The Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia (Ombudsman) is receiving complaints from more and more individuals criticising the work of administrative units during the strike. They refer to the cancellation of appointments, the long queues of persons coming for both pre-arranged and speculative visits in front of the entrance of administrative units, and the refusal to carry out administrative procedures. The time aspect of dealing with administrative matters is a major problem that the Ombudsman has been pointing out for a long time, not least in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 annual reports, in which he singles out administrative units, after the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, as the second most frequent violator of the principle of good governance. The Ombudsman also warns the state about the problem of the economic situation of employees in administrative units and the simultaneous burden of a large number of cases, which should be solved as soon as possible with appropriate and effective measures.
On this occasion, the Ombudsman reiterates that a strike is a legitimate way to achieve goals and an important tool for workers to assert and protect their social and economic rights. However, one must be aware that, in accordance with Paragraph 2 of Article 77 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, the right to strike can be limited by law, if the public benefit requires it and taking into account the type and nature of the activity, which the operation of administrative units in many cases is.
The limitation of the right to strike for state bodies in the currently applicable Article 11 of the Strike Act (ZStk) refers to the fact that the performance of the functions of state bodies is not significantly threatened. Nevertheless, the Ombudsman warns that, in accordance with the above, this should not be the guiding criterion, but in accordance with Article 77 of the Constitution, the guiding principle of possible restrictions on the right to strike in these cases should also be the public benefit, taking into account the type and nature of the activity. It is important to realise that the substantive foundation of public benefit or national interest lies in the state's duty to individuals.[1]
Therefore, if we proceed from the above, entities that are also bearers of international obligations must fulfil these obligations or tasks in such a way that they do not hinder the state in its duties towards its citizens. At the same time, it should be noted that Article 8 of the Constitution stipulates that "laws and other regulations must be in accordance with generally applicable principles of international law and with international treaties that bind Slovenia. Ratified and published international treaties are directly applicable". Consequently, the provision of an international act places it above laws and other regulations, while the Constitution is the highest and fundamental act in the country. The hierarchy of legal acts in Article 8 of the Constitution is important because it results in the relevant provisions of the Constitution having to be interpreted in accordance with the assumed obligations of the Republic of Slovenia under international treaties.
The Ombudsman emphasises that the right to strike is a fundamental right, but it is not absolute and can be limited by law. One should not overlook the life situations and hardships in which people have found themselves due to the large-scale non-performance of works and tasks by civil servants of administrative units. The Ombudsman is aware that the accumulated problems in the administrative units cannot be solved overnight, but he expects all those responsible for the situation to find solutions and agree as soon as possible on further steps that will benefit the residents, as well as the employees of the administrative units.
[1] VDSS judgment. no. X Pdp 448/2007, 25/055/2007.
