Soldiers to receive higher Service pay

Higher Service pay for soldiers is now a reality. The Active Duty Soldiers State Service (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to make the Service conditions in the Slovak Armed Forces more attractive, has become an Act of Parliament following its endorsement by the Parliament’s plenary. The new piece of legislation will enter into force on 1 February 2020.

Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš said: “Today we have fulfilled the promise we gave to our service members. This marks a historic milestone, because there have been no major adjustments in Service pay since 2006.” 

As Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Security and Defence Anton Hrnko pointed out, remuneration in the armed forces has not, until now, been so fair. “Appointment-based pay makes challenging positions more attractive now,” he said, adding that this is an important step towards bringing the quality of the Slovak Armed Forces to a higher level.

Under the Amendment Act, Service pay will consist of two elements – rank-based pay and appointment-based pay. Rank-based pay will account for 1/3 and appointment-based pay for 2/3 of Service pay. The latter may be increased by up to 50%. Another novelty is a year-on-year increase of 1 per cent in Service pay for every year of service.