The political crisis that has left Slovenia without a government as the economy faces severe strain was pushed to the background as parliament managed to approve a long-delayed labour reform on March 5, newswires reported.

The labour reform, one of a series of measures designed to make the economy more competitive and enable it to avoid becoming the next Eurzone country to require a bailout, will make it easier to hire and fire employees and reduce redundancy payments. This should encourage the creation of new jobs, Labour Minister Andrej Vizjak told reporters after the vote.

Slovenia is awaiting a new government after parliament last week voted out the conservatives, unpopular after spending cuts and allegations of government corruption, and gave Alenka Bratusek of the centre-left Positive Slovenia until March 14 to form a new cabinet.

Source: bne