President Milanović Meets with Trade Union Leaders: Sunday work needs to be regulated as soon as possible, topic should not reappear each time ahead of elections

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović met today in his Office with Croatian trade union federation leaders – Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH), Independent Trade Unions of Croatia (NHS) and the MATICA Association of Croatian Trade Unions. The meeting between the President of the Republic and trade union leaders was held on the occasion of World Day for Decent Work, which is marked on 7 October, and talks focused on the minimum wage, non-working Sundays, prudent migration policies and the future of work in the post-COVID era.

The union leaders informed President Milanović of an initiative for the minimum wage in Croatia to be increased to at least 50% of the average wage and warned that the low cost of labour must not be the prospect for Croatian workers because, in those conditions, Croatia will not be able to retain the necessary labour force. A secure job is another problem that needs to be resolved, they said, and that can be solved through tripartite social dialogue and agreement. In that context, they pointed out the fact that there is no sincere will among Croatian employers for collective bargaining. According to the union leaders, many workers have in fact left Croatia because of insecure work models and jobs, and that is why they are appealing that that be changed. In support of their claims, they presented a survey in which 91% of respondents consider collective bargaining to be useful in defining labour relations with employers. A specific Croatian problem, they added, is the low number of young people who have a permanent job, with Croatia holding a poor record in the EU in that regard.

Another topic discussed was non-working Sundays and union demands for a law to finally be passed to resolve that problem which would regulate Sundays and public holidays as non-working days. Union members have said they want a non-working Sunday, the union leaders told the President, particularly since remuneration for Sunday work has never been properly implemented. Each employer decides of their own accord how much they will pay for Sunday work and most of them pay a minimum amount above regular hours, the union leaders warned. President Milanović agreed that Sunday work needs to be regulated as soon as possible and not for that topic to reappear each time ahead of an election.

The issue of introducing a trade union solidarity contribution was also discussed. The proposal of the trade unions is as follows: if the union, through collective bargaining, succeeds in obtaining workers’ rights that are greater than those regulated by law, all workers to whom these rights apply, who are not members of the union, would pay a solidarity contribution. However, according to the unions’ proposal, the solidarity contribution would not be union income, but would be used to develop an institution, such as a chamber of labour in some countries, that would assist in collective bargaining. The union leaders claim that this would improve the unions’ organization and strengthen collective bargaining.

The following individuals attended the meeting with President Milanović: President of the Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH) Mladen Novosel; SSSH Executive Secretary for Social Dialogue and Public Policies Ana Milićević Pezelj; President of the Commercial Trade Union of Croatia Zlatica Štulić; President of the Independent Trade Unions of Croatia (NHS) Krešimir Sever; President of the Union of Textile, Leather, Rubber and Footwear Workers of Croatia Nenad Leček; Secretary General of the Independent Trade Unions of Croatia (NHS) Marija Hanževački; President of the MATICA Association of Croatian Trade Unions Vilim Ribić; Secretary General of the MATICA Association of Croatian Trade Unions Mirela Bojić; Assistant to the Secretary General of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees Matija Kroflin.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas