ZAGREB, December 3, 2019 - The agreement reached with the teachers unions is a good compromise that will ensure a cessation of the strike as of Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said after a meeting with union representatives on Monday.

"Schools will resume classes as of Tuesday. A compromise has been reached in the interests of children, pupils, parents, teachers and normal functioning of the education system," the prime minister told a press conference.

The government and the unions have agreed an increase of the job complexity index of 3% as of December 1 this year, an additional 1% as of June 1, 2020 and a further 2% as of January 1, 2021.

In this way the unions have agreed to what was agreed through the basic collective agreement, namely the 2+2+2 percent increase, the increase of the Christmas bonus from 1,250 to 1,500 kuna, the increase of the holiday allowance from 1,250 to 1,500 kuna, the increase of a gift for children from 500 to 600 kuna, and the increase of severance pay by about 2,100 kuna, the PM said.

"A decree on job complexity indices is expected to be adopted at a cabinet meeting on Thursday," Plenković announced, adding that the decree would regulate the status of secretaries, accountants, principals, lecturers and artistic assistants in higher education.

He said that the issue of non-teaching staff would be settled by an annex to the branch collective agreement which would be valid until December 2022.

Apart from entitlements, the agreement also provides for the adoption of an action plan against violence in schools, and the repeal of the possibility of filing anonymous reports against teachers by amending the Education Inspections Act.

Reiterating that the agreement could have been reached without a strike, Plenković announced an analysis of the entire wage system to ensure a sustainable system in the long term. "We are trying to be accommodating as much as we can. This government is a friend, first of all to taxpayers, because it is not running up debts for future generations like some previous governments."

He said that the days spent on strike would be paid for. "If the strike is paid for, it is only fair that the compensation classes are not," he added.

Plenković recalled what the government had offered the unions in the past weeks, noting that in the current year the government did not have additional funds to increase the indices as of September 1, as initially demanded by the unions.

"During the term of this government the total pay rise for the public and state administration sector will have been 18.3%, which is a consistent policy of this government to increase wages," the prime minister said.

Asked if he regarded this as his personal defeat, Plenković said that this government was raising wages for everyone and should not be criticised for it.

More education news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 2, 2019 - After 36 days of strike in primary and secondary schools, the unions and the government on Monday agreed on an increase of the job complexity indices for teachers, ending the longest strike in the Croatian education sector.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told the press after negotiations with the unions that an agreement had been reached that would ensure the cessation of the strike and resumption of classes throughout the country as of Tuesday.

The government has offered the unions an increase of the job complexity indices of 3% as of December 1, an additional 1% as of June 1 next year and a further 2% as of January 1, 2021, Plenković said.

The unions had demanded a pay rise through an increase of the job complexity indices of 6.11% to close the pay gap with other public-sector employees.

The head of the independent union of employees in research and higher education institutions, Vilim Ribić, said that his union would not put the latest government offer to a referendum among the membership because they already said that they would not accept any other offer but an increase of the job complexity indices.

The leader of the independent union of secondary school teachers, Branimir Mihalinec, said that his union did not have to put the government offer to a referendum, while the Preporod union said that its members would vote on the latest proposal.

The Science and Education Ministry has recommended that the schools that did not hold classes during the strike or did not hold classes on Saturdays to make up for the lost lessons, should shorten the holidays and prolong the school year.

More news about the school strike can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 2, 2019 - The Croatian government on Sunday evening stated that the negotiations with the striking unions of education-sector employees would continue on Monday, which was why Prime Minister Andrej Plenković cancelled his attendance at a UN summit meeting in Madrid.

One of the leaders of the striking unions, Branimir Mihalinec, said after a six -hour-long round of the negotiations on Sunday that the talks would go on Monday, as well as the 36-day-long industrial action.

"We have concluded that we still need some time for talks and we will continue negotiating tomorrow. We expect the conclusion (of the negotiations) tomorrow," the unionist said in his brief comment on Sunday's meeting in Government House.

"We have also agreed that we will not give statements to the press," Mhalinec said urging reporters not to ask any more questions.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković was to have attended the opening of COP25 climate summit.

More news about the school strike can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 30, 2019 - A meeting between Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the striking education unions ended inconclusively on Friday evening after three hours of talks.

Emerging from the meeting, Science and Education Minister Blaženka Divjak said that talks would continue. "Consultations with the unions are continuing," she said.

Divjak said she was pushing for a quick solution that would end the strike already on Monday. "Everyone understands that we should really act quickly, so this dialogue will continue," she added.

The leader of the primary school teachers' union, Sanja Šprem, said that the strike would continue on Monday.

The unions refused the government's offer of a pay rise of 3+3+1 percent for next year, along with a base wage increase of 6.12 percent for all public service employees. The offer was rejected at a referendum by 95.26 percent of primary school teachers, 88.93 percent of secondary school teachers and 69 percent of employees in scientific and higher education institutions.

Teachers have been on strike for 35 days.

The head of the secondary school teachers' union, Branimir Mihalinec, said that they had also discussed job complexity indices. A 6.11 percent increase of job complexity indices is the unions' main demand.

Mihalinec said they had told the prime minister that they were available for talks over the weekend, and if a solution acceptable to the unions were to be found, the unions would end the strike immediately.

Responding to questions from the press, Mihalinec said that a ban on the strike had not been discussed.

More news about the strike can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 29, 2019 - The lion's share of education workers who took part in a vote turned down the government's latest pay rise offer so the strike in the education system is continuing, union leaders said on Friday.

In a two-day referendum, 95.26% of the strikers in primary schools, 88.93% in secondary schools and 69% at faculties voted against the offer, reporters were told.

In primary schools, 31,670 workers voted as did 14,046 in secondary schools.

Therefore, said the Croatian Teachers Union, the Independent Union of Secondary School Employees and the Independent Union in Science and Higher Education, the general strike in primary and secondary schools and occasional strikes at faculties are continuing.

Earlier today, it was said that 88% of the strikers from the Preporod union had rejected the government's offer, so they too are continuing the strike in 383 primary and secondary schools.

The rejected offer envisages a pay-rise for education workers in 2020 as well as a 6.12% base pay rise for all civil servants.

Independent Union of Secondary School Employees president Branimir Mihalinec said the results of the referendum showed that education workers would not bargain over wage supplements. "The refusal of the government's offer means that education employees want to resolve the issue of their status through higher job complexity indices."

He said the rejection represented strong support to the unions to continue to demand higher job complexity indices.

Croatian Teachers Union president Sanja Šprem said being underpaid was not the only reason for the rejection. "Education employees have a problem with unnecessary red tape, the hiring freeze, the system of anonymous complaints."

Igor Radeka of the Independent Union in Science and Higher Education said the strike at faculties and science institutions would continue to be held once a week, the next one on December 5.

More news about the teachers’ strike can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 27, 2019 - Social Democrat Member of Parliament Nenad Stazić told Prime Minister Andrej Plenković during Question Time in parliament on Wednesday that there would probably have been enough money for striking teachers if the government had sent less money to Herzegovina and spent less on the Catholic Church, veterans' benefits and privileged pensions.

"Have you considered no longer giving billions (of kuna) to the Catholic Church, finally putting an end to an ever-growing number of war veterans and their privileges, making the president of the republic stop giving privileged pensions according to her liking and stop sending money to Herzegovina? Maybe then you would have enough money to meet the demands of those who teach children," said Stazić.

Plenković responded that it was unbelievable Stazić was mentioning war veterans in this context, stressing that his government had rectified numerous injustices done to veterans and shown respect for the dignity of the Homeland War.

He repeated that the latest offer to striking teachers was integral, adding that money for a wage increase existed because plans to lower the VAT rate had been given up.

"You evidently do not want to solve this problem and want to keep children uneducated because the more uneducated, stupid and primitive they are, the more easily they will vote for the HDZ," said Stazić.

Krešo Beljak of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) said Plenković had got lost in his political activity because he was assuming political responsibility for everything. "Problems in the school system should have been dealt with by the education minister or you should have fired her. You are not responsible for the arms smuggling incident, the defence minister is. A prime minister cannot be responsible for every problem in every department," said Beljak, to which Plenković repeated the government's offer to striking teachers' unions, claiming that there had been no arms smuggling incident in the army.

"Everyone responsible for non-compliance with discipline in the Croatian Army has been relieved of duty, new commanders have been appointed. An investigation is underway and the Zadar County Police Department has filed a report. There was no smuggling, there was unauthorised entry into the Zemunik air base," said Plenković.

More news about the Catholic Church can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 27, 2019 - The ongoing strike of education-sector employees will continue until Friday. Whether or not it will continue after Friday depends on whether the striking unions will accept the government's offer of a cumulative 10.4% wage increase, which was put on the table late on Tuesday evening.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that education-sector workers' wages would be increased in four turns.

As of December 1, wages would be increased by 3% through an annex to the branch collective agreement, as of 1 January 2020 they would increase by an additional 2%, as of 1 June 2020 by 3%, and as of 1 October, 2020 by an additional 2%.

Teachers' wages would go up by a total 10.4% in 2020. A 1% safeguard has been offered due to the job complexity index, which will be discussed after the election to prevent politicisation, and a regulation on it would be in force throughout 2020, said Plenković.

"We expect the strike to end and school to start as of Friday, after the unions conduct the necessary procedures," said Plenković.

Unionist Branimir Mihalinec said that the government's offer was not what the unions had asked for and that he would leave it to union members to vote on.

"We had asked for (an increase in) the job complexity index and the government said that we would discuss it next year," Mihalinec said, adding that the previous offer was zero and that the latest offer did not meet the unions' demands.

He declined to say if he personally was satisfied with the offer, saying only that it was not as the unions had expected it to be.

The meeting between government officials and the striking school unions started on Tuesday around 4.30 pm and ended around midnight. It was first chaired by Prime Minister Plenković's chief of staff Zvonimir Frka Petešić, and Plenković joined the negotiators after a government session.

Due to the strike, which on Wednesday enters its 33rd day, primary and secondary school students have not attended school for 13 days. Science and Education Minister Blaženka Divjak has said that the time spent on strike would be compensated for by prolonging the academic year and making holidays shorter.

More news about the school strike can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 26, 2019 - Teachers' unions and the government on Monday failed to reach agreement on the demands by striking teachers, and negotiations will continue on Tuesday.

The unions would not discuss details of the meeting, while the government representative expressed optimism and said that the two sides were "close to a solution".

"We failed to reach agreement and are continuing negotiations tomorrow. We agreed not to reveal whether we are satisfied or not, but the positive fact is that we are continuing talks tomorrow," the leader of the Matica association of trade unions, Vilim Ribić, told the press after seven hours of talks in the government offices.

The head of the secondary school teachers' union, Branimir Mihalinec, said: "We are continuing negotiations tomorrow. If we conclude them tomorrow, we go to a referendum." He declined to talk about the government's offer or say if any progress had been made.

The leader of the primary school teachers' union, Sanja Šprem, said that the talks were exhausting. "There are several options on the table and tomorrow we will see what possible solutions are. We made a maximum contribution in order for the talks to be constructive and conclusive," she said, adding that they expected the days spent on strike to be paid.

The chief government negotiator, the prime minister's chief of staff Zvonimir Frka Petešić, said that progress had been made and that the talks were "very constructive". "I think we are close to a solution, and talks are continuing tomorrow," he said.

"We are absolutely aware of the injustice towards primary and secondary school teachers that has accumulated over the years and we want to remedy it. We are seeking the best solution. There are a lot of options on the table, but I cannot discuss that. It is very important to us that we arrive at a solution," Petešić said.

Earlier, the prime minister's adviser on social issues, Zvonko Kusić of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, said in a television talk show that the talks with the unions were "exhausting, complex and promising."

Kusić said that the unions were inclined to job complexity indices being revised over a certain period of time because it was a complicated process, and until that is done, the proposal is to revise wage supplements to compensate for the inadequate indices.

The meeting between the unions and the government came after over 20,000 teachers from all over Croatia gathered in Zagreb's main square Trg Bana Jelačića at noon on Monday to demand a 6.11% increase of job complexity indices to close the wage gap with other public services.

Mihalinec asked the press to try to find out what sort of lists the police were making of protesters in Krapina-Zagorje County, saying that this was "intimidation of the people on strike."

Petešić said he was surprised by this information because the right to strike was guaranteed by the constitution. He said the police were making inquiries about the number of buses used by protesters for reasons of traffic safety.

The unions said it was not clear why the police needed such information only in one county and not in the others, stressing that they had notified the police in advance that there would be about 200 buses.

More news about the teachers’ strike can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 25, 2019 - Over 20,000 teachers from throughout Croatia gathered in Zagreb's main square Trg Bana Jelačića at noon on Monday to demand a 6.11% increase of job complexity indices, carrying banners saying "All we want for Xmas is 6.11", "This is not a strike, this is a reform" and "Striking for life."

Teachers' unions have been on strike for 31 days. Initially, the strike was organised on a rotating basis, with the industrial action taking place every day in different counties, while a general strike began last Tuesday. Teachers are demanding a 6.11% increase of job complexity indices to close the wage gap with other public services.

The government offered a base wage increase of 6.12% as of next year on a 2+2+2 basis and an analysis of wages in the public sector to compare job complexity indices for employees in the primary, secondary and tertiary education and science sector. If the system of job complexity indices are not regulated by the end of June next year, the government would provide a wage supplement of 2%.

The unions rejected the government offer saying it would not solve the problem of lagging wages.

The leader of the secondary school teachers' union, Branimir Mihalinec, said on Friday after a meeting between the government and the unions that they were getting closer to a solution, but did not elaborate.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday morning he expected an agreement would be reached with striking teachers' unions in the afternoon.

"Talks will be held this afternoon after the protest rally. I appeal to all unions, union leaders, to take into account that it would be good for children to return to their classes as soon as possible. If the question was whether we heard the message, yes we did," the prime minister told the press after opening the Shared Services Centre of the state-owned information technology company APIS IT.

"I think we have a solution. It aims to ensure that children go to school, that teachers are satisfied and that this whole story ends in such a way that we can all say that we have improved the system," Plenković said, adding that he expected a solution to be found today. He would not discuss details of the government's new offer.

Mihalinec said before the protest rally on Monday if an agreement were reached today, it would be put to a referendum among the membership in the next two days, and if it were endorsed, the strike would be ended and school classes would resume on Thursday.

More news about the teachers’ strike can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 25, 2019) - Education and Science Minister Blaženka Divjak said on Sunday that a solution to the ongoing teachers' strike had been on the table since Friday and that it was important for everyone to remain calm and present well-argued positions.

"I have been clear from the start that open dialogue, cooperation and openness to a healthy compromise have no alternative," Divjak wrote on her Facebook wall on Sunday, adding that everyone would lose if students' interests were not given priority.

As for relations between the striking teachers' unions and the government, she said that they had abandoned their entrenched positions and that concrete analyses and arguments had been put on the table.

"Maybe I'm a stubborn optimist but there is room for agreement and a solution has been on the table since Friday, which is why it is important that everyone stays calm and presents well-argued positions..." the minister said, adding that the crisis had to be solved so that students and teachers could return to schools satisfied and motivated and continue co-creating the education reform.

Even though some media outlets have quoted their sources as saying that the negotiations between government officials and the striking unions were expected to continue in government offices on Sunday, the leader of the Union of Education Sector Employees, Željko Stipić, told Hina that his union had not received any invitation.

"We are focused on tomorrow's protest, tomorrow is a big day, we expect tens of thousands of protesters," Stipić told Hina.

According to media reports, 27 buses are expected to arrive in Zagreb from all over the country for the announced protest of education-sector workers.

The leader of the secondary school teachers' union, Branimir Mihalinec, said on Friday evening after a meeting with government representatives that "finally a good meeting has been held" and that they were getting closer to a solution.

"Meetings will continue and we expect a solution to be reached next week. It will then be put to a vote by our members," Mihalinec told the press.

Stipić said today that agreement was reached at the Friday talks to continue with consultations, and that he expected his union to be invited to talks after the protest, which is scheduled to start at noon in Zagreb's Trg Ban Josip Jelačić square.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday, after the meeting with representatives of the striking teachers' unions, that the meeting was yet another attempt by the government to find a solution, promising that he would do his best so that agreement was reached and an end was put to the strike. He also noted that Minister Divjak shared the responsibility for the strike.

Plenković on Saturday repeated that he expected the teachers' strike to end next week after the striking unions were on Friday presented with an offer that was expected to help free the strike from political connotations and show that the government respected teachers.

More news about the teachers strike can be found in the Politics section.