April the 12th, 2023 – The Croatian Tourism and Services Union (STUH) is calling for foreign seasonal workers to join it this year, and there’s a very important logistical reason as to why.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, after the model of cooperation with foreign workers from a couple of years ago proved to be very successful on the example of seasonal employees from Macedonia, the Croatian Tourism and Services Union (STUH) has now launched a campaign for the first time ahead of this summer’s tourist season, inviting all foreign seasonal workers to join the union and thus protect their rights.
On the one hand, this is an opportunity for the Croatian Tourism and Services Union to strengthen its overall membership, which was lost due to the emigration of workers from Croatia abroad, and to find new models of action in this increasingly unpredictable labour market, and on the other hand, it can bring additional security to foreign seasonal workers when it comes to their labour rights in this country.
Lower membership fees
The president of the Croatian Tourism and Services Union, Eduard Andric, expects that over time, a significant interest of these foreign workers from third countries, which therefore have no EU protection to fall back on, will gradually develop.
“The share of foreign seasonal workers in the Croatian hospitality and tourism industry is increasingly taking a significant place on the labour market due to the great need for workers in the aforementioned sectors. This year, a large number of workers are expected to come from third countries which aren’t members of the European Union, and we see that this is not a temporary trend, but a new reality to which we need to adapt, and ensure the maximum levels of respect for these workers’ rights.
It’s also true that the number of members of our union is falling because people are moving away from Croatia, and this is an opportunity for us to find new members,” says Andric, recalling the example of STUH’s cooperation with the tourism union of Macedonia, which started two years ago and proved to be very successful, as touched on above.
In addition to workers being registered with the union during their time working here during the tourist season, thanks to this kind of cooperation, employers get professional workers who are selected by the unions based on their explicitly expressed needs.
“In fact, numerous employment agencies have appeared on the market that don’t care so much about the quality of their workers, they usually bring in anyone who applies and then employers have the problem of not getting the workers they actually need,” says Andric. In addition, as the Croatian Tourism and Services Union explains on its website, a large number of seasonal workers, especially workers from countries that are not members of the European Union, are entirely unaware of their labour and other rights. Most often, these workers are the most vulnerable category of workers, according to the European Commission (EC).
At the same time, the EU Directive on foreign seasonal workers, which binds the Republic of Croatia and whose provisions are included in the Law on Foreigners, in most of its provisions provides for the totally equal treatment of seasonal workers and EU/EEA citizens, with certain restrictions related to the legal length of stay in Croatia. The union is strong here when it comes to the proper infrastructure, because it has a branched network of commissioners in the field and alsp boasts its own lawyers.
“In accordance with the provisions of the Foreigners Act, the Labour Act, the national sectoral collective agreement for the hospitality industry, as well as a large number of collective agreements concluded with most employers in large hotel companies, The Croatian Tourism and Services Union provides free legal assistance to all workers in the hospitality industry and tourism who are members of the union, this includes foreign seasonal workers if they become members, all with the aim of the uniform application of legal regulations to all workers present in Croatia, their legal security and their better adaptation to the country,” they explain from STUH. Andric notes that the membership fee for foreign workers is lower, given that they are only there for the tourist season.
They noted that their members have the right to access help when concluding an employment contract with a new employer, control of their rights from the Collective Agreement and the company’s bylaws, or the national collective agreement, free legal protection at all times, including free representation in court if needed.
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