September 14, 2022 - The Minister of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, Marin Piletić, was a guest on Croatian Radio's show "A Sada Vlada”, where he discussed the government measures of help for the upcoming winter, as well as the changes to the Labour Act.

As Poslovni writes, he commented on the Government's package of measures to help businesses and citizens.

“Part of the package encompasses measures from our department, but the largest part is concerned with HEP, where the government has enabled many to pay a price that is not market but artificially created. A good number of entrepreneurs pay the price for electricity that households do. Also, all social care institutions from the category of entrepreneurship will pay for electricity like households, Minister Piletić said.

He pointed out that there is no category that they did not include, from farmers, fishermen, students, beneficiaries of child benefits, pensioners...

“When it comes to pensioners, the Government has intervened for the third time in just a year and a half with a one-time cash supplement for those with lower monthly incomes. Not only did we raise the grade level, but we also increased the pension threshold that can receive a one-time supplement. Also, one of our goals was to raise the lowest pensions by three percent from January 1, 2025. By intervening in the final bill, we made it so that the percentage increase of the lowest pensions does not wait for 2025, but starts on January 1, 2023, he said.

Measures for the unemployed

He added that they included the unemployed for the first time.

“Those who were on the labour exchange before September 1 will receive a quarterly cash supplement of HRK 250 in the next three months. It has been shown that the government intervenes at the right time, that the package is strong and comprehensive, and most of all fair. We must protect all categories of citizens, especially those with lower incomes”, he emphasized.

When asked if he expects an increase in the number of unemployed since the tourist season is coming to an end, Minister Piletić said that the number of unemployed increases slightly after each tourist season, but that they do not expect the number to grow alarmingly.

“We are at record low unemployment rates. The number is around 110,000 registered. This is significantly less than at the beginning of this government's mandate”, he said.

He also referred to the amendments to the Labour Act.

“The percentage of workers who work on a fixed-term contract is decreasing from year to year, which we are satisfied with, we have reached a kind of European average, but we still have a large number of short-term contracts. That is why we are introducing the novelty of limiting fixed-term contracts to a maximum of three years and a maximum of three contracts”.

“He pointed out that one of the key innovations is platform work”, i.e. work from home.

“The employer can come to the employee's home and see what kind of conditions he is working in, with prior notice and the worker's consent”.

“There was a proposal that there be no notice period or severance pay for workers over the age of 65 and 15 years of service unless the worker and the employer agree otherwise. Here we wanted to encourage employers that after reaching the age of 65 if the worker wants to stay working and meets all the conditions for a pension, that the employer is not obligated to pay severance pay. Someone who fulfils the conditions for a pension will not be neglected, but will receive a pension and then the employer is not obliged to pay severance pay. This way, we stimulate both the employer and the employee, so that if they wish, they can stay longer in the world of work, but we have left it up to the employer and the employee to agree”.

Increasing wages in the public sector

Minister Piletić said that the negotiations have not started yet, and that at the next government session, he will appoint negotiating committees on behalf of the government, for both state and public servants and employees.

“We want to react and increase the salary base in both state and public services, following the situation of economic growth and filling the budget. Considering the autumn package, there is a lot of pressure on the budget, but I believe that in negotiations and dialogue we will find the best solution that would show that we want to increase the base”, Piletić pointed out.

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ZAGREB, 30 April 2022 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Peđa Grbin on Saturday distributed carnations and socialised with citizens in Pula ahead of International Workers' Day, noting that the incumbent government was not willing to launch a comprehensive reform of the Labour Act announced over six months ago.

"According to recent EU statistics, Croatia is close to the bottom of the EU ranking in terms of employment and that is what we need to talk about, not just when we observe International Workers' Day but throughout the year," Grbin said, recalling that a comprehensive reform of the labour law was announced more than half a year ago but that it was not happening.

"This government is not willing to do it and lacks the capacity. It has changed the minister who should be in charge of the reform, a new one has been appointed who knows nothing about work and workers, and the problems are staying," he said, adding that data for February showed that regardless of a rise in absolute figures, the real value of wages had dropped over the past year.

"We should all focus on maintaining the value of income, of preserving the value of wages and pensions as well as on dealing with problems such as compensation for overtime work, work on Sundays and holidays and higher wages," Grbin said, adding that the reality was such that workers were still exploited.

He also called for amending the Pension Act to ensure adequate indexation of pensions to prevent their losing in value due to growing inflation.

ZAGREB, 23 June, 2021 - The first meeting of a task force to prepare a new Labour Act was held on Wednesday and social partners said that it was conducted peacefully without any complex issues and that it is expected that the law, which will more clearly define "remote work," among other things, should go into force mid-next year.

After months of consultation, it has been decided that a new Labour Act will be prepared, one that is appropriate to contemporary circumstances, state-secretary in the Labour Ministry Dragan Jelić said.

The act needs to introduce novelties that emerged during the pandemic, such as remote work and working from home, said Jelić.

The task force consists of the government's social partners, employers and the unions, and it is expected that a first draft bill will be completed by the year's end.

As for remote work and work from home, the new law will define protection, obligations by employers and employees, and the necessity for mutual approval, said Jelić.

Remote work has to be based on mutual agreement

"The current Labour Act defines the possibility of remote work, many have used that. Some have signed an annex to their contract, some haven't. There were some disputes over the cost of working from home. However, I believe that we will resolve those matters in a satisfactory way," said Jelić.

President of the Independent Croatian Trade Unions Krešimir Sever expects answers to many issues to be reached through negotiation. "Today we did not discuss any of those issues, just the introduction to the Labour Act," said Sever.

The unions will demand that fixed-term contracts be reduced as one-quarter of Croatia's employees work that way. He added that the unions are categorically opposed to extending working life.

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ZAGREB, October 5, 2020 - The Bridge party organised a round table on Monday on the topic "Working from Home: Do we have the right of disconnect", which discussed amendments to the Labour Act due to the coronavirus, where a lot of people work from home and the line between working hours and private time disappears.

The discussion was organised following announcements that changes would be made to the Labour Act. A lot of workers work from home due to the coronaviurs situation and in many cases have to work more and need to be available all the time.

"It has been seen in practice that work from home often leads to an overlap between working hours and private time and that the fine line is being moved or erased completely," president of the Independent Croatian Unions, Kresimir Sever, said.

He explained that an employee's working hours with an employer are clearly defined, but if that employee starts working from home, a good portion of employers abuse that and expect employees to work a lot more, leaving less time for leisure activities.

"Until such time that that system is put in order, we cannot talk about real remote work," said Sever.

He added that times of crises are not a good time to amend laws.

"Laws should not be adapted to crisis situations, but should be regulated during normal times, emphasising that a  crisis may occur," he said.

He warned that the crisis situation is being exploited to introduce a more flexible labour system in Croatia which is unacceptable for the unions, and all under the guise that remote work has to be regulated.

"The Labour Act is extremely flexible in Croatia. It allows employers a wide spectrum to arrange labour relations. The thing that would provide real flexibility is collective bargaining and there is very little of that in Croatia," Sever believes.

Viktor Gotovac from the Labour and Social Law Department at the Faculty of Law does not agree that the law is good as it does not regulate remote working.

"That means that the law is not good. We have student contracts, employing pensioners, author's contracts, everything just not to change the law... I worked form home after the earthquake and my employer immediately cut off my travel allowance, but I was not paid for using my own premises, resources," Gotovac underlined.

He did not agree that the coronavirus caused the problem but rather pointed out what needs to be changed for a better legislative framework which would regulate wages, working hours and leave.

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