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Factsheet for measure HR-2020-15/1058 – Updated – measures in Croatia

Annexation of the collective agreement for Zagreb Airport Employees

Dodatak Kolektivnog ugovora za Zračnu luku Zagreb

Country Croatia , applies locally
Time period Temporary, 08 April 2020 – 31 December 2023
Context COVID-19
Type Bipartite collective agreements
Category Employment protection and retention
– Income support for people in employment (e.g., short-time work)
Author Predrag Bejakovic (IJF)
Measure added 03 September 2020 (updated 10 July 2023)

Background information

The trade union of workers in Zagreb Airport (Sindikat radnika aerodroma Zagreb – SRAZ) is a middle-sized union. The members of SRAZ are employees working in air traffic control, baggage handling, ticket desks, check in and boarding services, airport security, aircraft maintenance and overhaul. SRAZ has around 180 members. Zagreb Airport is the busiest aerodrome in Croatia.

Content of measure

Due to adverse business conditions and significant decrease in the number of passengers as a result of the pandemic, SRAZ agreed with airport employers to annex the collective agreement. The annex was in place from 8 April 2020 to 30 June 2020.

There were many impacts of the annexation of the collective agreement. For example, SRAZ and employers agreed that wages and salary supplements in the form of Easter gifts, jubilees awards, awards for business results, and holiday lump-sum payments would be paid in the last quarter of 2020.

Also, 'inactive working hours' were introduced for jobs that could no longer perform regularly due to COVID-19 impacts. It exempted people from work obligations if their job was impacted and provided them with a salary compensation of 70% of the value of a full hourly rate. All employees had to have between 1/3 and 2/3 of "inactive" hours according to the work schedule. The employers oblige not to lay-off workers and were expected to offer an extension of all fixed-term employment contracts that expire for individual workers in the specified period.

Updates

The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.

05 May 2023

Longer and sunny day and the beginning of the tourist season as well as the increase in the number of operations at the airport, one can conclude that traffic is returning to normal as it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. When one compares the data from four months of 2022 with the same period 2019, there is 88% of passengers. With reduction of epidemiological measures, life is slowly returning to normal conditions. This is confirmed by the restart of intercontinental airlines to South Korea as well as by re-establishing the airline to Canada. Therefore, the end of the business year is expected with optimism, with an increase in operations. As a larger number of workers is needed, some new workers have been employed. The Trade Union of the Airport Zagreb employees (SRAZ) negotiated with the management of the Airport on some unpaid benefits to workers and hopes to solve this issue in the nearly future. Furthermore, there while some workers on the same jobs have fixed-term employment contracts, the Trade Union SRAZ is doing its best is improve their position. This primarily means to obtain for them permanent employment contracts. Finally, the Trade Union SRAZ is actively negotiating with the management of the Airport how to improve balance between working and private life for employees of the Airport Zagreb.

05 May 2023

According to the data of the State Bureau of Statistics, in September 2022, the cost of living compared to the same month of the previous year increased by 12.8%. The largest increase was recorded in food and non-alcoholic beverages, the category which has the highest share in the household expenditure structure. Therefore, an Independent Trade Union of Croatian demanded from the government to lower the rate of the value added tax on all food in order to lesser the prices in this category. In the autumn 2022, as a part of package of the assistance to citizens, the Croatian government adopted measures that temporarily increase the tax-free allowance on wages and salary in order to enable increase I the net wages and salaries without increasing labor costs for employers. Therefore, the Trade Union of the Airport Zagreb employees (SRAZ) negotiated with the management of the Airport on an Annex of the Collective agreement which would incorporate the payment of an additional tax-free amount. Both sides agreed for such payment in the amount of HRK 7200 (EUR 956) for 2022. As the Airport Zagreb consists of many organizational units, the Trade Union of the Airport Zagreb employees is making systematic efforts to increase and improve cooperation between the various works' councils so that they are effective in protection of the employees’ rights.

28 December 2021

Both sides decided to prolongate the validity of the Annex until the end of 2022 (from 30 June 2021) because the situation has been significantly improved. This is an encouraging example of mutual respect between employer and trade unions and can be a positive example for the future and other industrial relations.

23 December 2020

Both sides decided to prolongate the validity of the Annex until the end of June 2021 because the situation has been only slightly improved. This is a very positive example of mutual respect between employer and trade unions and can be a positive example of collective negotiation for the future and other industrial relations.

07 October 2020

Both sides decided to extend the validity of the Annex until the end of 2020 because the situation has not improved. Both sides are fully aware of the complexity of the current situation and hope that together they will be able to overcome serious problems, primarily related to a lack of flights and passengers as well as significantly reduction in revenues.

Use of measure

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the collective agreement originally did not contain measures for the protection of the working places. Before the expiry of this annex, the social partners should jointly assess the situation and take further decisions with a view to extend or amend the annex. As the situation in the second half of 2020 has not been improved, the representatives of SRAZ and employers extended the validity of the annex until the end of September 2020 with the same conditions. Both sides have an intention to extend the validity of the Annex until the end of 2020 if the situation should not improve. Both sides agreed to extent the duration of the collective agreement until the end of 2023.

Contents

  • Basic working time
  • Bonuses
  • Employment retention
  • Leave arrangements

Target groups

Workers Businesses Citizens
Applies to all workers Sector specific set of companies
Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors Funding
Trade unions
Company / Companies
No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

Trade unions Employers' organisations
Role Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form Not applicable Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

  • Social partners jointly
  • Main level of involvement: Company level

Involvement

Social partners were directly involved in design, implementation and monitoring of the measure.

Views and reactions

Both sides expresses their satisfaction with the achieved decision.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

  • 09 April 2020: Rad u doba korona virusa (www.sraz.hr)
  • 10 May 2022: The return to usual normal conditions (Povratak na staro normalno) (www.sraz.hr)
  • 22 October 2022: The Trade Union’s activities in lessening the inflation (www.sraz.hr)

Citation

Eurofound (2020), Annexation of the collective agreement for Zagreb Airport Employees, measure HR-2020-15/1058 (measures in Croatia), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/HR-2020-15_1058.html

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Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process.