work

Prior to the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak, the Lithuanian economy had been enjoying a rapid growth. Yet, while the number of available jobs had been increasing, the number of unemployed had remained steadily high.

When we talk about wages in Slovakia, we refer to gross wage. From an economic point of view, however, it is a fictitious value created by accountants. It represents an arbitrarily set point between the two key values: net wage and labor costs.

The European Commission (EC) has published a study on working conditions of platform workers. Platform work is understood as all labor provided through, on, or mediated by online platforms in a wide range of sectors.

Institute of Economic and Social Studies (INESS) introduced the Bureaucracy Index in Slovakia in 2016 aiming to draw the attention to the amount of red tape a small entrepreneur has to comply with on a daily basis.

The European Commission has proposed options for possible EU action addressing the challenges related to fair minimum wages in the EU. The initiative has a general objective to ensure that all workers in the EU are protected by fair minimum wages, allowing for a decent living wherever they work.

In light of COVID-19 governments around the globe are juggling between ensuring business liquidity and preserving workplaces. Most countries have taken the approach of increasing regulations and tailoring them to the topicalities.

Crises, particularly so severe as the one we are currently facing, have the inevitable habit of redefining the way our economic life works. The way people work, as well as the very labor market itself, will undergo significant changes.

Many labor market regulations were created with large mid-20th century manufacturing plants in mind – which is the spirit of the Polish Labor Code of 1974. However, along with the process of industrial automation as well as the growth of employment in services, the economic reality has changed.

Wage debates are always heated, no matter if it is an employee asking their boss for a rise, or union negotiations. Anyway, in the past year or two, the wage question became one of the leading topics of public debate in Slovakia.

Across Europe, shadow markets constitute a significant portion of the economy. According to some estimates, an average of 16% of GDP in EU member states is generated by the shadow economy.