A new collective agreement covering workers in the building trade in Croatia is seen as a blueprint for other sectors of industry.
The deal, negotiated by the Croatian Construction Industry Trade Union (SGH), should help combat the exploitation of cheap labour and undeclared work in the building sector, which has been in recession since 2009.
The open-ended agreement applies to some 20,000 people working for members of Croatia’s association of construction employers (CEA-CIA). But the social partners have asked the government to extend it across the whole sector, which employs some 70,000 workers, in order to eliminate unfair competition. The main points include a rise in basic wage rates, more flexible working time, and additional holiday for single parents.
The deal covers all workers, full-time and part-time, regardless of their type of employment contract. It also applies to foreign nationals who have signed a labour contract with the employer.