ZAGREB, May 29, 2020 – Minister of Labour and Pension System Josip Aladrovic and unions representing state administration employees on Friday signed an annex to the basic collective agreement.
“Today we held a fourth meeting with state administration employees’ unions. What we hoped for and expected was achieved – a compromise, which is the same as the compromise with public sector employees. This closes our negotiations. On Monday we expect the signing of the annex after the government approves it,” Aladrovic said after the meeting.
He reiterated that the same annex was signed with public servants, envisaging the deferral of the base pay rise that was to have occurred on 1 June and 1 October.
A representative of a union of interior ministry employees, Zdravko Loncar, said that they had decided to initial the annex because they wanted to be stakeholders in the process so as to meet their obligations towards union members.
“This is damage control. We did not wish to leave it up to some new government to take everything from us after the election. This is our contribution at this moment, we empathise with everyone, we are part of the people and live with the people. We believe that we are in a much better position,” said Loncar.
Local and state administration employees’ union leader Iva Suskovic, too, said that union bodies had agreed to accept the government’s offer.
She expressed hope that the negotiations with the government would continue.
“We hope to sit at the table with the new government in the autumn and discuss all the problems in state administration services, not only the low salaries but primarily working conditions, material rights and ways of improving the status of state administration employees. We do not want to negotiate only about the suspension of the base pay increase and Christmas bonuses because the problem in state administration is much deeper,” said Suskovic.
Police union leader Dubravko Jagic said that the membership of his union had also decided to sign the annex.
