Government and unions remain at odds over pay increase

The government on Friday rejected the unions' demands for an increase to base pay for public sector workers by 4 per cent as of April 1st.  

The government stood by its proposal that base pay could not be increased by more than 2 per cent.

Union leaders want Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to join in the efforts to resolve this issue, arguing that the amount of money in question was not so large that a compromise could not be reached.

They have even threatened strikes after the Easter holidays if the prime minister fails to respond to their demands.

All 11 public sector unions rejected the government's offer of a base pay rise of 2 per cent on the first of this month, demanding a 4 per cent increase instead.

"The inflation rate is around 6 per cent while GDP growth is over 10 per cent. This means the government does have the necessary funds. With this in mind, the government is offering a two per cent increase. This is an insult to the people who's efforts have saved citizens' lives, saved society, and even saved this country," said Vilim Ribić, the head of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees.

Aside from the 4 per cent increase as of April 1st, public sector unions insist on further talks at the end of May on increasing the base pay in the second half of the year, depending on inflation, other pay rates in the country and the economic situation, the unions said.