Well, you are right… it makes you wonder, why head of the employment service has almost 40% more than PM. Maybe his efficiency is so much higher and probably his work so more demanding… and why minister of culture has the highest salary amongst the ministers… its logical for directors of health centers - they are making profit… Ok, that brings us to another topic, whether they should make a lot of profit, but that’s a question for different discussion…

     by Matty on March 15, 2006 at 8:06 am

What truly baffles me is that the head of the health center in Metlika (population: 8,000) is: 1) Among the top ten earners in the country, and 2) Earns so much more than the head of the Health Center in Ljubljana (pop. 265,000) who pulls in a measly 952,196 SIT a month.And the disparity is even greater when you stop and think about the cost of living in Metlika and Ljubljana. It’s really odd.

     by Michael M. on March 15, 2006 at 8:51 am

Ad 7: It’s the _Constitutional_ Court, the Supreme Court is another institution.

     by Simon on March 15, 2006 at 9:17 am

Thanks, will fix.

     by Michael M. on March 15, 2006 at 9:32 am

Hhm, … I think this was before minister Virant’s reform. One of his chief arguments was in fact the chaotic and un-logic wage system: http://www.delo.si/index.php?sv_path=43,50&id=ec3e1b097f75dc59576f684e67eea82e04&source=Nedelo

     by Luka on March 15, 2006 at 10:42 am

@Luka: But Virant has only made things worse by proposing an accross-the-board cut in salaires of civil servants. The thing is that once you deduct taxes and other expences (such as social and health security) the shown numbers are cut in half. But I strongly agree that the Head of the employement office earns waaaaay too much - I mean it’s not as if he(she) has a lot to show for this kind of money. If I remember correctly one of the first things Virant did upon becoming minister in 2004 was to put a cap on salaries of heads of govermental offices (Javni zavod) - apparently it didn’t help.

     by pengovsky on March 15, 2006 at 12:57 pm

@Pengovsky: "Virant has only made things worse by proposing an accross-the-board cut in salaires of civil servants."I’m not sure that’s true. Some salaries went up (mayors, attorney general, etc.) and some down: according to a logic criteria."If I remember correctly one of the first things Virant did upon becoming minister in 2004 was to put a cap on salaries of heads of govermental offices (Javni zavod) - apparently it didn’t help."Again, I’m not sure, but I think we are talking of two different things. One is the old law, approved already by the former governent (in which Virant served as secretary in the Ministry of Interior) which already regulated the issue, but lacked the "podzakonski akti" (have no idea how do you say that in English) in order to be applied. Globally, however, the thing was settled with a completely new law- approved this year. So I’m guessing this figures are old and no longer valid.But I think we are going (as true Slovenians) too into detail …

     by Luka on March 15, 2006 at 3:30 pm

Indeed :))) And I have a funny feeling that this debate could get political very soon

     by pengovsky on March 15, 2006 at 3:34 pm

Some time a friend of Slovenia told me about wages in his country and I was amazed because the "spread" wasn’t so big, and mainly because the minimum wage was much higher than in my country (Mexico). In Latin America, Mexico and Brazil has the larger income distribution, which makes us have, in my opinion, a larger social debt that sooner or latter will have to be paid. Just as an example, governmental wages in Euros before taxes are: President 16,602 (of course all of his expenses are also paid), Minister 17,857, Deputy Minister 15,714, General director 9,285, Director 3,924… and the minimum wage (in Mexico city) is 90 Euros (a month) and a very large percentage of the population live in extreme poverty with with 23 Euros a month.

     by Cecilia on March 15, 2006 at 6:13 pm

To be honest Civil Service saleries all over the world are grotesquely over-inflated. I find to rationale as to why they should be any higher than other jobs on the free market. It’s not like you don’t have any responsibilities or burdens if you don’t work for the Goverment. I know it’s even worse in some other countries, but our levels alone are enough to exaperate me.

     by freddie on March 16, 2006 at 12:15 pm

Blah. Exasperate. LOL

     by freddie on March 16, 2006 at 12:16 pm

Actually … civil servants’ salaries are too low, especially those of ministers and MPs. The thing is, that a capable person will achieve a bigger salary on the market. That is why we only have lowlifes and bottom feeding assholes in the government and in the parliament.

     by Anonymous on March 16, 2006 at 7:46 pm