M. R. Štefánik Airport in Bratislava has been suffering from financial loss for 13 years now. The last time the airport was in profit was in 2008 when it had a revenue of 32.5m euros and two million passengers passing through.
Since then, the airport has sustained losses of over 80m euros. The main reason behind them is the high depreciation rate of fixed assets, which reaches over 10m euros a year. On top of that, the pandemic reduced their revenue by two thirds. The year before the last saw a loss of 14m euros, and last year around 3m euros.
However, the airport’s director Dušan Keketi Jr says they don’t plan to make any employees redundant. In fact, the management is in the process of pay negotiation with unions. He said the possibility of industrial action is unlikely.
The airport is working on expanding its list of travel destinations to attract more travellers. Keketi said there might be a connection to Athens in the summer and maybe even to Saint Petersburg later on. Bratislava Airport faces tough competition from Vienna – Schwechat Airport has strong European and intercontinental connections that served more than 30 million passengers in 2019.
It's high time for salary increases
According to the company Profesia, the average monthly salary in Slovakia after adding on all bonuses and benefits is around 1,500 euros. That is a significant improvement given that just six years ago, most Slovaks had less than 1,000 euros on their payslip.
However, when compared to other countries in Central Europe, Slovakia lands on the second-to-last place. Only Hungary with an average gross income of 1,451 euros is below us.
Salaries are predicted to rise in the next few months. As the economy bounces back after the pandemic decline, managers will have to deal with increased sales and insufficient labour force. The answer to the problem will be pay rises. A tough fight will break out especially in the competition for experts and experienced employees.
Based on the result of TREND’s survey of 62 selected personalities of the Slovak economy, 25 said they do not see a massive salary increase in the near future as inflation will only allow for a moderate one.
Some industries will pay better than others – especially those who have come out of the pandemic on top, like supermarket retailers. Unaffected by the pandemic closures, wages of hypermarket workers increased by 9.8% in the third quarter last year.
Should we lower VAT to 5%?
The Slovak Parliament is under pressure to reduce value-added tax (VAT) from the current rate of 20% to 5% for certain parts of the food and hospitality industry, such as selected types of food and eating out in restaurants.
Slovakia is trailing behind its neighbours in the VAT rate in the food industry, causing a new trend of “grocery tourism”. People living close to borders choose to spend their money in shops in the neighbouring countries, where VAT is lower and goods cheaper.
Commenting on the trend, Finance Minister Igor Matovič said losing the taxes of those shoppers is more beneficial to the country than reforming the tax system. If VAT on certain goods decreased to 5%, the state would lose 150 to 200m euros.
And inflation is only about to get worse, said Peter Kremský, the chairman of the Economic Committee and a member of the Financial Committee of the Parliament. He predicted inflation will rise to more than 10% within the following year.
Other stories of the week
- The rewards nurses get are unfair and not motivating, and that is why many go abroad for work, says the Slovak Chamber of Nurses and Midwives (SK SaPA). They suggest a raise of 300 euros and an experience-based reward system.
- Company Greentech, located near Banská Bystrica, has over the years become one of the biggest PET bottle recycling plants in Central Europe, quadrupling their revenue in just three years.
- ZSE Energia is planning to build its first large-capacity battery storage in Nižná pri Piešťanoch. It should be fully functional by 2025 and it will help increase the stability of the power grid and allow the country to build new solar and wind power plants.
- Generational change in family businesses can be a nightmare because of lacking legislation – that might soon change.
- If there were parliamentary elections this January, Direction – Slovak Social Democracy party would win with 15.6% of the vote, and just behind it would be Voice – Social Democracy and Freedom and Solidarity, both with 13.5%.
- Recent research shows that Slovaks underestimate online security – they know little about cybersecurity, yet they are scared of cyberattacks.
- The first test of investment literacy in Slovakia points to gaps in mathematics – not only do we have trouble understanding compound interest and distinguishing between investment and saving, but we also struggle with calculating returns and percentages.
Thank you for reading.
See you next week.
