Defence Minister Naď: Active Duty Soldiers State Service Amendment Bill will strengthen the societal prestige of the military profession
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- Date: 24.08.2022
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The SVK Government has today greenlighted the Active Duty Soldiers State Service Amendment Bill, with the view to increasing the quality of military personnel, stabilising personnel levels, improving the care and wellbeing of service personnel and their families, as well as optimising the recruitment system in the Slovak Armed Forces. The institution of the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Slovak Armed Forces is a novelty that allows service personnel to better protect their individual rights.
On the Amendment Bill, Jaroslav Naď said: “It pleases me that the Government has approved the amending proposals to see progress on the commitments made in the SVK Government Manifesto. In doing so, members of the Cabinet have confirmed they do care not only about strengthening the societal prestige of the military profession, but also about sustaining the Slovak Armed Forces as the strongest and most credible element of the State apparatus in these difficult times."
According to the head of the MOD, service personnel do not have enough opportunities to seek justice and their attempts to claim their rights usually lead them to take their cases to court. “Under the new arrangements, after using all the statutory options for redressing their grievances, the service members who believe their fundamental rights and freedoms have been violated will be entitled to get in touch with the Service Complaints Ombudsman,” Naď explained.
Additionally, the minister noted that the State Service system will now allow the unsuccessful Officer Cadets to have a restart in their careers in a different rank. Thanks to this change, they will be able to enter the Temporary State Service and serve in the rank of Private. Importantly, there will be more effective checks on the reliability of candidates for the State Service in order to combat the spread of propaganda and disinformation. For example, the minister firmly believes that support for extremist organisations has no place in the Armed Forces.
The Amendment Bill also covers an improved selection process for recruiting new cadres, new options for bonuses in the State Service, and shorter promotion periods for selected military ranks. This means speeding up the promotion of service personnel and reducing the age of promotion.
On the Amendment Bill, Jaroslav Naď said: “It pleases me that the Government has approved the amending proposals to see progress on the commitments made in the SVK Government Manifesto. In doing so, members of the Cabinet have confirmed they do care not only about strengthening the societal prestige of the military profession, but also about sustaining the Slovak Armed Forces as the strongest and most credible element of the State apparatus in these difficult times."
According to the head of the MOD, service personnel do not have enough opportunities to seek justice and their attempts to claim their rights usually lead them to take their cases to court. “Under the new arrangements, after using all the statutory options for redressing their grievances, the service members who believe their fundamental rights and freedoms have been violated will be entitled to get in touch with the Service Complaints Ombudsman,” Naď explained.
Additionally, the minister noted that the State Service system will now allow the unsuccessful Officer Cadets to have a restart in their careers in a different rank. Thanks to this change, they will be able to enter the Temporary State Service and serve in the rank of Private. Importantly, there will be more effective checks on the reliability of candidates for the State Service in order to combat the spread of propaganda and disinformation. For example, the minister firmly believes that support for extremist organisations has no place in the Armed Forces.
The Amendment Bill also covers an improved selection process for recruiting new cadres, new options for bonuses in the State Service, and shorter promotion periods for selected military ranks. This means speeding up the promotion of service personnel and reducing the age of promotion.
