Croatian Railways: Successful Compromise, Trade Unions Cancel Strike

The five trade unions of the Croatian Railways (Hrvatske željeznice –HŽ) and the HŽ management board have reached a compromise regarding the Collective Agreement (Kolektivni Ugovor – KU) so that the unions are withdrawing from the strike, announced for 30 November.

The unions have decided to cancel the two-hour warning strike after the management board agreed to prolong the currently valid KU until the end of May 2006.

 ‘The KU which is defining the rights of 14 000 HŽ employees was about to run out on 1 December and the management board was offering to the unions a new KU which was decreasing workers' rights’, said Branko Kreš who is the president of the Railwaymen’s Trade Union of Croatia.
He stated that the management board’s suggestions were to count Saturdays into vacation time, to shorten the defined period for the notice of termination and to re-arrange working hours so that overtime would not be financially covered.

'If the current KU runs out without the signing of a new one, the management board might pass an Ordinance which would allow them to enforce their proposals', Kreš concluded.

But, after the threat of a possible strike, it was settled that the prolongation of the current KU (till 31 May 2006) should be signed tomorrow – without the cutting of rights and with the obligation to start talks regarding the new KU, no later than 10 January. (Hina)

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