the relevant district labour office, or if he has been granted permanent residence, refugee status, temporary refuge, or is a Slovak expatriate. The granting of longterm residence permits is governed by National Council of the Slovak Republic Act No. 73/1995 Coll. on the Residence of Foreigners in the Territory of the Slovak Republic and internal implementing regulation Police Force President Order No. 14/1998 on the procedure in affairs related to the residence of foreigners in the territory of the Slovak Republic. Trade Law No. 455/1991 Coll. places no restrictions on the right to engage in entrepreneurial activities. Equal rights are enjoyed by citizens of the Slovak Republic and foreigners living in the territory of the Slovak Republic, or foreign persons. As regards foreign persons, access to entrepreneurial activities under the Trade Law was liberalized in 1994. As set forth in implementing regulations to paragraph 8 (1) of Act No. 73/1995 Coll., foreigners submit requests for residence permits for the purposes of employment to Slovak diplomatic representations abroad. The removal of the residence barrier (as regards the employment of foreigners in Slovakia) is expected on the date of Slovakia’s accession to the European Union. An exception is applied to citizens of the Czech Republic, whose employment and the granting of longterm residence to whom are governed by the Treaty between the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic on the Mutual Employment of Citizens, of 1992.

28. The basic labour law regulation concerning the right of employed women to protection is the Labour Code, which, under article VII of the Basic Principles, provides that women will be granted working conditions enabling them to participate in work not only with a view to their physiological prerequisites but also their social function in maternity as regards the upbringing and care of children. The employment of women in Slovakia decreases every year, yet their employment rate continues to be relatively high. The share of economically active women in the economically active population was 46.4 per cent at the end of 1996 and it fell to 44.9 per cent in 1997. The concentration of women in the health care and education sectors has become a traditional problem of the employment of women. The male population has traditionally prevailed in managerial jobs, i.e. jobs more attractive with regard to pay and prestige. A certain discrimination is also reflected in the increase of the educational level of women and their job positions. The failure to utilize the educational and qualification potential of women, reflected in the low degree of vertical mobility and career promotion, continued in the period under review. The highest cumulation of women is among lower administrative staff. The auxiliary and unqualified labour force accounts for a significant segment of the employment of women. This means that the comparable educational level of women and men is not reflected in their participation in the managerial sphere and in their job positions.

29. The Employment Policy Concept until 2002 contains an analysis of developments in labour market supply and demand and an analysis of macroeconomic development between 1989 and 1998. The document also outlines the key goals of the employment policy. These goals are based on the need to gradually build the employment policy upon the starting points and conclusions on employment policy arising from a number of European Union summits (in particular the conclusions of the Essen, Amsterdam and Luxembourg summits). The analytical, prognostic and goalrelated sections of the Employment Policy Concept until 2002 concludes with the National Employment Plan, which was elaborated on the basis of instructions from the European Union for the preparation of national employment action plans. It consists of four pillars: improvement of employability, development of entrepreneurship, encouragement of the adaptability of businesses and their employees, and reinforcement of policies for equal opportunities. The concept emphasizes that growth in employment is above all conditional upon the pace of economic growth. The Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and the Family is preparing two projects related to two risk groups in the labour market which have major problems with finding a job. The first is the “Programme to support the employment of the longterm unemployed” and the second is the “Recommendation to the National Labour Office to implement the shortterm programme to support the employment of young people.” The table “Sample Labour Force Survey” (Annexes 1 and 1a to this report) gives an overview of the unemployed in the Slovak Republic in the period 19941999 by sex, age and education. An increase in the average number of vacant jobs announced by employers to labour offices compared with the preceding year was recorded in 1992 (171.3 per cent), 1995 (142.5 per cent), 1996 (112.1 per cent) and 1997 (139.2 per cent). Between 1991 and 1999, the Employment Fund or the National Labour Office used the largest amount of their finance for active labour market policy in the period 19951997. The largest decrease in the average number of vacant jobs was recorded in 1998 (70.9 per cent) and 1999 (54.1 per cent). The volume of finance used for the active labour market policy by the National Labour Office also fell substantially in these years. With regard to the structure of vacant jobs at the end of 1999, the highest number of vacant jobs announced by employers to labour offices was for qualified workers (55.5 per cent of the total) and experts and administrative staff (20.4 per cent). Vacancies for auxiliary and unqualified workers had the lowest share in the total (9.3 per cent).

Article 7

30. The Slovak Republic is a party to the ILO Convention concerning the Application of the Weekly Rest in Industrial Undertakings (No. 14) of 1921, the ILO Convention concerning Minimum Wage Fixing (No. 131) of 1970, the ILO Convention concerning Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value (No. 100) of 1951, and the ILO Convention concerning Occupational Safety and Health and the Working Environment (No. 155) of 1981. The provisions of these conventions have been incorporated in the Slovak Republic’s legislation and the basic legal norms relating to remuneration reflect them.

31. An amendment to the Wages Act No. 1/1992 Coll. entered into force on 1 July 1999. Its aim was to increase the legal protection of employees, who could be harmed as a result of the misapplication of the equal status of men and women. Act No. 143/1992 Coll. on the Pay and Remuneration for Being on Standby Duty of Employees in Budgetary and Certain Other Organizations as amended by later regulations, which, like the abovementioned act, concerns the remuneration of employees, is also based on this principle. The law uses the universal term “employee”.

32. The minimum wage is guaranteed by a law (Minimum Wage Act No. 90/1996 Coll. as amended by later regulations) applicable to all employees in the Slovak economy. The last amendment to the above law, effective from 1 October 2000, adjusted the minimum wage in the Slovak Republic to SK 4,400 monthly (SK 23.80 per hour) and thus the minimum wage exceeded the current minimum subsistence amount for an adult person. A number of factors is taken into account when adjusting the minimum wage, in particular an agreement with or positions of the Government’s social partners. Additional factors include:

The current minimum subsistence level for an adult person specified by law (Act No. 125/1998 Coll. on the Subsistence Minimum and the Determination of Sums for the Purposes of State Social Benefits);

The movement in the cost of living index since the last adjustment of the minimum wage;

The level of the lowest tariff wages or minimum wages agreed upon in highlevel collective agreements. The law makes it possible to agree upon a higher minimum wage than that guaranteed by the State, which is utilized in practice;

Statistically recorded lowest wages and the statistically recorded number of recipients of the minimum wage.

33. Following consideration of all the factors referred to in the preceding section, a draft act is submitted to the Council of Economic and Social Consensus (CESC) the highest of the tripartite bodies. This body’s comments are announced to the Government of the Slovak Republic prior to its discussion of the respective draft act.

34. The lowest or minimum wages are established in highlevel collective agreements registered with the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and the Family and can be monitored in the context of inspections of the observance of labour law regulations, including wage regulations, as set forth in paragraph 270 (a) of the Labour Code.

35. Current labour law regulations in the Slovak Republic do not differentiate between genders; they are therefore equally applicable to men and women. The aim is to ensure the monitoring and observance of equal remuneration of women and men for the same work or work of equal value. In conformity with this intention, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family requested assistance from EU experts in the interpretation of Council Directive 75/117/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the member States relating to the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women, focused on the issue of monitoring and observance. With the aim of improving the general situation of women, certain institutions were created (the Coordination Committee for Women, Women’s Club at the National Council) and, with support from UNDP, the National Centre for Equality between Men and Women was set up.

36. The development in nominal monthly wages of employees in Slovakia by individual spheres and type of ownership can be seen in the following table:

Table 3. Average nominal monthly wage in the Slovak Republic

Source: Statistical Office.

¹ In view of the fact that the methodology for the determination of the average wage was changed in 1998 (remuneration for being on standby duty is no longer included for the calculation of the average wage), comparable data, i.e. data recorded using the 1997 methodology, were used in the determination of yearonyear indices for 1998.

² Nonbusiness sphere includes budgetary and semibudgetary organizations.

37. Legislation on safe and healthy working conditions is contained in a number of generally binding legal regulations in the Slovak Republic. The basic requirements for the protection of safety and health of employees, which must be fulfilled by both employers and employees alongside jobrelated tasks and within the scope of their competence, are laid down by the Labour Code, Act No. 51/1988 Coll. on Mining Activities, Explosives and State Mining Administration, Act No. 272/1994 Coll. on the Protection of People’s Health, and Act No. 330/1996 Coll. on Safety and Health at Work. Secondarily, the issues of safety and health of employees are addressed in a number of decrees of the relevant central State administration bodies, e.g. Decree No. 45/1966 Coll. on the creation and protection of healthy living conditions, Decree No. 8/1981 Coll. on safety and health at work in drilling and geophysical operations, and exploitation and refining of gases and liquids, Decree No. 59/1982 Coll. defining the basic requirements for securing safety of work and technical installations, and Decree No. 377/1996 Coll. on the provision of personal protective equipment. The last amendment to the Labour Code, made through Act No. 297/1999 Coll., added certain other basic obligations of employees, such as to assess the risks arising from work, take measures in the event of extraordinary situations, periodically inspect the progress made in cooperation with employees, etc. Through the adoption of Act No. 95/2000 Coll. on Labour Inspection and on Amendment to Certain Laws, which replaced former Act No. 174/1968 Coll., legal conditions were created effective from 1 July 2000 for the reinforcement of the inspection of employers, focusing on the implementation of legal regulations on the protection of employees’ lives and health, and labour law and wage regulations, including the observance of the principle of equal pay and commitments arising from collective agreements. With the aim of improving the situation in the field of the protection of employees’ safety and health, a package of new legal regulations is currently under preparation within the framework of the Slovak Republic’s integration activities.

38. Under paragraph 102 (1) of the Labour Code, the basic length of employees’ paid holidays is fixed at four weeks for all types of employers. This provision is applied to all employees regardless of age. Under paragraph 102 (2) of the Labour Code, employees who, by the end of the calendar year, will have worked for 15 years after reaching the age of 18 are entitled to 5 weeks’ paid holidays.

39. In a collective agreement, paid holidays of employees employed by private businesses can be extended by one week compared with the period fixed by paragraph 102 (1) and (2) of the Labour Code. Organizations in which no trade unions operate can specify this entitlement in an internal regulation (para. 102 (3)). Teachers, including heads of schools and their deputies, are entitled to eight weeks’ annual paid holidays; nursery school teachers, including heads of these schools and their deputies, instructors and vocational training supervisors are entitled to six weeks’ annual paid holidays (para. 102 (4)).

40. Under paragraph 101, employees who have worked for the same employer continuously for a period of at least 60 days in a calendar year become entitled to annual paid holidays, or a proportional amount thereof if the employment has not lasted continuously for the period of a whole calendar year. The proportional amount of paid holidays is one twelfth of the paid holidays for a calendar year for each calendar month of continuous work for the same employer. Under paragraph 104, employees who have not become entitled to paid annual holidays, nor a

proportional amount thereof, since they have not worked for the same employer for a minimum period of 60 days, are entitled to paid holidays for the number of days they have worked one twelfth of paid annual holidays for each 22 days in the relevant calendar year.

41. During paid holidays, employees are entitled to their average wage and any benefits in kind. Under Governmental Ordinance No. 25/1985 Coll., employees of construction enterprises are entitled to one week of special supplementary annual paid holiday if they are working on construction sites under particularly difficult working conditions, i.e. if they are exposed to:

Unfavourable effects of construction technology and work procedures;

Unfavourable climatic conditions;

High physical or neuropsychological stress;

Increased risk of work injury.

Under Governmental Ordinance No. 75/1982 Coll., employees permanently working in underground coalmines working Saturday shifts fixed by the extraction regime are entitled to special supplementary paid holidays. These employees are entitled to one day’s special supplementary paid holiday for each Saturday they have worked like this. If they work under these conditions only for a section of a calendar year, they are entitled to one twelfth of the supplementary paid holidays for each 22 days they have worked like this. Pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 110 (b) of the Labour Code, the supplementary and special supplementary paid holidays must always be used and must be used preferentially.

42. Under paragraph 91 (1) of the Labour Code, rest days are days of employees’ weekly rest and national or bank holidays. Act No. 241/1993 Coll. on National Holidays, Public Holidays and Memorial Days, as amended by Act No. 201/1996 Coll., specified the following days in a calendar year as national holidays: 1 January (Independence of the Slovak Republic), 5 July (St. Cyril and St. Methodius Day), 29 August (Anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising) and 1 September (Slovak Constitution Day). The following days were specified as bank holidays: 6 January (Epiphany Three Kings’ Day), Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May (May Day), 8 May (Day of Victory over Fascism), 15 September (Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows), 1 November (All Saints’ Day), 24 December (Christmas Eve), 25 December (Christmas Day), and 26 December (Boxing Day). All of the above are public holidays. Under paragraph 91 (2) of the Labour Code, work on public holidays can only be ordered in extraordinary cases and this must be negotiated with the relevant trade union authority. Pursuant to paragraph 91 (3) of the Labour Code, on a weekly rest day, employees can only be ordered to undertake the following unavoidable work, which cannot be done on working days:

(a) Urgent repair work;

(b) Loading and unloading work;

(c) Inventory taking and accountclosing work;

(d) Work in permanent operation units, in place of an employee who has failed to turn up for the shift;

(e) Work to avert a threat to life or health in the event of natural disasters or other similar extraordinary events;

(f) Work necessary with regard to the satisfaction of the population’s basic, health and cultural needs;

(g) Work of boat crew members;

(h) Feeding and treatment of livestock.

Under paragraph 91 (4) of the Labour Code, on a national or public holiday, employees can only be ordered to undertake work that can be ordered on the weekly rest days, in units that operate permanently or necessary for the guarding of employer’s buildings.

43. Under paragraph 6 of Act No. 1/1992 Coll. on Wages, Remuneration for Being on Standby Duty and Average Wages, as amended by later regulations, employees are entitled to their wages and extra pay of at least 50 per cent of their average wage for work on national or public holidays. If the employer and employee have agreed upon compensatory time off for working on holidays, the employee is not entitled to extra pay. The pay agreed in work contracts with managerial staff may take preparatory work on holidays into account. Under paragraph 14 of Act No. 143/1992 Coll. on the Pay and Remuneration for Being on Standby Duty of Employees in Budgetary and Certain Other Organizations and Bodies, as amended by a later regulation, employees are entitled to pay increased by 100 per cent of their average hourly earnings for each hour worked on a national or public holiday, unless the employer and employee have agreed upon compensatory time off. Employees are entitled to compensation pay amounting to their average wage for each day of compensation rest provided in exchange for work on a national or public holiday. An employee who has not worked because a public holiday fell on a working day is entitled to a substitute wage (salary) equal to his average wage. No category of employees is excluded from the enjoyment of these rights. Under paragraph 110 (2) of the Labour Code, if, at the time an employee is on paid holiday, a national or public holiday falls on a day which is normally his working day, this day is not deducted from his paid holiday.

Article 8

44. The Slovak Republic is a party to the ILO Convention concerning the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and to Bargain Collectively (No. 98) of 1949 and the ILO Convention concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (No. 87) of 1948 (published in the Collection of Laws under No. 489/1990 Coll.).

45. In article 37 (1) and (2), the Constitution of the Slovak Republic guarantees the right of everyone to associate freely with others in order to protect his economic, social and cultural rights. The establishment of trade unions is governed by Act No. 83/1990 Coll. on Association of Citizens, as amended by later regulations. The adoption of the collective bargaining act and the establishment of the Council of Economic and Social Consensus (CESC) in 1990 legitimized trade unions in the Slovak Republic and enacted their equal status visàvis employers and the Government. Trade unions are established independently of the State. Limitation of the number of trade unions and preferential treatment of any of them in an enterprise or sector is not permitted. Pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 9 (a) of Act No. 300/1990 Coll. amending Act No. 83/1990 Coll. on Association of Citizens, trade unions and employer organizations become legal persons on the day following the day proposals for their registration are delivered to the Ministry of the Interior. A request for the registration of a trade union (or employers’ organization) must be submitted by a minimum of three persons, at least one of whom is older than 18. In order to be entered into the register of trade unions, the trade union has to submit the proposal for registration to the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic together with statutes, which must contain: name of the trade union, address, objective of operation, bodies of the trade union, method of their establishment, specification of bodies and functionaries authorized to act on behalf of the trade union, provisions on organizational units if applicable and if they act on their own behalf, methods of the use of finance, and rights and obligations of members of the trade union.

46. The Ministry of the Interior has registered a total of 389 trade unions, 74 national trade unions and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Slovakia. The list of trade unions associated in the Confederation of Trade Unions (KOZ) and the membership of trade unions under the KOZ can be found in annex 2 to this report.

47. Employees of the State administration and local government employees in the Slovak Republic can freely, without any limitations, establish trade unions and be members of them. There are no legal restrictions on the exercise of relevant rights set forth in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In accordance with paragraph 2 (4) of Act No. 83/1990 Coll. on the Association of Citizens, as amended by later regulations, soldiers in active service are forbidden to establish trade unions and associate in them. Members of the Police Force are entitled to organize themselves in trade unions, in accordance with article 37 of the Constitution. Until 1989, members of the Police Force were not allowed to associate in trade unions under the laws then in force. The Police Trade Union (OZP), a supreme authority representing all basic organizations of members of the Police Force, operates in the Slovak Republic at present. The key goal of OZP is the legal and social security protection of its members. In 1992, OZP became the first union from postcommunist countries to be admitted as a full member to the UISP (Union Internationale des Syndicats de Police). The UISP associates 19 European police trade unions. In 1993, the Confederation of Slovak Police Trade Unions was established in the Slovak Republic. The scope of rights of trade unions associating members of the Police Force and Prison and Court Warden Force in the enforcement and protection of their social interests is laid down by Act No. 73/1998 Coll. on the State Service of Members of the Police Force, Slovak Information Service, Prison and Court Warden Force and Railway Police as amended by later regulations.

48. Under article 37 (4), the Constitution of the Slovak Republic enacts the right to strike in general terms, as one of the social rights of citizens. The term “strike” can also be found in the provisions of article 27 (4) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (Constitutional Act No. 23/1991 Coll.) and the Collective Bargaining Act (Act No. 2/1991 Coll. as amended by later regulations).

49. The Collective Bargaining Act (Act No. 2/1991 Coll.) as amended by Act 519/1991 Coll. and 54/1996 Coll. is the only legal regulation concerning the basic issues relating to the right to strike and the right to collective bargaining. Support for parity consultations between employees and employers is addressed in the Labour Code, Act No. 1/1992 Coll. on Wages, Remuneration for Being on Standby Duty and Average Wages, as amended by later regulations, and in Act No. 143/1992 Coll. on Pay. This mainly concerns working and employment conditions, transfers of enterprises, collective redundancies, etc. An employer’s failure to meet his obligation to debate certain issues with the relevant trade union authority is a violation of labour law regulations and, just like in other cases of violation of labour law regulations, a fine can be imposed on the employer.

50. The law defines strike as a partial or complete stoppage of work by employees. One condition for the declaration of a strike is that the contractual parties have not requested that an arbiter settle the dispute. A solidarity strike is understood to be a strike to support the demands of other employees on strike. One legal condition for a strike is the consent of at least half of the employees whom the collective agreement concerns. In practice, the agreement of employees is determined by vote. The law also specifies the employees who are not allowed to participate in the vote on a strike. Employees who have agreed to a strike are considered its participants over the whole period of the strike. Employees who have agreed to and joined a strike are considered its participants from the day they joined it.

51. In accordance with article 54 of the Constitution, paragraph 20 of the collective bargaining act restricts the right to strike to exclude persons in professions necessary for the protection of life and health. This concerns the following three types of unlawful action:

(i) Failure to observe procedural rules,

(ii) Declaration of a strike at workplaces where strikes are banned, and

(iii) Extraordinary situations.

(i) By law, the following strikes are regarded illegal on the grounds of failure to observe procedural rules:

(a) A strike not preceded by proceedings before the mediator (this does not apply to solidarity strikes);

(b) A strike declared or continuing following the commencement of proceedings before an arbiter or following the conclusion of an agreement;

(c) A strike not declared or started in conformity with the conditions set forth in the collective bargaining act;

(d) A strike declared or started for other reasons than those specified in the collective bargaining act;

(e) A solidarity strike, if the employer of the participants in such a strike, in particular in view of economic ties, is unable to influence the course or result of the strike of employees whose demands are supported by the solidarity strike.

(ii) By law, the following strikes are considered illegal owing to their declaration at a workplace where strikes are banned:

(a) A strike of employees of health or social care establishments, should the strike endanger the life or health of citizens;

(b) A strike of employees operating nuclear power plant facilities, facilities using fissile materials, and oil or gas pipeline facilities;

(c) A strike of judges, prosecutors, members of armed forces and armed corps, and air traffic control and navigation employees;

(d) A strike of members of the fire brigade, employees of company fire brigades, members of rescue corps established in accordance with special regulations for the relevant workplaces, and employees securing the operation of telecommunications, if the strike could endanger the life or health of citizens, or property.

(iii) By law, the following strikes are regarded as illegal on the grounds of an extraordinary situation:

(a) A strike during a state of military emergency and when extraordinary measures are being taken;

(b) A strike of employees working in areas afflicted by natural disasters, in which the relevant State authorities have ordered extraordinary measures to be taken.

The legality of a strike is judged by the regional court in the region where the relevant trade union body is seated. The court rules on a proposal, which can be submitted by:

An employer;

An employer organization;

A prosecutor.

52. The collective bargaining act specifies possible legal consequences of a strike for employees on strike and the relevant trade union.

The act provides that participants of a strike are not entitled to wages or compensation wages for the time they participated in the strike;

Following the entry into force of a court ruling that a strike is unlawful, participation in the strike is considered as illegitimate absence from work;

The act excludes mutual responsibility for damage incurred by employees participants in a strike or employers exclusively as a result of the stoppage of work due to the strike;

The act provides that strike participants are not entitled to sickness benefits if the conditions for the provision of sickness benefits and benefits for the treatment of a family member specified by regulations on sickness insurance were met during his participation in a strike.

53. Data on strikes in Slovakia are the subject of statistical surveys by the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family in the Report on the Social Situation of the Population of the Slovak Republic for the relevant calendar year. The current legislation of the Slovak Republic on collective bargaining and strikes, an extreme example of such legislation, is not in full compliance with European Union documents. In the opinion of European Union experts, the “right to strike” as set forth in the provisions of the European Social Charter is an individual right. However, the Constitution of the Slovak Republic and Collective Bargaining Act No. 2/1991 Coll. give the right to strike the nature of a collective right.

Article 9

54. The Slovak Republic is a party to the ILO Convention of 1952 concerning Minimum Standards of Social Security (No. 102), the ILO Convention of 1967 concerning Invalidity, OldAge and Survivors’ Benefits (No. 128), and the ILO Convention of 1969 concerning Medical Care and Sickness Benefits (No. 130).

55. In section 5, (e) (iv), paragraphs 192 to 195 of the initial report concerning the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 1999, a detailed interpretation of the Slovak Republic’s legislation relating to the right to social security was provided to CERD. The social security system, within the scope specified by ILO Convention No. 102 of 1952 (published in the Collection of Laws under No. 461/1991 Coll.) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Notice No. 110/1997 Coll. (point 36) is currently made up of the following:

Health insurance system, from which medical care is financed;

Sickness insurance system, from which financial benefits in the event of illness and maternity are provided;

Pension security system, from which oldage, disability and survivors’ pensions are provided;

Supplementary pension insurance system, from which additional pensions are provided to employees. Participation in this system is not compulsory and is based on the voluntary employer/employee principle;

Unemployment insurance system, from which unemployment benefits are provided;

State social support system, from which the following family benefits (following the completion of the system, these will be State social assistance benefits) are provided:

Child allowances;

Supplementary child allowances;

Parent’s benefitchildcare benefit;

Foster care benefit;

Foster parent allowance (in accordance with Act No. 268/1998 Coll. on Foster Care);

Childbirth allowance;

Allowance for parents with three or more newborn children or with two sets of twins born in a period of two years;

Housing benefit (in accordance with Act No. 300/1999 Coll. on the Housing Benefit);

Funeral benefit;

Social assistance system, from which social assistance benefits are provided (in accordance with Act No. 195/1998 Coll. on Social Assistance as amended by later regulations):

Material need benefit;

Financial benefit to compensate severe disability;

Social services.

56. The right to social security is laid down by Act No. 100/1998 Coll. on Social Security as amended by later regulations. According to the legislation in force, all citizens are entitled to social security, regardless of gender.

57. The status of women in rural areas and towns is identical and the act applies equally to all women. Women without sickness insurance are not entitled to sickness insurance benefits, i.e. financial assistance, for maternity. However, if they satisfy the conditions specified by Act No. 382/1990 Coll. on Parent’s Benefit as amended by later regulations, they are entitled to a State social benefit parent’s benefit from the time of the child’s birth. To be entitled to parent’s benefit, the woman must personally, on a fulltime basis and properly, look after at least one child younger than three (or seven for a child with a longterm severe disability requiring special care or extraordinarily demanding special care) and the parent’s and child’s permanent

residence must be in the territory of Slovakia. On monthly average, the parent’s benefit was paid to 137,688 authorized persons in 1999. In total, the State paid SK 4,417,181 thousand for this purpose.

58. Resolution of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 644/1999 instructed the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (MLSAF) to prepare an analysis of the use of the social system. The assessment of entitlement to the social assistance benefit was made stricter and controls relating to the reception of social assistance benefits or their use for other purposes were reinforced. MLSAF specialists visited regions of eastern Slovakia and focused on controls relating to the reception of social assistance benefits or their use for other purposes. The Social Assistance Department of MLSAF also concentrated on issues of the unauthorized reception of social assistance benefits in cases when citizens travelled abroad where they subsequently requested asylum.

59. In the Slovak Republic, employees who have suffered a work injury or occupational disease are provided work injury benefits in the form of damage compensation. Employers are obliged to provide compensation to injured employees to the extent of their responsibility for the damage. If an employee dies as a result of a work injury or occupational disease, the benefits are paid to the survivors. The method and extent of the compensation is laid down in detail by the Labour Code, in paragraphs 193 to 203 and paragraph 205 (a) to (d).

60. Changes in wage levels are the subject of legal regulations on the adjustment of the average wage used for the computation of compensation for incapacity for work caused by a work injury or occupational disease (Act No. 320/1993 Coll. and Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family Measures No. 123/1995 Coll., 151/1996 Coll., 98/1997 Coll., and No. 120/1998 Coll.). Annex 3 to this report provides an overview of accidents at work in the Slovak Republic and the number of accidents monitored in fiveyear cycles in 1989, 1993 and 1998. According to information from the Work Safety Office, around 2,583 employees a day were absent from Slovak workplaces in 1999. A total of 24,023 injuries occurred in 1999, 115 of which were fatal. One type of workrelated injury required 40 days of treatment on average, which indicates an increase in the share of workrelated injuries with serious effects on health, requiring longterm treatment.

61. Sickness benefit is the most frequent sickness insurance benefit and is provided for the longest period of time. Sickness benefit is compensation for lost income, therefore all economically active persons, whose activities imply participation in sickness insurance, are entitled to it. The following persons are entitled to sickness benefits, providing they meet the conditions set by law:

Employed persons;

Persons in a similar work relationship;

Partners of limited liability companies and members of cooperatives who work for the company or cooperative, but are not under a work contract, and are remunerated for this work in a form which is considered as income subject to payroll tax under the income tax law;

Further persons specified by special regulations (e.g. members of legislative bodies, members of town councils, mayors, disabled persons preparing for employment, students and pupils);

Soldiers in professional service in the armed forces;

Members of security corps;

Selfemployed persons, including:

(a) Persons engaged in agricultural production, including forest and water management;

(b) Persons authorized to operate a small business;

(c) Persons authorized to engage in activities specified by special regulations, with the exception of court experts and interpreters, if they perform activities under special regulations in proceedings before State authorities or authorities to which the roles of State authorities were transferred;

(d) Persons engaged in artistic or other creative activities on the basis of the act on literary, scientific and artistic works (copyright law) outside labour law and other relations, if they, according to their declaration, perform this activity continuously and do not at the same time engage in other activities considered as activities of selfemployed persons;

(e) Partners in public trading companies or limited partnership companies;

(f) Sportsmen who, according to their declaration, engage in sport activities professionally, but are not in a labour law or other similar relationship;

(g) Sales representatives, if they, according to their declaration, engage in this activity continuously;

(h) Persons performing an independent occupation or activities, if they do not fall in the group of persons considered as selfemployed persons for the reasons stated above;

(i) Persons cooperating with selfemployed persons, including:

(i) spouses, children and siblings who have completed their compulsory school attendance, parents, fathersinlaw, mothersinlaw, brothers or sistersinlaw, commonlaw wives or husbands of persons engaged in agricultural production, including forest and water management, and the husbands (wives) of these cooperating persons if they have not concluded a work contract with the selfemployed person;

(ii) spouses of persons listed under (b) to (d), (g) and (h), if they participate in their activities.

62. If the conditions laid down by law are met, sickness benefits amounting to 70 per cent of the average net daily wages for the first three days and 90 per cent for the remaining days of the period of temporary incapacity to work are provided instead of wages, salary or remuneration for work (in the case of selfemployed and cooperating persons, they are calculated using the average of computation bases used for the determination of sickness insurance and pension insurance contributions), the maximum average sum being:

SK 250 per calendar day for selfemployed persons, persons cooperating with selfemployed persons and members of the armed forces;

SK 350 per working day in a fiveday working week for other persons.

In principle, sickness benefits are provided from the first day of temporary incapacity to perform one’s occupation due to illness or injury until the cessation of temporary incapacity to work or recognition of disability or partial disability, for a maximum period of one year from the day the incapacity to work began. Sickness benefits can be voluntarily provided for a longer time, if it can be expected, on the basis of a statement from the social insurance assessment committee, that the person will shortly regain capacity to work. Certain derogations can be applied to members of the armed forces. Sickness benefits are covered from sickness insurance contributions. Sickness insurance is operated by the Social Insurance Agency, a public institution.

63. The right of employed women to protection is guaranteed by the Constitution in article 38 (1). If the conditions laid down by law are met, a maternity benefit, amounting to 90 per cent of the average net daily wage, is provided instead of wages, salary or remuneration for work (in the case of selfemployed persons and persons cooperating with selfemployed persons. It is calculated using the average of the computation bases used for the determination of sickness insurance and pension insurance contributions), the maximum average sum being:

SK 250 per calendar day for selfemployed persons, persons cooperating with selfemployed persons, and members of the armed forces;

SK 350 per working day in a fiveday working week for other persons.

The maternity benefit is usually provided for a period of 28 weeks, or 22 weeks in specified cases, to a person who has not given birth to but looks after the child. If the child is born dead, the financial assistance in maternity is provided for a period of 14 weeks. The period of the provision of the maternity benefit to a woman who has given birth to a child cannot be shorter than 14 weeks and cannot end earlier than six weeks after the day of birth. The maternity benefit is paid from sickness insurance contributions. Sickness insurance is operated by the Social Insurance Agency.

64. The purpose of the pension security system is to provide material security of a longterm nature for old age, disability or the death of family provider. This system is applicable to persons with permanent residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic. These persons can be divided into the following categories: employees, selfemployed persons, persons cooperating with selfemployed persons, members of armed security corps and armed corps, persons who have reached the age of 65 or have become disabled, and survivors of these persons. A special social security system was adopted for the members of the armed forces on 1 May 1998. The Constitution of the Slovak Republic, which, under article 39, guarantees citizens the right to adequate material provision in old age, in the event of work disability, as well as after losing their provider, and empowers the relevant laws to lay down the details concerning this right, i.e. the conditions for the entitlement to individual benefits, has a central position in the system of legal regulations. The amount of pension insurance benefits is dependent on working merit, the length of employment, volume of income and job category. The Social Insurance Agency decides upon and pays social security benefits. The Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and the Family oversees the operation of sickness insurance and pension insurance.

65. The basic pension insurance benefit is the oldage pension. Citizens are entitled to it when they have completed the necessary period of employment, a minimum of 25 years, and reached the set age, which depends on the job category (5560 years of age) and, in the case of women, on the number of children they have brought up (5357 years of age).

66. A proportional oldage pension is also provided if a citizen has completed the necessary period of 10 years of employment and has reached the age of 65. A proportional old age pension is provided from the pension security system to women who have reached the age of 60 and have worked for the necessary period of 20 years.

67. Retirement pensions are awarded under more advantageous conditions than oldage pensions and are provided to persons in special professions, such as pilots, artists, etc.

68. If citizens released from a job for organizational reasons are expected to reach the required age within two years of the day of the release and if the relevant labour office is unable to mediate a suitable job for them, they are entitled to extraordinary provision of an oldage pension, providing that they have been employed for at least 25 years.

69. Citizens are entitled to a disability pension if they are disabled, have not completed the necessary period of employment and do not meet the conditions for entitlement to an old age pension. The condition of the necessary employment period is always considered fulfilled if the disability resulted from a work injury.

70. Partial disability pensions are provided to citizens who are partially disabled and meet the condition of the necessary employment period. As in the case of disability caused by a work injury, the condition of the necessary employment period is considered fulfilled if the partial disability is a consequence of a work injury.

71. A widow is entitled to a widow’s pension for a period of one year following the death of her husband. After this, the widow’s pension is provided if the conditions laid down by law are fulfilled. A widower’s pension is provided to a widower, if he is looking after at least one dependent child. An orphan’s pension is granted to a dependent child if a parent dies. The entitlement to this pension is not conditional upon the deceased parent have completed a necessary period of employment.

72. Further forms of pension security benefits are the following:

Pensions provided to women who are fully disabled or have reached the age of 65, or are not employed or have not become entitled to pension from their own employment;

Social pensions are provided as a facultative benefit to persons whose living needs are not secured, if they have reached the age of 65 or are disabled;

Increased disability pension, in the event of longterm ill health requiring nursing by another person.

73. State social support is assistance in the case of events outside the framework of insurance events addressed through sickness insurance or pension security benefits. Through State social benefits (following the completion of the system these will be State social assistance benefits), the need for addressing longterm situations of material or social need can be prevented in the social assistance system. For the purposes of such assistance the State accepts events such as the arrival of a child in the family, the upbringing, nutrition and personal care of a dependent child, and training for a future profession, but also events substantially changing the life of an individual or family, e.g. the presence of a child with longterm severe disability or the loss of a provider owing to death. State social benefits assist in covering the increased cost brought by such events so as to prevent the undesired fall in the family’s standard of living.

74. State social benefits are oneoff (childbirth allowance, allowance for parents with three or more newly born children or with sets of twins born consecutively within a period of two years, oneoff allowance to cover the needs of a child put into foster care, and funeral allowance) or repeated (child allowances and supplementary child benefits, parent’s benefit, childcare benefit, repeated allowance to cover the needs of a child put into foster care, foster parent allowance, housing benefits). Certain State social benefits child allowances and housing benefits are provided on the basis of the computation of the income of “jointly assessed persons”.

75. In accordance with Act No. 193/1994 Coll., child allowances are designed for the upbringing and nutrition of dependent children. The entitlement is conditional upon the authorized person’s care of the dependent child, upon the permanent or longterm residence of the person authorized to take care of the child in the territory of the Slovak Republic and upon income not exceeding a specified sum. The amount of child allowances is dependent on the income of jointly assessed persons and the age of the dependent children. If the conditions for the entitlement to child allowances are met, increased cost related to the care of a child with longterm severe disability is covered by a supplementary child allowance of SK 600 monthly for a child requiring extraordinary care and SK 1,000 monthly for a child with longterm severe disability requiring especially demanding extraordinary care.

76. Parent’s benefits are provided in accordance with Act No. 382/1990 Coll. for parents providing personal, fulltime and proper care for a child younger than three or younger than seven if this concerns a child with longterm severe disability. Another condition is the parent’s and child’s permanent residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic. The amount of the parent’s benefit in absolute terms is SK 2,740 monthly.

77. Childcare benefit is provided in accordance with Act No. 236/1998 Coll. and is determined for a wife and dependent children of a soldier in compulsory military service or civilian service. The entitlement arises if the soldier is performing his military or civilian service, is not entitled to a compensation wage, salary or earnings during such service and has a permanent residence in the territory of Slovakia.

78. Foster parent allowances are provided in accordance with Act No. 265/1998 Coll. A repeated allowance to cover the child’s needs is granted for a child put into foster care or child custody or temporarily put into the care of a person intending to become a foster parent. Foster parent allowances are provided for the provision of foster care.

79. Pursuant to Act No. 300/1999 Coll., housing benefit is a contribution to cover the expenses related to the use of a flat or house. In order to be entitled to housing benefit, the applicant must use the flat or house as his permanent residence, he must have paid the rent or property taxes for the corresponding period and the income of jointly assessed persons must not exceed a set sum.

80. Social assistance forms a part of the social security system. Its legal basis is Act No. 195/1998 Coll. on Social Assistance as amended by Act No. 389/1998 Coll. Social assistance is designed to mitigate or overcome, with active participation from the citizen, his material or social need and ensure his basic living conditions.

81. Social assistance is divided into the following:

Social prevention;

Addressing material or social need, as a result of which a citizen is unable, alone or with the assistance of his family, to meet his basic living needs and conditions (including addressing the social need of citizens with a severe disability through compensation for the social impact of the severe disability).

Social prevention is understood to be an expert activity aimed at preventing and eliminating the causes, broadening or repetition of failures in the mental, physical or social development of a person.

82. The following methods are used for addressing material and social need:

Social advice;

Social and legal protection;

Social assistance benefit;

Social services;

Financial compensation.

83. The provision of social advice and social prevention is secured by the State administrative authorities, municipalities and nonState organizations. Social and legal protection is provided by local State administrative authorities and municipalities. Families can be provided with social advice in specialized institutions via the Centre of Advice and Psychological Services, which provides its services free of charge. The centre’s clientele is divided into 10 categories, by type of problem: personality, partner, family, replacement family care, divorce and postdivorce care, unemployment, study and professional, drug and other addictions, and personality development programmes. Statistical data on the proportion of mothers and children using such protection are not specifically monitored in the Slovak Republic. Every citizen, family and its individual members have the right to use such protection.

84. The social assistance benefit is an instrument for dealing with a citizen’s material need. It can be provided as a repeated or oneoff benefit. Entitlement to the benefit is conditional upon material need when the income of a natural person or natural persons whose income is assessed jointly falls below the subsistence minimum. This is determined by Subsistence Minimum Act No. 125/1998 Coll. An amendment to Minimum Wage Act No. 90/1996 Coll. increased the minimum wage to SK 4,000 a month (SK 21.60 per hour), effective from 1 January 2000. In line with Governmental Ordinance No. 298/2000, which entered into force on 1 October 2000, the amount of the minimum wage was adjusted to SK 4,400 per month for employees receiving monthly wages (SK 23.80 per hour) and thus the minimum wage exceeded the current subsistence minimum for an adult person.

85. Social Assistance Act No. 195/1998 Coll. guarantees the provision of basic living conditions in the event of material need. Under the provisions of this law, basic living conditions are defined as one hot meal a day, necessary clothes and shelter. In financial terms, the provision of basic living conditions means the provision of a repeated social assistance benefit up to the amount of the subsistence minimum. For extraordinary expenses of citizens in material need, a oneoff social assistance benefit is provided up to the amount of the real expenses. Proceedings on repeated and oneoff social assistance benefits are held within the framework of administrative proceedings.

86. In addition to the abovementioned benefits, the Slovak social security system includes fixedpurpose financial social care benefits for citizens with severe disability. This concerns social services and financial contributions to compensate for the social impacts of severe disability, with the aim of overcoming or mitigating those social impacts. They are financial contributions for the following purposes:

Personal assistance;

Procurement of aids;

Repair of aids;

Purchase of a passenger vehicle;

Transport;

Flat, house or garage adjustment; and

Compensation of increased expenses for:

Diets;

Securing means of personal or domestic hygiene related to the wear of clothing, footwear or furniture, operation of a passenger vehicle and the care of specially trained dogs.

87. Until 1993, all benefits were covered from the State budget. Since 1993, all pension and sickness insurance benefits are covered from premiums collected from entities specified by law. The percentage of GDP of expenditure for pension benefits had an increasing trend in the period 19891993, during the first stage of the transformation of the economy of the Slovak Republic into a market economy. This process was accompanied by growing expenditure for pension benefits as a result of their being increased because of rising inflation.

88. The Slovak Republic has started the gradual transformation of social insurance and focuses on improving the system for the collection of premiums for:

Sickness insurance;

Pension insurance;

Injury insurance;

Health insurance;

Unemployment insurance;

and the payment of benefits using a modern, automated, central system based on the creation of individual accounts for insured persons. Act No. 274/1994 Coll. on the Social Insurance Agency, as amended by later regulations, established an institution for the administration of sickness insurance and pension insurance. The Social Insurance Agency has the nature of a public institution. Within the framework of competences specified by law, this institution collects contributions for sickness and pension insurance, decides on sickness insurance and pension insurance benefits, ensures their payment and carries out control, consultation and advisory activities. A total of SK 8,973,794 thousand was used to cover sickness insurance benefits in 1998 and SK 9,496,270 thousand in 1999.

89. In accordance with Act No. 100/1988 Coll. on Social Security, as amended by later regulations, the following types of pensions were paid as of 1 January 2000:

Type of pension Number Average amount (in SK)

Old age 771 323 4 878

Proportional old age 17 522 2 645

Disability 225 018 4 487

Partial disability 62 391 2 408

Retirement 104 4 687

Widow’s 298 244 3 367

Widower’s 3 113 1 645

Orphan’s 33 674 1 459

Social 6 160 3 197

Wife’s pension 11 755 570

Article 10

90. Under article 41 of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, matrimony, parenthood and family are protected by law. The special protection of children and juveniles is guaranteed. Special care, protection in employment and appropriate working conditions are guaranteed to pregnant women. Children born within and those born out of wedlock enjoy equal rights. The care and upbringing of their children is the right of parents; children have the right to parental care and upbringing. The rights of parents may be restricted and minor children may be separated from their parents against their parents will only through a court order based on a law. Parents taking care of their children have a right to assistance provided by the State.

91. Act No. 94/1963 Coll. on the family, as amended, regulates matrimony (formation, circumstances excluding marriage, relations between the spouses, end of marriage because of death, declaring a person dead and divorce), relations between parents and children (upbringing of children, participation of the society in the exercise of parental rights and duties, establishment of paternity, adoption, upbringing and representation of a minor whose parents cannot perform their rights and duties) and maintenance (mutual maintenance obligation of parents and children, maintenance obligation between spouses, other relatives, contribution to the maintenance of the divorced spouse and provision of benefits to an unmarried mother to meet some costs).

92. Under section 8, paragraph 2 of the Civil Code No. 40/1964 Coll., as amended, “The age of majority shall be reached upon completing 18 years of age. Before that time majority shall be attained only by concluding a marriage. Majority attained in this way shall be extinguished neither by the end of the marriage nor by declaring the marriage null and void.” The law allows for attaining majority earlier on the basis of marriage concluded after reaching the age of 16 years. Persons younger than 18 years of age need the approval of a court in order to contract a marriage. No marriage can be contracted by minors younger than 16 years of age. Under section 1 of the Family Act, marriage is contracted on the basis of the voluntary decision of a man and woman to establish harmonious, firm and enduring community.

93. The legal order of the Slovak Republic respects free choice of the betrothed persons concerning the form in which the marriage is contracted. An amendment to the Family Act, No. 234/1992 Coll. which came into effect on 1 July 1992 made the church and civil forms of marriage equal. Under section 3 of the above law, a marriage is contracted when their consent to enter into marriage with the other person is declared by a man and woman before a body of the State or a body of the church or religious community, in public and in a ceremonial way, in the presence of two witnesses. The man and woman have equal rights and duties in the marriage. A court can dissolve a marriage upon a motion by one of the spouses, when relations between the spouses are seriously disturbed and the matrimony cannot fulfil its social objective. When deciding about the marriage the court should take into account in particular the interests of minor children.

94. Slovakia pays special attention to State family policy. Longterm strategic goals have been implemented mainly in four substantive areas of State: competence in the fields of the legal protection of the family and its members; the socioeconomic security of the family; the education of children and youth and their preparation for marriage and parenthood; and protection of the health of individual members of the family.

95. The Slovak legislation recognizes two limitations on contracting a marriage: age and the fact that one of the betrothed is suffering from a mental disease and has been stripped of his/her legal capacity (legal capacity is decided by a court). Under the legal order of the Slovak Republic the existence of a valid (earlier concluded) marriage is also an obstacle to contracting a marriage. The Slovak Republic provided comments on this issue in its initial report under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) (CEDAW/C/SVK/1 of 20 July 1996, para. 123). In its initial, second and third periodic reports submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 1999 the Slovak Republic elaborated on the issue of the right to contract marriage and choose a husband (CERD/C/328/Add.1, paras. 139144).

96. Maternity leave is regulated under sections 157 to 160 of the Labour Code and in Act No. 88/1968 Coll. on the prolongation of maternity leave, on maternity benefits and on child allowances from sickness insurance, as amended.

97. Every woman is entitled to 28 weeks of maternity leave. A single woman or a woman who has given birth to two or more children is entitled to 37 weeks of maternity leave. A single woman is a nonmarried, widowed or divorced woman, or a woman alone for other serious reasons who does not live with a partner. Maternity leave is classified as leave from work and it falls under serious obstacles to work; the employee does not have to apply for maternity leave separately. After the expiration of maternity leave the employee is entitled to another maternity leave until the child reaches the age of three. After its end, the employer has the obligation to allocate the woman to her original work and workplace. During maternity leave, the woman is not entitled to wage or wage compensation but she receives a sickness insurance benefit pecuniary assistance in matrimony.

98. The Constitution of the Slovak Republic (art. 38) guarantees the juvenile the right to increased health protection at work and special working conditions. The Labour Code, as amended by Act No. 297/99, binds the employer to create favourable conditions for allround development of physical and mental capacities in its section 163. Act No. 330/1996 Coll. on health and safety at work stipulates the employer’s responsibilities in the field of health and safety at work in its section 8. Upon reaching the age of 15, citizens acquire capacity to have rights and duties in labour relations and legal capacity to acquire these rights and undertake duties by their own legal actions. The employer, however, must not set the day of job commencement before the date on which compulsory school attendance is completed. An employee aged 15 to 18 is understood to be a juvenile employee and as such he/she must have guaranteed conditions which do not prevent his/her mental and physical development.

99. Under the provisions of section 164 of the Labour Code the employer has the duty to request a statement from a juvenile’s legitimate representative before concluding an employment contract with the juvenile. The legitimate representative is notified of the dismissal of the juvenile, as well as of an immediate termination of the employment. The Family Act provides that parents, who are authorized and obliged to represent their minor children and administer their affairs, are the legitimate representatives of a juvenile. If the parents are deceased or have been deprived of their parental rights and/or do not have full legal capacity, a guardian is appointed by a court (section 78 of the Family Act). An employer’s failure to comply with this obligation is without prejudice to the validity of legal actions taken in this way, however, it constitutes a violation of labour regulations which can be sanctioned with a fine of up to SK 500,000; in the case of repeated violation of this obligation the fine imposed on the employer can be as high as SK 1 million.

100. Under section 166 of the Labour Code overtime and night work by juveniles is prohibited. In exceptional cases, juveniles older than 16 may do night work not exceeding one hour if it is necessary for their vocational training. An employer must not employ persons younger than 16 in piecework or apply unit wages to their remuneration.

101. The Labour Code considers specific features of adolescence in its provisions regulating the ban on certain work in certain areas and workplaces at certain times for juvenile employees. Prohibited work can be classified into work banned directly by the Labour Code (sect. 167) and work which is prohibited on the basis of principles determined by the Government. Juveniles are explicitly prohibited from performing:

Work underground in minerals mining and in tunnelling;

Work which is inappropriate, hazardous or detrimental to health;

Work exposing them to a higher accident risk or the performance of which would seriously risk the health and safety of other employees and/or other persons.

102. The initial report of the Slovak Republic under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, submitted to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 1998, gives a detailed analysis of the situation of children temporarily or permanently deprived of a family environment

(orphans, children without living biological parents, abandoned children and physically and mentally handicapped children) living in the territory of the Slovak Republic and enjoying the protection and assistance of the State (CRC/C/11/Add.17, paras. 9199).

Article 11

103. The 1996 initial report by the Slovak Republic to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women submitted by the Slovak Republic to the United Nations Committee (published under CEDAW/C/SVK/1 on 21 July 1996) in its articles 79 to 98 and the initial, second and third periodical report by the Slovak Republic to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination submitted to the United Nations Committee (CERD) in 1999, in its article 183 have elaborated on the provision for basic living conditions of the population of the Slovak Republic. The Constitution of the Slovak Republic stipulates the right of every person to favourable environment in its article 44, paragraph 1.

104. The Concept of the Transformation of the Social Sphere presented by the Government in 1995 included a list of tasks and a timetable for achieving comparable levels of economic performance and standard of living of the population with the developed European countries by 2010 at the latest. The Concept identified three basic transformation intentions: social security, social support and social assistance. These three systems will be complemented with suprastructural insurance systems (supplementary and individual insurance). A representative survey conducted by the Public Opinion Institute at the Statistical Bureau of the Slovak Republic at the beginning of 1998 studied respondents’ views on seven selected items, one of them being the standard of living of the citizens of the Slovak Republic. The results showed that as many as 73 per cent of respondents characterized results in the development of the standard of living a failure. According to respondents’ views the income situation of Slovak citizens was not too encouraging, either. The average net monthly income per member of the family for all households increased from KCS 1,792 monthly in 1989 to SK 4,652 monthly in 1997, which is an increase of 159.6 per cent. Consumer prices grew by 238 per cent and the cost of living for all households by 228.1 per cent in the same period. The rapid increase in prices and high inflation (from 1991 to 1998 an increase to 202.3 per cent) resulted in a decline of the standard of living. The average monthly wages per economic activity from 1991 to 1999 (in SK) are given in annex 4 to this report.

105. Consumer prices increased by a total of 3 per cent from January 1998 to January 1999. The most significant change occurred in expenditures on housing, water and electricity, which grew by 11.9 per cent. Gross income from employment in 1997 represented a higher share of gross income than was the case in 1995; however, the 1997 share was lower than that in 1996. The share of social income in gross income was growing since 1995 and in 1997 it represented 27.4 per cent. At the same time the structure of gross monetary expenditures changed in the years studied. Consumer expenditures have kept their highest share in household expenses, i.e. expenditure on food, miscellaneous expenses and services, and expenditure on housing, water and electricity.

106. Poverty was absent from the official vocabulary of former Czechoslovakia. Socialism tackled the poor with social benefits falling under social security. At the same time, this part of the population was segregated in special facilities for the disabled, immobile, abandoned, old and others. The Romany ethnic group could be considered poor. In the past some areas of Slovakia were marginalized as a consequence of underdeveloped industrialization and they were characterized by poverty. These regions included Kysuce, Orava, northern Spiš, Zemplín, southern Gemer, Hont and Novohrad. Lagging behind and pauperization of these regions of Slovakia in the past has been manifested by high unemployment and growing poverty. The Slovak legislation does not define poverty and neither is it listed in official statistics, despite the fact that poverty has become a matter studied by the Research Institute of Labour of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, and the Statistical Bureau. The use of the term “poverty” has been influenced by recent socialist history and it is rather perceived as a failure of social policy than as a consequence of a market economy or social differentiation.

107. In Slovakia the poverty line is represented by a subsistence minimum within which two levels are differentiated: the existence and the social minimum. The subsistence minimum has been determined using a standard method, which is based on a minimum consumer basket of goods and services calculated in current prices. The existence minimum expresses the minimum costs for the basic existence needs of people, i.e. food, necessary clothing and shelter. The existence minimum is always lower than the social minimum and it expresses the line of absolute poverty or distress (the population living below the existence minimum lives in distress). The social minimum represents the minimum social level of the standard of living. Households, which fail to reach this standard of living, live in substandard conditions, linked with a certain amount of hardship and deprivation, and they are traditionally called poor. Social minimum determined poverty is called relative poverty. In the socialist period this concept of subsistence minimum was meant only for internal use. In Czechoslovakia, the subsistence minimum was officially determined in Act No. 463/1991 only after 1989. It was determined to be “the socially recognized minimum level of income of citizens below which the person is in a situation of material need”.

108. Statute No. 23/1991 Coll. implementing the Bill of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, which in its article 30 stipulates the right of a citizen in material need to assistance necessary to meet basic living needs, was adopted prior to the adoption of the Subsistence Minimum Act. After the breakup of Czechoslovakia, this right of a Slovak citizen has been guaranteed by the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. On 1 July 1998, Act No. 125/1998 on the subsistence minimum was amended with emphasis on civil society and on the responsibility of the citizen visàvis unfavourable situations in life. In the formulation of the subsistence minimum, emphasis is put on its primary function, which is temporary protection against material and social need. Material need is a situation in which the income of a citizen is below the subsistence minimum, determined by a separate regulation. Social need is a situation in which the citizen cannot provide care for himself/herself, his/her household, protect and exercise of his/her rights and lawprotected interests or maintain contact with the social environment, mainly because of age, poor health, lack of social adaptability or loss of job.

109. The criterion differentiating the existence minimum from the social one is whether the citizen caused the concerned unfavourable situation him/herself or not. When the citizen caused the situation himself/herself and he/she does not try to find a solution and fails to cooperate with institutions, then he/she is granted a social assistance benefit at the level of the existence minimum which is one hot meal a day, necessary clothing and shelter. The value of the contribution is 50 per cent of the subsistence minimum. The citizen who did not cause his/her material and social need him/herself can be granted as much as 120 per cent of the subsistence minimum under the Social Assistance Act No. 195/1998 Coll. Eventually, three levels of subsistence minimum were distinguished (subsistence, existence and social) in Slovakia since 1 July 1998. The Subsistence Minimum Act and the Social Assistance Act apply not only to Slovak nationals but also to aliens, stateless persons, refugees, displaced persons and Slovaks living abroad. Since 1 April 1998, when Act No. 73/1998 came into effect, the salaries of the Slovak Police Corps staff are not directly linked to the minimum wage level.

110. In 1988, 9.56 per cent of all households (9.02 per cent of the population) lived below the social minimum level in Slovakia and 1.13 per cent of all households (1.25 per cent of the population) lived below the existence minimum. After 1989, the numbers of the poor can be estimated on the basis of data on recipients of benefits on the grounds of social need. From 1993 to 1997 the proportion of the population in social need was between 7.0 per cent to 8.3 per cent of the total population. In 1998, the proportion in social need was 9.4 per cent, a slight increase compared with the previous period. The 1995 survey conducted in the territory of the Slovak Republic distinguished three different concepts of poverty: monetary poor households account for 12.1 per cent of households in Slovakia, the poor in terms of their living conditions represent 13.4 per cent of households and 7.7 per cent of Slovak households are subjectively poor (i.e. households which subjectively perceive themselves to be in poverty); 1.9 per cent of households in the Slovak Republic were identified as totally poor in 1997 according to the Statistical Bureau.

111. Old people and families with more children are in jeopardy of poverty in Slovakia. According to the latest data, more than 600,000 retired persons over the age of 65 are close to the poverty line. More recent risk groups include the longterm unemployed, who represent the majority of social assistance benefits recipients. Incomplete families, which include divorced parents and also unmarried parents and single mothers are another risk group. Children are another group at risk. However, this category is less visible because the statistics cover poverty in households or families. Families with three and more children or incomplete families with one or more children feel the poorest subjectively. Feminization is a significant characteristic of poverty. The persisting patriarchism of modern society resulting in an evidently lower income from work of women is manifested also in the higher poverty risk of older women living alone and single women. In terms of monetary poverty, women living alone were the poorest. In this context the Romany ethnic group can also be considered evidently poor in the Slovak Republic. Though the Roma are not specifically identified among the recipients of social assistance benefits, for example, longterm unemployment is massive among the Roma. In this context one can also talk about child poverty because families with several children are typical for the Roma.

112. The State keeps its decisive role in tackling poverty and its social policy should prevent the citizens, families and social groups from falling into poverty. Social insurance and social assistance to the poor play a key role here. In addition to the State, NGOs are also involved in providing various forms of assistance to socially weak citizens, single parents, the unemployed and the homeless in the Slovak Republic. They give material assistance, including financial support or food aid, and organize summer recreational stays for children in social need. Church charities traditionally providing help to people in need are also active among the NGOs in Slovakia. They give grants to socially weak persons, they operate children’s charity orphanages or canteens for homeless people or they help pregnant women without shelter. The purpose behind this strategy for tackling this important social problem is to keep poverty as a transitional situation of a certain part of the population and to prevent the emergence of permanent poverty. Provisions of Act of the National Council of the SR No. 195/1998 P.C. on social assistance, which interprets article 39 of the Constitution stipulating the right to basic needs, guarantee the legal protection of the extremely poor.

113. An analysis of food consumption in the Slovak Republic since 1990 shows that the nutrition habits of the Slovak population still do not correspond to a healthy style of living. Though the trend in food consumption has changed towards healthy nutrition in many aspects as a result of education of the population, the effects of economic transformation and the resulting price liberalization, our nutrition still represents an energy surplus and lacks balance. The main problem is too high an energy intake mainly because of high fat consumption (often in the form of hidden fats in food products) and also an insufficient intake of some vitamins, minerals, fibres, etc.

114. Meat consumption in the Slovak Republic is not higher than in the EU member States; however, its structure does not meet the principles of healthy nutrition. This is caused, on the one hand, by a certain conservatism of the population, and on the other hand, by a deteriorated economic situation of the majority of the Slovak population. Declining domestic beef production results in price increases followed by reduced consumption due to the stagnating purchasing power of the population. On the other hand, poultry consumption maintains its increasing trend. Fish consumption is unsatisfactory for Slovakia, which is a continental country.

115. The declining trend in milk consumption is manifested in insufficient calcium demand coverage, in particular in children. In terms of international comparison of milk and milk products consumption with the EU member States the Slovak Republic has lost its leading position since 1991. Though egg consumption shows a slightly declining trend, it is high, as is sugar consumption. Food consumption per capita in the Slovak Republic in the 19901999 period is shown in annex 5.

116. The declining consumption of animal fats corresponds to the principles of sound nutrition. Consumption of other food is rather stabilized and also quite satisfactory, except for legumes. In 1998, the Food Research Institute worked on its assignment called “Calculations of recommended daily consumption food rates”. They include new recommended food rates, reflecting the following changes compared with the current values:

Plant edible fats and oils are increased by 87 per cent,

Poultry by 55 per cent

Vegetables by 2 per cent

Butter declines by 47 per cent

Legumes by 45 per cent

Sugar and eggs by 19 per cent

Grease by 14 per cent

Beef by 11 per cent

Potatoes by 10 per cent

Milk by 6 per cent

Unchanged are pork, fish, cereals and fruit.

Real and recommended nutrition rates per capita per day in the Slovak Republic are given in annex 6.

117. Some SK 200 million from the State Support Fund for Agriculture and Food Industries have been annually channelled to the improvement of food manufacturing, preserving and distribution methods. These funds are annually used to purchase advanced technology, mainly for milk, meat and vegetables processing. Part of the funds is used to promote Slovak food products at domestic and international exhibitions.

Article 12

118. The right to health was elaborated in the initial report of the Slovak Republic under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination submitted in 1999 (CERD/C/328/Add.1, paras. 187191) and in the initial report under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/SVK/1 of 20 July 1996, paras. 100103).

119. Under article 40 of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic everyone has the right to the protection of health. Act No. 272/1994 Coll. on people’s health protection regulates this area. The law defines health protection as: “A set of measures consisting in the prevention of occurrence and dissemination of diseases and in limiting their and other health disorders occurrence, in the improvement of health through the improvement of care for sound conditions of life, work and a sound way of living and in the administration of State health supervision”.

120. Detailed information on the physical and mental health of the population of the Slovak Republic was submitted in the 1996 annual report to the World Health Organization.

121. By government resolution No. 815 of 11 October 2000 the draft Updated Action Plan for the Environment and Health of the Population of the Slovak Republic was adopted. This document has an intersectoral nature and it includes a set of 86 practical measures for the improvement of the environmental health of the Slovak Republic. The measures focus on the

aspects of potable water, air, food, working conditions, protection against ionizing radiation, and

urban and rural housing conditions. The State has the responsibility for the implementation of this plan. This material has been prepared on the basis of the implementation of Slovakia’s obligations adopted at the London Conference of Environmental Ministers organized by the World Health Organization. In particular, the following legislation covers the protection of health and environmental protection of the population:

Act of the National Council of the SR No. 272/1994 Coll. on people’s health protection, as amended;

Decree of the Ministry of Health No. 45/1996 Coll. on the creation and protection of sound conditions of life.

Based on the above legislation the Ministry of Health governs and prepares concepts for the protection of health at the national level, and health protection bodies regional and State health officers established under the Act referred to above carry out State health supervision and State administration in the field of health protection. The legislative bodies of the Slovak Republic have issued crosssectoral regulations covering environmental issues in a comprehensive way to protect the individual components of the environment. The following could be listed in particular:

Act No. 17/1992 Coll. on the environment as amended by Act of the NC SR No. 127/1994 Coll. and Act of the NC SR No. 287/1994 Coll;

Act No. 127/1994 Coll. on environmental impact assessment;

Act No. 287/1994 Coll. on nature and landscape protection;

Act No. 307/1992 Coll. on the protection of agricultural land resources;

Act No. 138/1973 Coll. on waters (Water Act);

Act No. 50/1976 Coll. on territorial planning and building order;

Act No. 238/1991 Coll. on wastes;

Act No. 309/1991 Coll. on air protection against pollutants;

Act No. 76/1998 Coll. on the protection of the ozone layer of the Earth;

Draft laws on chemical substances and chemical preparations and wastes are in the pipeline now and their content and legal character will eventually also address the protection of health and the environment.

122. Healthcare expenditures in the Slovak Republic in the period 19931997 were on average 6.5 per cent of GDP.

123. The natal death rate (hereinafter ND) and also neonatal mortality (hereinafter NM) show a longterm favourable trend. In 1998 the ND was at the level of 9.9 and the NM of 5.4 per thousand. ND in the western Slovak districts has been at the level of developed European countries 5 to 6 per thousand. The inappropriately high ND and NM in the districts with a high share of Roma population (Rožňava, Poprad, Košice, Lučenec) and in districts with low natural increment (Stará Ľubovňa, Svidník, Veľký Krtíš) are a hindrance to Slovakia being included among the countries with the lowest level of ND and NM. ND in these districts is between 10 and 20 per thousand and significantly deteriorates the national average.

124. The most frequent causes of mortality among the adult population are cardiovascular diseases, oncological diseases and accidents. Annex 7 illustrates the development of deaths and mortality for the five most frequent causes of mortality among the inhabitants of Slovakia in the period 19901998. Annex 8 presents the standardized mortality of the Slovak population by gender for the period 19701998.

125. Act No. 138/1973 Coll. on waters, Act No. 135/1974 Coll. on State administration in water management as amended, Act of the NC SR No. 272/1994 on people’s health protection, Act of the NC SR No. 277/1994 Coll. on health care, which is the essential piece of legislation also in the field of natural healing sources and natural sources of mineral waters, represent the essential legislation in the field of pollution prevention, protection and use of waters. Safe potable water supply is understood in Slovakia as the possibility of taking water from a public water supply system. In the large majority of cases there is water distribution to individual households: 4,405,931, i.e. 82.6 per cent of the total number of inhabitants, were supplied with potable water from a public water supply system in Slovakia in 1999. The longterm yeartoyear increment of newly supplied inhabitants is on average 0.8 per cent. Excluding the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, where 100 per cent of the population take water from the public water supply system, the rate in other regions is within the range of 74.3 per cent (in the region of Prešov) to 87.1 per cent (in the region of Trenčín). Large cities like Bratislava and Košice, and the regional and district capitals supply their inhabitants from the public water supply system in the range of 90 to 99 per cent. All other towns and villages with a population of over 5,000 have public water supply systems, however without connection to dwellings. A significant number (approximately 65 per cent) of rural settlements with a population below 5,000 have at least partial public water supply systems; however, fewer people are connected to them. A significant variation in the number of inhabitants having public water supply is observed in the various administrative districts. In many districts the share of the population supplied from the public water supply system is above 90 per cent. The districts of Rimavská Sobota, Veľký Krtíš, Michalovce, Sabinov (51 per cent), Trebišov, Vranov nad Topľou (47.2 per cent) and Stará Ľubovňa lag significantly behind, and there the number of inhabitants supplied from the public water supply system does not exceed 75 per cent.

126. Some 18 per cent of the population of Slovakia have no water from the public water supply system and take water from individual house or public wells. As a consequence of the location of these wells inside the municipalities, and thus in direct vicinity to potential sources of pollution, most of them (more than 80 per cent) fail to supply water meeting the microbiological requirements of the current Slovak technical standard STN 75 7111. Despite this fact, the occurrence of diseases caused by infection transmitted from these sources is negligible.

However, in many of these sources nitrates are present and the suspicion of a causal link with some cases of natal methaemoglobinaemia is presented every year. The State health institutes provide for house well water quality monitoring for expectant mothers in order to prevent this disease in infants. In recent years, the production and distribution of satisfactory packaged baby water has been developing in Slovakia.

127. When assessing access of the population to appropriate sewage disposal facilities the following forms are distinguished:

Full equipment of dwellings with personal hygiene facilities (bathroom, WC) with sewage discharge into public sewer;

Full equipment of dwellings with personal hygiene facilities, mainly rural houses in municipalities without public sewers and sewage discharge into individual facilities for the collection and/or treatment and the discharge of waste water;

Collection of sewage in sumps and earth closets placed outside the dwelling.

The development of public sewer systems has consistently lagged behind the development of public water supply systems: 81.8 per cent of the population are connected to a public water supply system today, while only 54 per cent are connected to the public sewer system. This means that almost one third of the population of Slovakia has access to the public water supply but not to the public sewage disposal system. The districts of Námestovo, Čadca, Zlaté Moravce, Sabinov, Vranov nad Topľou, Trebišov, Komárno and Veľký Krtíš have an unfavourable situation in regard to a public sewer system (2034 per cent of the population). Out of the total number of 2,831 municipalities, 461 have a public sewer system. They are mostly municipalities with a population of over 5,000, but many municipalities with a population of over 10,000 have only partial sewer systems and/or no appropriate waste water purification plant. Out of a total 515.7 million m³ of discharged urban waste water, 91.2 per cent was purified in 1999, while only 443.5 m³ were treated in waste water purification plants with satisfactory effectiveness. This means that the majority of existing waste water purification plants (there are 334 in total in Slovakia) are either incomplete or overloaded in terms of substances or hydrology. Disposal of sludge from purification plants, deratization and disinfection of sewer systems, mechanization and modernization of maintenance work are problems which need immediate action.

128. In town peripheries and rural municipalities without public sewer systems, sewage is mostly collected in impermeable sumps. In recent years progress has been achieved in building small house waste water treatment plants from which treated water is discharged into recipients or infiltration systems. In places where a nearby urban waste water purification plant has sufficient capacity, sewage from sumps is transported for treatment there. Until now waste water purification plants without a sewer system and dedicated exclusively to treatment of waste water from local sumps have been built only rarely. It should be noted that the collection of waste water in sumps may present a risk of groundwater quality deterioration due to their being insufficiently watertight and the same is true also for waste water disposal through an infiltration system placed inappropriately or in unfavourable geological conditions.

129. Use of earth closets is declining. They are still used in remote settlements and in Romany communities.

130. In Slovakia tuberculosis vaccination coverage of children has not dropped below 90 per cent in the last 10 years and other vaccination coverage has not dropped below 95 per cent. Mean length of life is one of the most important indicators of a population’s health status. The mean length of life in Slovakia increased by 2.2 years for men in 1997 compared with 1990 (from 66.64 years in 1990 to 68.9 years in 1997). In the period studied the mean length of life for women increased by 1.2 years (from 75.44 years in 1990 to 76.7 years in 1997). The shorter length of life of both men and women compared with the European average is mainly due to the high mortality in the middle age groups. These facts indicate that in the Slovak Republic population ageing is an issue that concerns women rather than men, while the old age feminization process is deepening.

131. The fact that health system expenditures are growing faster than GDP is generally accepted. Therefore it is necessary to regulate these expenditures. The healthcare system serves this purpose. Hospital care is the decisive consumer of these funds. In terms of the care provided and the catchment area, hospitals with outpatients’ departments (hereinafter H+OP) are divided into four categories in Slovakia:

Type I H+OP serve 3050,000 inhabitants. There are 37 type I H+OP in the whole territory of Slovakia and altogether they have 5,896 beds. Two of them are nonState facilities.

Type II H+OP serve some 200,000 inhabitants. There are 29 type II H+OP with 14,115 beds. Out of them one is a gynaecologicalobstetric hospital.

Type III H+OP these are usually regional hospitals. They serve 1 million inhabitants. There are nine type III H+OP and they have 7,767 beds. One of them is a nonState hospital.

University hospitals in addition to curative and preventive care they also participate in pregraduate and postgraduate training of healthcare staff and medical research. There are seven such hospitals and they have 6,622 beds.

Psychiatric hospitals there are six of them in Slovakia and they have 2,255 beds are reported on separately.

These facilities fall under the socalled acute bed category. There are 88 of them and their bed capacity is 36,670, i.e. 6.8 beds per 1,000 inhabitants. In addition to these State healthcare facilities, 10,699 permits had been issued for nonState healthcare facilities in the territory of the Slovak Republic by the end of 1998. One permit was also issued to a rescue health service. Annex 9 provides an overview of healthcare facilities in the Slovak Republic to 31 December 1998.

132. Measures taken by the Government to improve all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene were adopted in the period 19911995. The National Programme for Health Promotion (hereinafter NPHP) was approved by the Government in 1991 and it was updated in 1995. Priority projects of the NPHP were:

CINDI Slovakia

Healthy Cities

Healthy Workplaces

Schools supporting Health.

133. The CINDI international programme was elaborated in detail in the Healthy Workplaces project in 1994. State health institutes in 20 organizations have worked on this project. The basic idea of the project is to elaborate and implement intervention programmes aiming at the reduction of workrelated health damage on the basis of an analysis of the health condition, status of the environment and work conditions, the way of working and the way of living of workers from selected workplaces, and to observe their effectiveness. The knowledge acquired has been used to adjust the mode of work and rest, to introduce changes in the work environment to establish advisory services for employers and employees, and to provide health care in plants. The following tasks have been implemented as priorities: practical reorientation of first contact healthcare staff, changing the attitudes of the population to their own health and intersectoral actions for a healthy lifestyle. In addition to the CINDI project, the “Schools supporting Health”, “Healthy Cities” and “Healthy Workplaces” projects have proved well in practice. The Ministry of Health’s MONICA project seeks to reduce cardiovascular disease in the country. This programme is monitored in five regions of the Slovak Republic.

134. The unfavourable trend in circulatory system disease mortality is 541.1 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The highest number of these diseases is in the district of Rimavská Sobota. Oncological disease mortality is 206.48 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The highest rate is in the district of Levice. The unfavourable trend in circulatory system disease and oncological disease mortality and the overall development of the population’s health has been reflected in the policy and organizational measures adopted by the Government of the Slovak Republic. Mental diseases rank third after cardiovascular and skeletalmuscular diseases as causes of disability.

135. The following strategic documents based on the health for all strategy are currently being prepared: Continuation of the Transformation in the Health Sector, Principles of State Health Policy and the State Health Policy Concept dealing with the problems of primary health care, care for children, women, the elderly and certain groups of the population. On 25 November 1999 the Government of the Slovak Republic approved the updating of the National Programme for Health for the twentyfirst century.

Article 13

136. In 1996 the Slovak Republic submitted a detailed analysis of the right to education in the Slovak Republic in paragraphs 40 to 42 and 54 of the initial report under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/SVK/1). In 1999 the changes to the current school system in the Slovak Republic were presented in the initial, second and third periodic reports under the International Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD/C/328/Add.1, paras. 196 to 199).

137. Article 42 of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic stipulates the right of everyone to education. Under the Constitution, school attendance is compulsory and its length is determined by School Act No. 6/1998 Coll. Compulsory school attendance is 10 years and it can be continued no longer than the end of the school year in which the child reaches 16 years of age. Pupils who successfully finish the ninth grade of primary school continue in compulsory school attendance by attending the first grade of a secondary school. The obligation of compulsory school attendance applies also to aliens with longterm or permanent residence in the territory of Slovakia. The basic legislation regulating school attendance is Act No. 29/1984 Coll. on the system of primary and secondary schools (the School Act) as amended in Act No. 350/1994 Coll. as amended by Act No. 6/1997 Coll. and Act No. 5/1999 Coll. Annex 10 presents graphs showing average expenditures per pupil at State primary schools in the Slovak Republic and the average number of pupils at State primary schools from 1991 to 1999.

138. Under article 42, paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic and the Primary and Secondary School System Act every citizen has the right to education free of charge at primary and secondary schools and, depending on individual abilities and the possibilities of the society, at institutions of higher education also. In schools other than State schools education can be provided for payment. The primary and secondary schools system comprises:

Primary schools (State, denominational, private, arts and special);

Primary schools for children with mental handicap;

Secondary schools (secondary vocational schools, comprehensive secondary schools, secondary technical schools and special secondary schools).

Students from the age of 15 or 16 and above attend secondary schools. Pupils and other applicants have the right to study at secondary school according to their capacities, knowledge, interest and health. Under Act No. 29/1984 Coll. on the primary and secondary schools system those pupils who ended compulsory school attendance at primary school in a grade lower than the ninth or failed to complete the ninth grade are given vocational training at an apprentice school. Under section 60 of the Primary and Secondary School System Act (No. 29/1984 Coll. as amended) a primary school may organize courses of basic education for citizens who failed to get any education. The courses have two forms: evening studies (instruction follows a specially adjusted curriculum and syllabus) and external studies (the school gives consultations and final examinations).

139. In accordance with Act No. 409/1990, as amended, handicapped children are educated either in ordinary schools or special schools. Annex 11 gives the number of special schools, classes and pupils in the Slovak Republic per handicap as of 15 September 1999. Special schools educate pupils with mental, sensorial or physical handicap, pupils with speech impairment, pupils with combined handicap, sick and weak pupils in health facilities using special education and instruction methods, means and forms. The right of the deaf and blind to education in their language is provided through education in sign language or Braille script. Special educational institutions have the tasks of protecting children against sociopathologic phenomena, preventing problematic development in children, preventing delinquent development in children and providing institutional and protective education. Special educational institutions are divided into:

Educational preventive institutions; and

Foster education institutions.

Educational preventive institutions include centres for educational and psychological prevention, curative and educational sanatoria and diagnostic centres. Educational preventive institutions provide specialized assistance to children from socially or educationally failing environments and to children with disturbed psychosocial development, while also working with the family in order to improve and maintain its functions. The activity of preventive institutions focuses on the protection of children against sociopathological phenomena. Foster education institutions include reeducation homes for youth and professional foster education in families. Foster education institutions give care and education, substituting for the natural family environment, to children up to 18 years of age or until completion of vocational training. Children are admitted to foster education institutions on the basis of a court order for institutional or preventive education.

140. In addition to State schools, the system of primary and secondary schools includes private schools, denominational schools (primary, secondary, special), primary arts schools and practical skills centres. The Ministry of Education has responsibility for ensuring compulsory school attendance and competence in general educational issues with respect to private and denominational schools. Education acquired at private and denominational schools is equal to the education from other schools under the School Act. The establishment of schools of all kinds is determined by material and financial conditions. Under section 56 of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 303/198 Coll. of Act of the National Council of the SR No. 277/1994 Coll. on health care the Ministry of Health has the right to establish, manage and control secondary medical schools. Education provided at these schools meets the level determined by the State. Secondary medical schools give higher specialized, full secondary specialized or secondary specialized education and these studies are free of charge. Currently there are 25 State secondary medical schools and 7 denominational secondary medical schools in the Slovak Republic.

141. The tables presented below give the breakdown of all types and kinds of schools in the Slovak Republic per language of instruction and type (State, private, denominational, sectoral and other) together with number of schools overall and the number of secondary schools at the first, second and third levels (including kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools and secondary vocational schools).

Table 4. Primary schools in the Slovak Republic
State, private and denominational

142. Altogether 671,706 pupils (670,882 Slovaks, 54,967 persons belonging to the Hungarian national minority, 5,546 persons belonging to the Roma national minority, 3,260 persons belonging to other national and ethnic groups and 824 aliens) are educated at 2,471 primary schools in 29,773 classes in the Slovak Republic.

Table 5. Kindergartens in the Slovak Republic
State, private and denominational

143. A total of 161,818 children (147,277 belonging to the Slovak national group, 12,616 belonging to the Hungarian national group, 1,199 belonging to the Roma national group, 575 belonging to other national groups and 151 children of aliens) attend 3,310 kindergartens in 7,821 classes in the Slovak Republic.

Table 6. Secondary schools in the Slovak Republic
State, private and denominational

144. Altogether 76,662 students (70,503 belonging to the Slovak national group, 5,454 belonging to the Hungarian national group, 554 students to other national groups and 151 aliens) attend 209 secondary comprehensive schools, with 2,609 classes, in the Slovak Republic.

145. A total of 96,128 students (of whom 89,257 belonging to the Slovak national group, 6,295 belonging to the Hungarian national group, 576 belonging to other national groups and 44 aliens) attend 316 secondary technical schools having 3,275 classes.

146. The Ministry of Health established 21 secondary medical schools, with 284 classes, which are attended by a total of 8,024 students.

Table 7. Secondary vocational and apprentice schools in the
Slovak Republic State, private and denominational

147. Altogether 102,522 students (93,128 belonging to the Slovak national group, 8,804 belonging to the Hungarian national group, 436 belonging to other national groups and 54 aliens) attend 363 secondary vocational schools with 4,374 classes in the Slovak Republic.

Table 8. Secondary vocational schools founded by the
Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic

^a Day postgraduate studies.

^b External studies.

148. Education is accessible to all regardless of age, gender, political affiliation and ethnic origin. Education is carried out in the State language. Citizens who belong to the Czech, Hungarian, German, Polish, Ukrainian and Ruthenian national groups or to the Roma national minority have their right to education in their language ensured to an appropriate degree.

149. The biggest problem of education in Slovakia is finding appropriate motivating elements for some groups of children imperilled with some sociopathological phenomena. Repressive measures to force the children to comply with the compulsory school attendance obligation have failed. The value system of the Roma and their way of living influence some of these children. In no European country where numerous Romany communities live has it been possible to resolve the problems of the Roma to the satisfaction of the majority and minority population. Improving the quality of education of Romany children is the basic prerequisite for the successful solution of other challenges in the Romany society. Targeted education and appropriate training create preconditions for a gradual change in the value system inside Romany families so that education becomes an accepted value and a prerequisite for successful coping by the Roma with their social, economic and social problems.

150. Where there are serious reasons for providing accommodation to pupils at the place of schooling it is possible to establish boarding houses at primary schools or special schools for children with a handicap, and youth homes at secondary schools which are a part of the school and provide board and lodging in addition to education. Schools also have clubs and libraries.

151. In municipalities with a low number of inhabitants and difficult access to cultural and educational centres, schools which cannot be considered fully organized schools, the socalled mixed class schools, are also included in the primary schools network. These schools belong to the historically oldest group in the primary school system in the territory of the Slovak Republic. Their working and didactic means make them a specific area of the school system. A school which does not have a separate class and teacher for each grade at the first level of primary school, is considered a mixed class school. One class has at least two grades and a maximum of four grades, with one teacher.

152. Act of the Slovak National Council No. 542/1990 Coll. on State administration and school selfgovernment as amended regulates the competence, organization and tasks of State administrative bodies in the school system and school administrative bodies as follows: State administration in the area of schools has the following line: headmaster, district (regional) authority, Ministry of Education and sectoral ministries. The headmaster is responsible for the observance of generally binding regulations, curricula and syllabi, the professional and educational level of the educational work of the school and the efficient use of funds allocated to ensure the operation of the school. The headmaster is also responsible for the proper management of the assets used or owned by the school. In addition, the headmaster also decides on postponing compulsory school attendance. The district (regional) authorities exercise State administration at the second school level in matters which are decided by the headmaster at the first level. Based on the inclusion or exclusion of schools from the network of schools guaranteed by the Ministry of Education, district or regional authorities can establish or cancel these schools after negotiations with a body of local government. When creating conditions for education and training they cooperate with other State authorities, municipalities, organizations and bodies of school selfgovernment. School councils and territorial school Councils initiativetaking and advisory independent bodies which express and advocate local interests and the interests of parents and educational staff in the field of education and training administer school selfgovernance. They perform the function of public control of the work of school managerial staff, district (regional) authorities and other bodies and organizations which participate in the creation of conditions for education and training in the concerned region (under section 7 and section 7/a of Act of the NC SR No. 301/1999 Coll. amending Act of the SNC No. 542/1990 Coll.). School inspection, having the function of State control over the standard and results of education and training and the tasks of pedagogic guidance and material/technical conditions of school work, is also a part of school system management. School inspection has an independent position as a body of State administration in the school system in the meaning of section 8 and section 8/a of Act of the NC SR No. 301/1999 Coll.

153. Average salaries of most workers in the school sector in the Slovak Republic do not match the high education and qualification requirements required of educational and scientific workers. In spite of partial adjustments, the teachers’ wages have not reached the desired level. Compared with similar social groups, such as judges, economists and lawyers, it is very low. The consequence is that capable teachers continue to leave and fresh graduates from institutions of higher education continue to enter the teaching profession. Women have a higher representation among educational workers in primary and secondary schools. Feminization of the school system is one of the Slovak school system’s challenges.

154. The Programme Declaration of the Government of the Slovak Republic of 19 November 1998 submitted to the National Council of the Slovak Republic states in its general part that education and training are one of the most important and enduring priorities. It pays special attention to institutions of higher education and envisages:

Gradual increasing the number of students at institutions of higher education without reducing quality;

Implementation of a multisource funding and management system at institutions of higher learning and notforprofit organizations;

Preparation of new institutions of higher learning act which will have European parameters;

Starting with differentiation of institutions of higher learning and their internal diversification;

Improvement of the level of education of citizens belonging to national minorities;

Finding solutions for the training of teachers and lecturers at schools with a minority language of instruction;

Stabilizing the status of teachers and workers in the school system through the Civil (Public) Service Act.

155. The process of education and training at primary, special and secondary schools and institutions of higher learning aims at the harmonious development of the mental and physical capacities of pupils (students), preparing them for an active adult life. Currently, education and training are undergoing qualitative changes, emphasizing humanization, democratization and tolerance. One of the main educational principles of our multicultural civil society is to give equal opportunity for lifelong education to all citizens regardless of their colour, national or ethnic origin or confession. This principle is applied in educational projects and programmes for children from socially and linguistically deprived and disadvantaged environments. The School Wide Open Foundation is one such successful programmes.

Article 14

156. Information concerning the implementation of article 14 and the provision of education free of charge in the Slovak Republic has been presented under article 13.

Article 15

157. The initial report under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women submitted to CEDAW provided information on the facts as to the right to cultural life in the Slovak Republic (CEDAW/C/SVK/1 of 20 July 1996, para. 106). Subsequently, in 1999 the Slovak Republic submitted its initial, second and third periodic reports under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which elaborated on the issue of the right to cultural life and scientific progress (CERD/C/328, paras. 6265).

158. The right of access to cultural heritage is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Slovak Republic in article 43, which reads: “Freedom of scientific research and freedom of artistic expression shall be guaranteed. Intellectual property rights shall be protected by law. The right of access to cultural heritage shall be guaranteed under the terms fixed by law.”

159. The right to the protection of cultural heritage is stipulated in chapter 6, article 44, paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic: “Every person shall have a duty to protect and improve the environment and foster cultural heritage.”

160. In the area of compliance with the fundamental democratic principles a library represents the local information centre which makes all kinds of knowledge and information available to the users. The book stock and services provided must meet the local quality needs and should include all kinds of relevant media. They must not become the subjects of any form of ideological, political and religious censorship nor may they be under the influence of commercial pressures. The book stock reflects the current trend of the development of society and it also serves as the memory of human efforts and endeavours. Services provided by a public library are based on equal access by all regardless of their age, race, gender, confession, language or social status.

161. In the Slovak Republic library information services are provided to citizens in towns and villages, mainly through public, scientific and academic libraries. The most widespread networks are those of the public libraries, i.e. municipal ones established and financed by municipalities and the network of State regional libraries established by regional authorities. More than SK 160 million was put into the operation of State public libraries in 1998. In many Slovak small towns and villages the library is the only cultural facility. In the Slovak Republic there are 2,705 public libraries. Of these, however, 2,255 are municipal libraries with nonprofessional staff and the lending service is available only a few days a week. The rather high number of public municipal libraries is linked with the mandatory development of public libraries in the territory of the former Czechoslovak Republic after the adoption of the first Library Act in 1919. This list does not include internal libraries at ministries and other State bodies and organizations, which serve as reference libraries only for the employees and do not give any services to the public.

162. The register of museums and galleries of the Slovak Republic includes 82 museums founded by State bodies and organizations, municipalities and other legal entities and natural persons. In addition to three museums with an allSlovakia coverage founded by the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic Slovenské národné múzeum (Slovak National Museum) in Bratislava, Slovenské technické múzeum (Slovak Museum of Technology) in Košice and Múzeum Slovenského národného povstania (Museum of the Slovak National Uprising) in Banská Bystrica there are 12 specialized State museums founded by central bodies of the State administration, e.g. Slovenské banské múzeum (Slovak Mining Museum), Slovenské múzeum ochrany prírody a jaskyniarstva (Slovak Museum of Nature Protection and Speleology), Múzeum obchodu (Museum of Trade), and Múzeum polície (Police Museum), as well as 42 regional history and natural history museums founded by and under the competence of regional authorities. Municipalities have founded museums only exceptionally as is the case of the Mestské múzeum (City Museum) in Bratislava. Three museums are also funded from public funds, they were founded by Matica slovenská and they are included into the Pamätník národnej kultúry Matice slovenskej (the Matica slovenská’s Monument of National Culture). There are different types of museums in the cities and towns of Bratislava, Martin, Liptovský Mikuláš, Banská Bystrica, Nitra a Košice. The only case where there are several museums established by the same founder is the city of Banská Bystrica, where Stredoslovenské múzeum (Museum of Central Slovakia) a regional history and natural history museum and Literárne a hudobné centrum (Centre of Literature and Music) are both under the competence of the Regional Authority of Banská Bystrica.

163. The register of museums and galleries includes 21 galleries, of which the Ministry of Culture founded the Slovenská národná galéria (Slovak National Gallery) in Bratislava, 17 galleries are State ones founded by regional authorities and 3 galleries have been founded by municipalities (Bratislava, KošiceStaré mesto, Dobšiná).

164. The Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic also has competence over two national edification institutions Národné osvetové centrum (National Edification Centre) in Bratislava and Slovenská ústredná hvezdáreň (Slovak National Observatory) at Hurbanove. Regional authorities have founded 37 regional centres, which have methodological and organizational functions in the field of leisure activities and culturaleducational activities for specific groups of citizens.

165. Seventeen observatories and planetaria are specialized edification facilities founded by regional authorities or they are organizational components of other legal entities (several observatories integrated into one entity in a region). After the adoption of the Municipal System Act in 1990 most of the local edification centres were transferred under the competence of municipalities, while their number was significantly reduced as a consequence of the lack of finance in municipalities. This is the reason why many of the buildings originally designated for cultural activities (the houses of culture) are used mostly for commercial activities. Local governments have founded 71 municipal cultural centres. The lack of professional cultural workers in municipalities is substituted by the work of the staff of State edification centres.

166. The Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic provided funds for minority cultures from two financial sources:

From the Ministry’s financial budget for activities of institutions which have the task of developing minority cultures in their charter,

Funds from the Ministry’s State budget for projects (legal entities and natural persons, civic associations, foundations and interest associations of legal entities) focusing on the implementation of cultural activities and publishing periodicals and nonperiodicals.

167. The 1991 census in the Slovak Republic and the Report of the Statistical Bureau of 31 December 1994 show that, out of a total of 5,356,207 inhabitants of the Slovak Republic, 766,107 persons claimed to belong to a national minority (14.3 per cent). Out of the 12 national minorities (the Hungarians, Roma, Czechs, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Germans, Moravians and Silesians, Croats, Poles and Bulgarians) the most numerous minority is the Hungarian one: 568,714 citizens claimed to belong to it. The second strongest minority is the Romany one. The Czech minority with its 51,293 citizens ranks third. The Jewish minority, organizing itself on the basis of a “religious community”, has not claimed its identity yet. The Slovak Republic has allocated funds to the development of Jewish culture as proved by the establishment of the Zidovské múzeum (Jewish Museum) in Bratislava and the renovation of Jewish cultural monuments in the territory of Slovakia. The Ministry of Culture has founded the Múzeum kultúry Karpatských Nemcov (Museum of Carpathian Germans’ Culture), Múzeum chorvátskej kultúry (Museum of Croatian Culture) and Múzeum rómskej kultúry (Museum of Romany Culture). In the Slovak Republic, national minority status is regulated in a comprehensive way in articles 12 to 34 of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, the relevant acts of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which came into effect on 1 February 1998. The Slovak Republic has the obligation to submit to the SecretaryGeneral of the Council of Europe a comprehensive report on the implementation of the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in the Slovak Republic on an annual basis (Slovakia presented its report in May 1999).

168. The development of national minority languages, is ensured by the Ministry of Culture of Slovakia at several levels:

(a) By providing dedicated State funds to cultural activities of civic associations that develop minority culture. The Slovak Ministry of Culture gives funds to the following associations:

Csemadok maďarský spoločenský a kultúrny zväz na Slovensku (Cscemadok Hungarian Social and Cultural League in Slovakia);

Maďarské ľudové hnutie za zmierenie a prosperitu (Hungarian People’s Movement for Conciliation and Prosperity);

Romany cultural units Romani kultúra, Roma Gemer, Kultúrny zväz rómskeho spoločenstva (Cultural League of the Romany Community);

Český spolok na Slovensku (Czech Club in Slovakia);

Spolok Moravanov na Slovensku (Club of the Moravians in Slovakia);

Karpatonemecký spolok na Slovensku (Carpathian German Club in Slovakia);

Rusínska obroda (Ruthenian Revival);

Chorvátsky kultúrny zväz na Slovensku (Croatian Cultural Society in Slovakia);

Kultúrny zväz Bulharov a ich priateľov na Slovensku (Cultural Association of the Bulgarians and their friends in Slovakia);

Kultúrny spolok židovských občanov (Cultural Association of Jewish citizens) giving financial contribution to the publishing of periodicals as follows:

7 periodicals for the Hungarian minority culture;

4 periodicals for the Ukrainian minority culture;

3 periodicals for the Romany minority culture;

2 periodicals for the Ruthenian minority culture;

1 periodical for the Czech minority culture;

1 periodical for the Moravian minority culture;

1 periodical for the German minority culture;

Supplements in the minority culture languages of the Hlas ľudu daily;

Supplements in the minority culture languages of the Slovenská republika daily;

Supplements in the minority culture languages of the MARK BBDO periodical.

(b) Granting funds for the publishing of nonperiodicals. Individual titles have been published by publishing houses, which acquire funds through tenders, or by publishing houses established in the individual cultural associations devoted to developing minority cultures.

(c) Granting funds to subsidized organizations working in the field of minority culture development. Annex 12 shows the funds granted to minority cultures in the period 1 January 19951 January 1999. Annexes 13 to 15 show the breakdown of funds given to minorities in Slovakia for cultural events, periodicals and nonperiodicals in the period 19971998.

169. The 2000 State budget does not specify funds in the title of culture split into allocations to minority culture and cultural activities of national minorities. The total approved budget for the regional authorities for culture is SK 784,891 thousand in 2000.

170. Relations arising from the creation, use and propagation of works of literature, science and arts are regulated by the Copyright Act (No. 383/1997 Coll.) with the aim of protecting the legitimate rights of authors, including authors of software and databases, performing artists, producers of phonograms, producers of audiovisual works, and radio and television broadcasters.

171. The two years of application of Copyright Act No. 383/1997 Coll. have justified widening the protection of digital information technology in Slovakia. The basis for the proposed changes in the draft amendment to the Copyright Act is the incorporation of provisions from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) International Copyright Treaty and provisions from the WIPO International Performances and Phonograms Treaty. After prior consent by the National Council of the Slovak Republic the President of the Slovak Republic ratified both treaties and the ratification instruments were deposited with the WIPO Director General on 14 January 2000. This amendment will remove the only area of Slovak copyright legislation incompatible with the relevant EU legislation.

172. The original legislation has mainly been expanded to cover:

The exclusive right of authors, performing artists and phonogram producers to permit public broadcasting of their works via wire and wireless connection from any place and at any time (i.e. transmission via Internet);

The exclusive right of authors to the dissemination of replicas of their works through sale or other transfer of ownership in the territory of any of the Contracting Parties;

The exclusive right of authors to grant agreement for the commercial renting of their works to the public, be it software, audiovisual works or phonograms, under the conditions stipulated in the contract;

Protection of information for the administration of rights and protection of technological measures applied by rights holders in a digital environment.

173. Legislation covering the field of culture in the Slovak Republic includes:

Act of the SNC No. 4/1958 Coll. on folk artistic production and crafts;

Act of the SNC No. 52/1959 Coll. on edification activities (the Edification Act), as amended;

Act of the SNC No.53/1959 Coll. on the uniform library system (the Library Act), as amended;

Act No. 79/1959 Coll. on the abolition of the performance tax;

Act No. 81/1966 Coll. on periodicals and other mass information media, as amended;

Act of the SNC No. 27/1987 Coll. on State care for monuments;

Decree of the Ministry of Culture of the SR No. 21/1988 Coll. implementing some provisions of Act of the SNC No. 27/1987 Coll. on State care for monuments;

Act No. 95/1991 Coll. on the Pro Slovakia State fund, as amended;

Act of the SNC No. 254/1991 Coll. on Slovak Television, as amended;

Act of the SNC No. 255/1991 Coll. on Slovak Radio, as amended;

Act of the NC SR No. 13/1993 Coll. on artistic funds, as amended by Act No. 283/1997 Coll.;

Act of the NC SR No. 270/1995 Coll. on the State language in the SR;

Act of the NC SR No. 1/1996 Coll. on audiovision, as amended by Act No. 116/1998 Coll.;

Act No. 212/1997 Coll. on mandatory copies of periodicals, nonperiodicals and copies of audiovisual works;

Act No. 383/1997 Coll. (the Copyright Act) and the act amending the Customs Act, as amended;

Act No. 384/1997 Coll. on theatre activities;

Act No. 385/1997 Coll. on the Slovak National Theatre;

Act No. 115/1998 Coll. on museums and galleries and on the protection of items with museum and gallery value;

Decree of the Ministry of Culture of the SR No. 392/1998 Coll. on the expert administration of museum collection items and gallery collection items.

CONCLUSIONS

174. In the preparation of the report, the drafters have used the extensive documentation of the Committee, recommendations adopted by the Committee and general comments, which have been of invaluable assistance.

175. The Government of the Slovak Republic adopted a declaration on the occasion of Human Rights Day and the fiftieth Anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in which it declared its resolve to respect all principles contained in the Declaration also in the future and to complete the development of an effective human rights protection system in the spirit of a democratic State with the rule of law.

List of annexes

Annex 1 Unemployment in Slovakia (specification by age and education)

Annex 2 Membership of trade unions under the Confederation of Trade Unions, 1996-1998

Annex 3 Indicators on work injuries in Slovakia, 1989, 1993 and 1998

Annex 4 Average monthly wages in Slovakia between 1991 and 1999

Annex 5 Food consumption per capita in the Slovak Republic, 1990-1999

Annex 6 Nutrition rates per capita per day in the Slovak Republic

Annex 7 Development of deaths, mortality and standardized mortality in five most frequent mortality causes, 1990-1998

Annex 8 Standardized mortality of Slovak population by gender and causes of death,

1970-1998

Annex 9 Healthcare establishments in Slovakia as of 31 December 1998

Annex 10 Average expenses per pupil at State primary schools, 1991-1999

Average number of pupils per class at State primary schools, 1991-1999

Annex 11 List of special State schools (number of schools, classes and pupils)

Annex 12 Finance provided for minority cultures (1995-1998)

Annex 13 Finance provided for cultural events (1995-1998)

Annex 14 Finance provided for periodical press (1997-1998)

Annex 15 Finance provided for non-periodical press (1997-1998)

Annex 1

UNEMPLOYED IN SLOVAKIA BY AGE AND EDUCATION

Men

Source: Statistical Office - Labour Force Sample Survey (2000).

Annex 1 (a)

UNEMPLOYED IN SLOVAKIA BY AGE AND EDUCATION

Women

Source: Statistical Office - Labour Force Sample Survey (2000).

Annex 2

MEMBERSHIP OF TRADE UNIONS UNDER THE
CONFEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS (KOZ)

Productive sector trade unions 560 597 members 51 seats

Non-productive sector trade unions 283 320 members 32 seats

Annex 3

INDICATORS ON WORK INJURIES
1989, 1993 AND 1998

Source: Statistical Office.

Key: WI - work injury.

OD - occupational disease.

Annex 4

AVERAGE MONTHLY WAGES IN SLOVAKIA BY SPHERES OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
BETWEEN 1991 AND 1999 (IN SK)

Source: Statistical Office.

^a Estimates.

Annex 5

FOOD CONSUMPTION PER CAPITA IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

^a PEFO - plant edible fats and oils.

^b Excluding sugar used for the production of alcoholic beverages.

^c Preliminary data.

The recommended consumption figures in kg per capita entered into force in 2000. We took the liberty of adjusting the division of

the consumption of individual meats to ensure clear comparability with new recommended intakes.

The time sequence of the consumption of eggs is expressed in kg (gross) for the same reason.

Annex 6

REAL AND RECOMMENDED NUTRITION RATES PER CAPITA PER DAY IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

RNR = recommended nutrition rate.

The RNR stated in table 6 is in current values. Data on nutrition consumption for some years did not come from data published

by the Statistical Office. The data published by the Statistical Office are therefore stated in the updated table for 1990-97.

Nutritional assessment of food consumption for 1998 and 1999 was only published as an assessment in the Green Report and

the Statistical Office and Food-processing Research Institute participated in its calculation.

Annex 7

DEVELOPMENT OF DEATHS, MORTALITY AND STANDARDIZED MORTALITY FOR THE FIVE
MOST FREQUENT CAUSES OF MORTALITY BY GENDER IN SLOVAKIA, 1990-1998

Annex 8

STANDARDIZED MORTALITY OF SLOVAK POPULATION BY GENDER AND
CAUSES OF DEATH, 1970-1998

Males

years

Females

years

Malignant tumours Diseases of the circulatory system Diseases of the respiratory system Diseases of the digestive system External causes of morbidity and mortality

Annex 9

HEALTHCARE ESTABLISHMENTS IN SLOVAKIA AS OF 31 DECEMBER 1998

* Equipment-related beds and positions are not included in the number of beds.

Annex 10

AVERAGE EXPENSES PER PUPIL AT STATE PRIMARY SCHOOLS
1991-1999 (IN THOUSANDS OF SK)

AVERAGE NUMBER OF PUPILS PER CLASS AT STATE PRIMARY SCHOOLS
1991-1999

Annex 11

STATE SPECIAL SCHOOLS AS OF 15 SEPTEMBER 1999 - TOTAL

Annex 11 (continued)

STATE SPECIAL SCHOOLS AS OF 15 SEPTEMBER 1999 - TOTAL

Annex 12

FINANCE PROVIDED FOR MINORITY CULTURES (1995-1998)

Annex 13

FINANCE PROVIDED FOR CULTURAL EVENTS (1997 AND 1998)

*1 Spravodliví medzi národmi (Fair Among Nations).

*2 Slovak National Museum.

*3 Radió Local, Komárno.

*4 Slovak National Museum - Croatian Culture Department.

*5 Slovak National Museum - Carpathian Germans Department.

*6 Slovak National Museum - Jewish Culture Department.

Annex 14

FINANCE PROVIDED FOR PERIODICAL PRESS (1997 AND 1998)

*1 Kubko Goral, Slovenský juh.

*2 R-Press, Slovenská republika.

Annex 15

FINANCE PROVIDED FOR NON-PERIODICAL PRESS (1997 AND 1998)

*1 Slovak National Museum - Jewish Culture department.

*2 Slovak National Museum - Carpathian Germans department.

*3 Kubko Goral - Porozumenie.

*4 TYPOLINE.

*5 DD Studio.

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