A warning strike carried out by court employees will take place on Thursday, February 19, according to the chair of the Judicial Professional Union (OZJ) Marta Bozková. They demand that the budget of the Justice Ministry should be increased by a quarter, an act concerning the status of employees in the judiciary should be adopted immediately, and their social-economic situation should be improved. These demands have been supported by the Justice Ministry, the management of most courts, the Councils of Judges at many courts, the Judicial Council and judges' associations. "The courts' management will see to the functioning of the courts, the employees won't be present at work on the day of the strike", said Bozková, adding that nothing has changed since it was announced last Thursday (February 12) that 93.2 percent of people working at general courts would take part in the strike. This figure corresponds to around 3,700 employees working at 62 ordinary courts.
Justice Minister Tomáš Borec, who is negotiating for improvements in this area with Finance Minister Peter Kažimír, said that he's not able to prevent the strike. The unionists plan a protest in Bratislava on the day of the strike. According to Bozková, at least 500 people are expected to participate. The route should be the same as the one taken in 2012 - with court clerks meeting in front of the Finance Ministry before marching to the Justice Ministry.
