September the 28th, 2026 – Strikes will likely see the City of Zagreb totally collapse today, as ZET, Zagreb Holding and unions are set to down tools.
The management boards of Zagreb Holding and Zagreb Electric Tram (ZET) announced recently that a meeting with the unions failed to produce an agreement that would avert the strike scheduled for today at 15:30. According to their statement, the meeting was convened in another attempt to bring the positions of the employers and the unions closer and to prevent the strike.
“Despite acting in good faith, the representatives of the representative unions presented expanded demands to the managements of both companies as a condition for avoiding the strike, compared with those put forward during the mediation procedures,” the managements of Holding and ZET claim. Index reports that as an example, they cite the demand by the unions in Zagreb Holding for an increase in the base salary.
According to the managements, during mediation the unions sought a 12 percent increase in the base, while at today’s meeting they demanded 13 percent. “The managements of Zagreb Holding and ZET could not accept such an offer from the representative unions, which was presented as a condition for the strike not to take place,” they stated.
what do the unions say?
That no agreement was reached and that the strike will go ahead today was confirmed formally by Mumin Hodžić, president of the Union of Communal Workers and Drivers of Čistoća. He said the unions had “reduced” the percentage of the base salary increase to 13 percent, as well as the demands related to night-work and second-shift allowances. “We’ve given up on many things and we don’t intend to give up on anything else, especially since the other side has no other proposal except the one it already put forward,” he said.
Asked whether talks would continue tomorrow, he replied that they would not. “We came on Saturday at noon, we responded to the meeting, we put forward our offer with the aim of preventing the strike, reaching an agreement and avoiding the collapse that will happen today. However, the other side, which has constantly accused the unions of irresponsibility and this and that, came to the meeting only to hear what we would offer, while they themselves made no offer whatsoever,” he said.
“we were surprised by the offer from union reps”
Ivan Novaković, president of the Management Board of Zagreb Holding, told reporters that they were “totally surprised by the offer from the union representatives” because, he said, “they demanded more than their final offer at the end of mediation, so the meeting ended unsuccessfully.” Marko Bogdanović, president of the Management Board of ZET, said he expects arbitration at the beginning of next week to “provide an answer to the question of which essential services must continue during the strike.” The unions of ZET and Zagreb Holding had earlier sought a 19 percent increase in workers’ material rights, i.e. salaries, and the conclusion of collective agreements for a longer period. The managements had offered a 4.5 percent increase in the base salary.
the strike is due to begin today at 15:30, and the city will be left practically with zero public transport
Unless a new agreement is reached in the meantime, the strike by workers of ZET and Zagreb Holding is scheduled to begin today at 15:30. The unions had previously announced that Zagreb could in that case be left practically without public transport. Dražen Jović, president of the Union of Transport and Communal Services of Croatia, said there is a high probability that not a single ZET vehicle will run after that point today.
The unions also described the situation by saying that if the strike goes ahead on the announced scale, people “will not see a single one of our vehicles.” Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević also warned that it is very likely that not a single tram will leave the depot and that public transport could come to a near-complete standstill during the day. He called on citizens who do not have to travel to stay at home, and on those who must go to work to leave earlier and expect significantly heavier traffic. He urged employers, where possible, to allow work from home and more flexible working hours. Tomašević also said that the City of Zagreb does not intend to pay workers for the days they spend on strike.
waste collection will also grind to a halt
The strike later today wouldn’t affect only ZET. Workers of Zagreb Holding perform a range of communal services, including waste collection, road maintenance and upkeep of green areas. The unions have announced that essential services will still be carried out. These include waste collection from hospitals, kindergartens, health centres and homes for the elderly, as well as burials. Regular household waste collection could, however, be entirely suspended or at the very least significantly reduced.
It has still not been fully resolved how many workers will have to continue to perform their essential duties during the strike. The managements of ZET and Holding proposed that a portion of employees continue working during the strike, but the unions rejected that proposal, which is why the matter has gone to arbitration.
