Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for measure SK-2020-11/284 – Updated – measures in Slovakia
Country |
Slovakia
, applies locally
|
Time period | Open ended, started on 13 March 2020 |
Context | COVID-19 |
Type | Company practices |
Category |
Reorientation of business activities
– Change of production/innovation |
Author | Rastislav Bednarik, Daniela Keselova and Miroslava Kordosova (IVPR) and Eurofound |
Measure added | 05 April 2020 (updated 13 May 2021) |
In order to face a serious lack of personal protective equipment in the country, the government, on it meetings held on 11 and 15 March, decided to increase the stock of the COVID-19-related sanitary protective materials in Slovakia. In the light of the above, the private textile company Zornica, located in Bánovce nad Bebravou, decided to switch its production, becoming available to provide the government, and possibly other customers, with a wide supply of sanitary protective masks.
As there was a lack of personal protective sanitary masks, a private company Zornica Banco Fashion in Banovce nad Bebravou was the first company which came with the initiative to stop the production of fashion textile, mainly shirts, for the open market and replace it by the production of personal sanitary protective masks for the use in Slovakia, preferably for the government. According to the available information, by changing the production, the company also responded to the expected decline of demands of its usual customers. The competent government body, consequently, concluded a temporary contract with the company for urgent production of sanitary masks.
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
01 October 2020 |
According to the Zornica, the production of antibacterial personal sanitary masks replaced the original production of men´s shirts, and presently, it makes the main production programme of the company. |
About 140 workers are engaged in the fulfilment of the contract. The company responded quickly and delivered the fist 20,000 personal masks on 17 March 2020. According to the agreement mentioned above, the company will deliver about 650,000 sanitary masks in total. The most of them will be delivered to the Administration of State Material Reserves of the Slovak Republic (Správa statnych hmotnych rezerv Slovenskej republiky).
Presently, the company supplies personal masks to many other customers. For instance, to the Ministry of Interior, Association of Commerce, General Health Insurance Agency and several large companies. According to the company, it produced about 2.1 million personal masks by the end of September 2020.
Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
---|---|---|
Employees in standard employment
Particular professions |
Does not apply to businesses |
The COVID-19 risk group
People in care facilities |
Actors | Funding |
---|---|
National government
Company / Companies |
Employer
National funds |
Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:
Trade unions | Employers' organisations | |
---|---|---|
Role | Consulted | Informed |
Form | Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal | Not applicable |
Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
Production of personal protective sanitary masks and changes in the production programme of the company were consulted with the local trade union organisation of the Integrated Trade Union Association (IOZ).
The production of personal protective sanitary masks and following changes in the production programme of the company saved employment in the company and were supported by local trade unions.
This case is sector-specific
Economic area | Sector (NACE level 2) |
---|---|
C - Manufacturing | C13 Manufacture of textiles |
This case is not occupation-specific.
Citation
Eurofound (2020), Production of personal sanitary protective masks, measure SK-2020-11/284 (measures in Slovakia), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/SK-2020-11_284.html
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