Labour Minister Mirando Mrsic on Friday signed on the government's behalf a collective agreement for the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO) with two unions, calling on the other two HZMO unions to join in.
Mrsic said the collective agreement was aligned with the existing budgetary parameters after exhaustive negotiations.
The collective agreement makes sure that salaries arrive at the Institute and are paid on time, he said, hopeful that when the economy starts to recover, the salaries in both the Institute and other parts of the public sector will go up.
Representatives of the two unions that signed the collective agreement said their basic interest was to preserve jobs and as many acquired entitlements as possible, adding that they had accepted the offer to have certain entitlements and allowances redefined, reduced or suspended.
This is a compromise and temporary solution in conditions we believe will change for the better, they said.
Asked by the press about the two other HZMO unions which did not sign the collective agreement and announced a work-to-rule, the minister said unions were entitled to go on strike but asked them to show solidarity given the country's situation. He said it was a privilege today to be employed in the public sector, where salaries were safe and paid on time.
