ZAGREB, 9 Sept 2021 - The Union of Platform Workers (SRDP), the first trade union of that kind in Croatia, has been established as part of the SSSH trade union federation in response to the unenviable status of those workers and the restriction of their rights, the SSSH said on Thursday.

The SRDP was established in June, after which it was registered with the Labour, Pension System, Family, and Social Policy Ministry.

SRDP leader Mile Krivokuća said that self-employed platform workers do not have, among other things, the right to paid sick leave or holiday, they do not have a determined minimum price of labor or insurance against occupational injury or other labor-related rights.

The fact that according to Eurofund, 10.7% of Croatians have worked via digital platforms and that platform work is increasingly the only source of income for workers makes this topic important, notably in the context of amendments to the Labour Act which are aimed at regulating this issue, the union said, noting that it would fight for dignified working conditions and better entitlements for those who work in that fast-growing sector.

Platform work in Croatia is not regulated by law

"Almost eight years after the arrival of digital platforms in Croatia, platform work is still not legally regulated, which results in frequent irregularities and violation of platform workers' rights, which are not penalized," union secretary-general Iva Filipović said, warning that there was a large number of cases where platform workers were not paid their salary or their employers did not pay wage contributions or cases of undeclared work.

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