Employees of bus companies on strike alert

KOVO trade union announced a strike alert of employees of bus companies over what they called is a stand-off following bargain talks on pay increases for the employees, confirms KOVO's chief Emil Machyna. He claims that backing from their member organisations is sizable and therefore they've received the mandate to call a strike alert. KOVO, which has come to represent an umbrella organisation for most trade unions in Slovakia, has been bemoaning differences in salaries of employees of bus companies across Slovakia and is pushing for some equality. It has also been promoting an increase to the average salary from €550 to €600. Meanwhile, employers are suggesting a lower, 1.5-percent, rise in pay. KOVO vice-chair Monika Benedeková called this inadequate. Moreover the KOVO trade union argue that lower prices of diesel create room for higher wage growth in bus transport. Bus companies claim that they've been hit by a series of setbacks, in part caused by falling passenger numbers following the free train travel for pensioners and students that the government introduced in November last year. A further round of collective bargaining talks is scheduled for this coming Friday. If trade unionists and employers fail to come to a consensus trade unionists will yet consider one more round of negotiations.