No end in sight for strike of court employees

The strike of court employees has entered into its seventh week. As of Monday, all those who participate in the strike will be paid a reduced salary, based on a decision adopted by government at the end of last week.

In spite of the government decision to pay out reduced salaries to all those who participate in the strike, the President of the Union of State and Local Civil Servants and State Employees, Iva Šušković, says they are not giving up on their demand for an immediate €400 raise: "Given all of the pressure we've been subjected to, people have decided to stay on strike in spite of the government decision to not pay them for the days that they are on strike."

Meanwhile, the President of the Supreme Court, Radovan Dobronić, met with the heads of county and high courts on Monday, where they agreed that the situation in the judiciary is no longer tenable. The concluded that if government and the trade unions do not reach an agreement by the end of this week, the courts will not and cannot bear responsibility for the consequences: "We have determined that what the ministry actually expects is in reality a shifting of responsibility onto the courts for the current situation, a situation that the ministry itself bears the biggest responsibility. Government's decision to as of today reduce workers’ wages for the days they are on strike, as well as the allegedly coincidental involvement of the police, has additionally irritated court employees."

Justice and Administration Minister Ivan Malenica was quick to respond to Dobronić's criticisms: "I personally think that the President of the Supreme Court has politicized this issue, and that definitely does not help resolve this situation. The ministry's proposal is to raise wages in two tranches, this one that happened in June, and then a second in January, when the new law takes effect. We have provided guarantees for this, and we're prepared to discuss the salary coefficients. However, the unions have responded with an ultimatum that they want the pay raise now. We did not accept that."

Source: HRT