ZAGREB, November 14, 2019 – Teacher unions on Wednesday rejected a new offer by the government to end the strike and said that it was even lower than what they had been offered last week, adding that the current teachers' strike would continue and that further negotiations had been suspended until further notice.

At negotiations at the Ministry of Labour and Pension System, the government presented a new proposal to the unions - the already proposed increase of 6.12% of the base wage and an analysis of the entire wage system in the public sector to include the job complexity indices of employees in primary and secondary schools, and in the science and higher education sector.

The new element in the government's proposal is the signing of an agreement on a wage supplement in education and science which defines the government's obligation to give all employees in the education system a 2% wage supplement if it does not amend the regulation on job complexity indices by 30 June 2020. The government offer also said that teachers would be paid for the days they were on strike until November 15.

The head of the secondary schools union, Branimir Mihalinec, said that last Tuesday the government offered the option of increasing the job complexity index by 2% and was now offering an optional 2% increase in supplements, which is financially a lower offer than the one of a 2% increase of the job complexity index.

"This offer is lower than the one that was put to a referendum and that teachers are resolutely rejecting. We are disappointed. Croatia does not deserve a government like this," Mihalinec said underscoring that the unions did not sign the offer.

He added that that meant that the strike would continue and that any further negotiations with the government were suspended until further notice.

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

ZAGREB, November 24, 2018 - The Preporod teachers' union has called for an 18.9% pay increase. The teachers strike announced will take place on 28 November. The union said that the strike would last a long time and would grow in intensity.

During a union meeting on Saturday, the union's leader, Željko Stipić, said that the strike was the only remaining instrument for the union to protect teachers' rights. He did not specify how long the strike would last but said that the union was prepared for long-term pressure "from week to week and month to month."

It is important that all public sector unions – in health, social welfare, culture, education – have announced that they will strike, Stipić said.

He added that the teachers' union was demanding an 18.9% pay rise because their wages had been lagging behind for more than ten years.

According to estimates, wages should increase five or six percent next year, which means that if we were to accept an increase of 5.8% – which is what eight unions have demanded in talks with the government – our wages won't be behind by 18.9% but 22-23%, he said.

There is more money in the budget than ever, 140 billion kuna, and it's time to finally define a fair price of labour in the public sector, he added.

He recalled that the government had offered an increase of 3%, which the union considers to be an insult. The entire negotiation process was organised to present the unions with a fait accompli, he concluded, adding that the conciliation process was an "insulting farce."

For more on Croatia’s education system, click here.

Little progress on the dispute which is keeping many Croatian pupils away from the classroom.