Slovak Labor Union Chief Defeats Euro-MP Challenger to Win Re-Election

Monika Uhlerová has been re-elected as president of the Confederation of Trade Unions (KOZ), Slovakia's main national labor federation, defeating a political challenger in a closely contested vote at the organization's congress. Uhlerová secured 81 votes against 71 for her rival, Branislav Ondruš, a member of the European Parliament and recent member of Hlas, a center-left Slovak political party. The congress, which elects union leadership every four years, was held for the twelfth time. In the vice-presidential race, Milan Kuruc — known to the public through his work with Pracujúca chudoba (Working Poverty), a civic association advocating for low-income workers — was elected with 81 votes, defeating the incumbent vice-president František Gajdoš. Ondruš's candidacy highlighted the intersection of party politics and organized labor in Slovakia, as his bid represented an attempt by figures tied to the ruling coalition's orbit to gain influence within the country's largest trade union body.