Members of Klub 500 (an association of companies with more than 500 employees) are concerned by statements made by Finance Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO) addressed to their chairman Vladimir Sotak, Klub 500 said on Tuesday, adding that Slovak industrial employers have insisted on the need to discuss with the Government the maintaining of employment in domestic factories.
"It's shocking that instead of constructive feedback, we're receiving very serious public threats smelling of criminalisation and persecution," said Klub 500 vice-president Jozef Dušan Hric. Following Sotak's criticism of the prime minister's hesitation to support jobs in Slovak companies, the finance minister in an interview with SME daily questioned Sotak's credibility by saying "they can take a closer look at his company, they can look at his past and so on, and see just how credible this person is to evaluate such things."
The finance minister's words are worrying to all Klub 500 members, as according to them it isn't possible to defend against such an abuse of state power. "The goal of Klub 500 President Vladimir Sotak was to point out that up to a quarter of jobs in domestic industry are at risk, as the Government has repeatedly failed to approve sufficient resources to maintain employment following the coronavirus crisis," said the employers.
On Monday (August 3), the Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry expressed its full factual support for Klub 500's call to Premier Matovič not to block measures intended to save jobs.
