ZAGREB, August 15, 2019 - The government will secure funds for a previously agreed 2% increase in the base pay of civil servants and public service employees, to go into force on September 1, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić told Hina on Wednesday, stressing that the government had a horizontal approach to civil servants and public service employees and treated them equally.
The minister recalled an agreement with trade unions from 2017 when the base pay was increased in three rounds by slightly more than 6%.
That dialogue continued and in 2018 and 2019 an additional increase of 3% was agreed for January 1, 2019, he said, adding that unions also asked for an additional, 2% increase as of September 1. The government said at the time that it did not have the necessary funds but that it was willing to accept the unions' demand if savings were made on other budget items, said Marić.
"That is what we have been working on, what we accepted as an obligation and we will honour it," he said, adding that most ministries did not have funds for a 2% increase in the base pay of their employees but that the government would honour the deal with trade unions and increase the base pay by 2% for all civil servants and public service workers.
Marić underlined that the government treated all civil servants and public service employees in the same way.
"With all due respect, but employees in the health and education sectors cannot be singled out from other services," he said.
Asked to comment on media reports that he was angry because doctors and teachers were promised a salary increase without consultations with him, Marić said that his communication with former labour and pension system minister Marko Pavić and his successor Josip Aladrović had been very clear and that all ministers should be involved in talks on raising the salaries of civil servants and public service workers.
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