ZAGREB, October 11, 2019 - Almost 90% of teachers in Split-Dalmatia, Varazdin, Dubrovnik-Neretva and Međimurje counties, where a rotating strike continued on Friday, have responded to the strike, leaders of the two largest teachers' unions said.
As many as 88.17% of secondary school teachers and 89.65% of primary schools teachers in these four counties were striking on Friday, they said.
Teachers are calling for a 6.11% increase of their job complexity index, and the strike will rotate on Monday to Krapina-Zagorje, Zagreb, Virovitica-Podravina, Koprivnica-Križevci and Bjelovar counties, the union leaders told a press conference.
Commenting on Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's remark that the strike had no legal grounds, union leader Branimir Mihalinec said that the government would show its weakness and fear if it tried to ban the strike.
He added that the prime minister's statements just showed that it was possible that the government might decide to resolve the conflict with violence because banning the strike would be legal violence.
"Everything is heading in that direction when the prime minister describes the constitutional right to strike as an obstruction. That right is written in the Labour Act. That might just be a good introduction for the prime minister to the presidency of the EU - to explain the violation of the right to strike and citizens' rights in this country," Mihalinec said.
"The response on the second day (of the strike) is good. This rotation has contributed to it being at the same level as the first day. These are good data, a high response particularly when it comes to a second day," Željko Stipić of the Preporod school union told a press conference earlier in the day. This union joined the strike launched by the Independent Union of Employees in Secondary Schools and the Union of Croatian Teachers after the process of conciliation with the government fell through.
More news about the strike can be found in the Lifestyle section.
