By Marja Novak
LJUBLJANA, April 10 (Reuters) - Slovenians gave a resounding 'no' to the government's new labour law in a referendum on Sunday, indicating its plans to overhaul pension policy to streamline public finances will struggle to win support.
Preliminary results of the labour law referendum released by 1900 GMT showed 80.2 percent of voters rejected the law while 19.8 percent backed it, the state electoral committee said.
Turnout in the referendum was 33.7 percent.
The labour law, passed in November, was designed to raise taxes on working students and limit their right to work.
It was also expected to make it easier for companies to create part-time jobs, a move the centre-left government said would encourage labour market flexibility.
However, students' associations and trade unions demanded a referendum on the law, claiming it would make it difficult for students to support themselves and see companies create poorly paid, part-time jobs, instead of full-time positions.
'This result is a disaster for Prime Minister (Borut) Pahor. The percentage of those who voted against the law is surprisingly large ... and means that there is no hope for the government to win any referendum in the rest of its mandate,' Borut Hocevar, an editor at daily Zurnal24 told Reuters.
Earlier this week, Pahor said the government's priority was to win an expected referendum on pension reform which it claims is crucial for the long-term stability of Slovenian public finances.
The proposed reform would see the retirement age rise to 65, from 57 for women and 58 for men, but unions are demanding a referendum saying the increase is too dramatic.
Opinion polls show most Slovenians oppose reform of the pension system and are likely to vote against it in the referendum, expected to be held next month.
'Reforms are needed in Slovenia but I can see no changes under this government as it is not able to gain support by key opinion makers for its reforms,' Hocevar said.
Parliamentary elections are due in autumn 2012. Analysts do not expect the government to call an earlier vote even though its popularity fell to an all-time low in past months amid rising unemployment and slow economic recovery.
Eurozone member Slovenia, which is largely dependent on exports, was badly hit by the global crisis.
Its economy shrank by 8.1 percent in 2009. The government expects economic growth of 2.2 percent this year, up from 1.2 percent in 2010.
(Reporting by Marja Novak; Editing by Sophie Hares) Keywords: SLOVENIA REFERENDUM/ (marja.novak@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: marja.novak.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
LJUBLJANA, April 10 (Reuters) - Slovenians gave a resounding 'no' to the government's new labour law in a referendum on Sunday, indicating its plans to overhaul pension policy to streamline public finances will struggle to win support.
Preliminary results of the labour law referendum released by 1900 GMT showed 80.2 percent of voters rejected the law while 19.8 percent backed it, the state electoral committee said.
Turnout in the referendum was 33.7 percent.
The labour law, passed in November, was designed to raise taxes on working students and limit their right to work.
It was also expected to make it easier for companies to create part-time jobs, a move the centre-left government said would encourage labour market flexibility.
However, students' associations and trade unions demanded a referendum on the law, claiming it would make it difficult for students to support themselves and see companies create poorly paid, part-time jobs, instead of full-time positions.
'This result is a disaster for Prime Minister (Borut) Pahor. The percentage of those who voted against the law is surprisingly large ... and means that there is no hope for the government to win any referendum in the rest of its mandate,' Borut Hocevar, an editor at daily Zurnal24 told Reuters.
Earlier this week, Pahor said the government's priority was to win an expected referendum on pension reform which it claims is crucial for the long-term stability of Slovenian public finances.
The proposed reform would see the retirement age rise to 65, from 57 for women and 58 for men, but unions are demanding a referendum saying the increase is too dramatic.
Opinion polls show most Slovenians oppose reform of the pension system and are likely to vote against it in the referendum, expected to be held next month.
'Reforms are needed in Slovenia but I can see no changes under this government as it is not able to gain support by key opinion makers for its reforms,' Hocevar said.
Parliamentary elections are due in autumn 2012. Analysts do not expect the government to call an earlier vote even though its popularity fell to an all-time low in past months amid rising unemployment and slow economic recovery.
Eurozone member Slovenia, which is largely dependent on exports, was badly hit by the global crisis.
Its economy shrank by 8.1 percent in 2009. The government expects economic growth of 2.2 percent this year, up from 1.2 percent in 2010.
(Reporting by Marja Novak; Editing by Sophie Hares) Keywords: SLOVENIA REFERENDUM/ (marja.novak@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: marja.novak.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.