Government and unions hold negotiations on basic collective agreement

On Wednesday the Labour and Pension System Ministry hosted a meeting between government and trade union representatives at which the focus of discussion was a new Basic Collective Agreement for public services and a new collective agreement for civil servants.

Speaking to reporters after their negotiations, the president of the Police Union, Dubravko Jagić, made it clear what union leaders are hoping to achieve in the negotiations: “Obviously we will be looking to improve the material standing of those employed in the public service. We heard the government congratulate itself that if the GDP grows by the projected nine and a half percent, our salaries will also go up.”

Meanwhile, Labour and Pension System Minister Josip Aladrović clearly implied that money is tight: “2022, from the financial perspective, is a very demanding year, and we definitely don't have a lot of room to maneuver. However, these are negotiations, and we'll see what these negotiations produce.”

Meanwhile, the Initiative for Labour Law, which brings together unaffiliated unions, non-governmental organizations and political parties, held a press conference today, at which they presented their proposal for the amendments to the Labour Law. Marina Palčić from the Independent Trade Union of Croatian Workers laid out what their proposal entails: “Shortening the work week to 35 hours, limiting over-time work to 180 hours per year. Reducing Limited Term Employment Contracts from three to one year, legally defined minimal percentages for overtime work, night-shifts, work on Sundays and national holidays, protecting union activities, the right to strike, eliminating the misuse of temp-work agencies, and harsher measures for any breach of workers' rights.”

Katarina Peović, a member of parliament from the marginal far-left party, the Workers' Front: “We have prepared our proposal and will put it into parliamentary procedure very soon. We have also forwarded a question to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, asking him why for the past 20 months he has been conducting a completely non-transparent talks about one of the most important laws in the country.”

Source: HRT