ZAGREB, 8 April (2022) - The government on Friday rejected the unions' proposal to increase base pay for public sector workers by 4 per cent as of 1 April, and the unions demanded that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković join in the negotiations by next Wednesday.
The government stood by its proposal that base pay could not be increased by more than 2 per cent, Preporod Union leader Željko Stipić told the press after the meeting.
The unions want the prime minister to join in the efforts to resolve this issue, arguing that the amount of money in question was not so large that a compromise solution could not be reached. They announced strikes after Easter unless the prime minister responded to their demands.
"All the unions agree with such a course of action," Stipić said.
All 11 public sector unions rejected the government's offer of a base pay rise of 2 per cent as of 1 April, demanding a 4 per cent increase.
Since the latest data on inflation shows that prices have increased by 6.3 per cent on an annual level, the public sector unions continue to insist on a base pay increase of 4 per cent as of 1 April and on further talks at the end of May on increasing the base in the second half of the year, depending on inflation, other pay rates in the country and the economic situation, the unions said.
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