October 9, 2021 - They would get the same salary and work the same number of hours, but in four longer working days, with one day a week more for themselves. Already being implemented in some European countries, what would a four-day working week look like in Croatia? Employers and workers' unions comment on this.

The sound news that Belgium, due to labor market reforms, could soon switch to a four-day working week is not as revolutionary as it seems at first glance, reports Jutarnji List. According to a proposal that leaked to the public, Belgians would still work the same number of hours a week, from 38 to 40, but would do so in a tight four-day period.

In other words, they would get the same salary and work the same number of hours, but in four longer working days, with one day a week more for themselves, something like a regular “extended weekend”. If the Belgian government does decide on such a bill, details of the implementation have yet to be worked out with representatives of employers and unions, which could take six months, Euronews reports. In any case, the Belgian government, as far as is known, did not envisage the transition to a four-day working week as an obligation. What do they say about all this in the Croatian Employers' Association? They are not reluctant.

The chief economist of HUP, Iva Tomić, answers that such a decision should be left to each individual employer to choose, but it is important that there is a choice, that there is flexibility in the law itself. "Namely, different industries and sectors can hardly be reduced to the same form of work'', says Tomić.

For some employers, especially in coronavirus crisis, the scope of work is greatly reduced, for some it is certainly increased, so it would be good to have an open opportunity for a four-day working week for those employers who opt for this option, and which is optimal for them in terms of productivity and worker satisfaction", says Iva Tomić. She adds that the salary policy depends on each company and for some "it may be possible to keep the same level of productivity, even the same salary, for a smaller fund of hours, but we leave that decision to employers ".

Krešimir Sever, leader of the Independent Croatian Trade Unions, says that the unions also support the possibility of a four-day working week, provided that it is voluntary, for example, if it is a consequence of an agreement between workers and employers and if there is a possibility of returning to a five-day working week, what it's like to work four days for ten hours".

He notes that this is easier to do for intellectual jobs, computer scientists, and the like, but much more difficult in production, because physical work is not so easy to do ten hours in a row. "Technological advances make it possible to shorten working hours, so a shortened working week should be introduced in that combination. In other words, either introduce a shorter working day five days a week or keep eight hours of working time, but four days a week", explains Sever.

In Iceland, they tested a model based on just fewer working hours per week, which eventually led to a change in the labor market. They first conducted tests in the public sector in 2015 and 2017, in which the number of working hours per week was mostly reduced from 40 to 35 or 36 hours, while the salary, of course, remained the same.

A study published this year by the Icelandic association Alda states that productivity has remained the same or increased, services provided have not been reduced, and workers who took part in the tests said it "had a strong impact on work-life balance". They had more time for children and hobbies, and men in relationships were more involved in household chores.

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May 1, 2020 - Labor Day, better known among Croats as Prvi Maj, is the main reason you'll organize a barbecue with friends or family. Will it be the same in the time of the coronavirus?

Members of the Civil Protection Headquarters have approved barbecues, but physical distance should be respected. "Within a family, it is normal to socialize. However, more people cannot gather because the provision of five people is still valid to the maximum," Capak said for RTL Television.

A small poll conducted on Facebook with the question "How will you spend Labor Day this year?" collected 175 answers (6 of them were empty). 169 is not a large number but leaves enough room to think.

Out of 169 people, 16 people won't respect physical distance. Some of them will be in a group of two, five, six, or ten people. They commented they hadn't seen their friends in a while due to the coronavirus, so Prvi maj is the perfect chance to spend time with them. For some of them, a barbecue is a must-have; for others, this is a day like every other in quarantine, so why not enjoy it with friends.

Out of the remaining 153 people, eight will go to work. Some of them because they have to, one of them because, "I love my job, so I don't see any reason not to enjoy it."
One man who filled out the poll wrote that he works with people with special needs. On Thursday, a day before Prvi maj, he was working a night shift. He wrote: "They hear, know, feel that something is not okay. This affects their life, but they don't understand why. It's like a riddle for them - why should they be in some "punishment", that is, quarantine? One more thing would bother them: if they got pocket money, why aren't they allowed to go to the store and buy themselves a bag of chips? I struggle to explain everything to them in a way they will understand, but I don't know how to do that.
Maybe this isn't an answer you needed, but this is mine for Prvi maj."

Finally, 145 people will respect the social distance and other precautions. Although the coronavirus wasn't mentioned in the question, a lot of people wrote they will be at home with their family, because the virus is still here. A few of them even wrote #stayhome. A lot of people see this day as a chance to gather the family around the table with a delicious meal - although some of them will be riding bikes with their family because that makes more sense for them than a barbecue.

All in all, 153 people out of 169 will be responsible and won't endanger others. For the rest of them who will be enjoying the day with their friends, we hope they can avoid the coronavirus. In some parts of Croatia, it's currently raining. Maybe this will make people stay at home?

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 1st, known as International Workers' Day, Labor Day, and May Day, is celebrated today in many parts of the world. Labor Day is celebrated in the name of labor solidarity in the struggle for better working conditions. It is also marked to remember the bloody protests in Chicago on May 1, 1886, where workers fought against exploitation and sought an 8-hour work day and higher wages. Croatia joined the movement in 1890, and the first gathering was organized at Maksimir Park in Zagreb. Workers described their demands with the three 8s: eight hours of work, eight hours of rest and eight hours of cultured education.

In time, the struggle for workers' rights retreated to the background, and May 1 today is no longer focused on protesting but is a work-free holiday with the tradition of beans and carnations. 

While the largest May Day celebration in Croatia will take place in the Croatian capital at Maksimir Park, where mayor Milan Bandić and associates will distribute about 60,000 servings of beans with sausages, the Dalmatian Capital will be bean-free, reports Dalmacija Danas on May 1, 2019. 

Namely, the traditional gathering at Marjan with free beans and socializing - which is a symbol of this holiday in Split - will break tradition this year. As the celebration has been organized by the Association of Independent Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH) together with the City of Split, the trade unions have said that they are focused on the initiative "67 is too much" (“67 je previše”) and emphasized that they cannot be in two places at the same time.

Instead, three Trade Unions (Savez samostalnih sindikata Hrvatske (SSSH), Nezavisni hrvatski sindikati (NHS) and Matica hrvatskih sindikata (MHS), will collect signatures to call for a referendum on changes in retirement conditions in the places where Labor Day is traditionally marked. 

In Croatia, May 1 will be celebrated in various ways in the organization of cities, municipalities, associations or parties, and many citizens will spend this non-working day out in nature with friends and family. 

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