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Jelacic's_square_in_Zagreb

© Er-vet-en / Wikimedia

16. 12. 10. - 19:00

16. 12. 10. - 19:00

Zagreb´s trams to stop running in absence of Christmas bonuses

Croatian Times

Zagreb Electric Tram (ZET) workers are threatening to strike if their parent company goes ahead with its plan to save 80 million kunas (10.8 million Euros) by not handing out this year’s Christmas and children’s bonuses.

If the Zagreb Holding does not pay 2,884 kunas (391 Euros) of Christmas and 600 kunas (81 Euros) of children’s bonuses by Monday, the workers are ready to suspend all public transportation.

Zagreb Holding’s management board has already decreased its salaries by 10 per cent, and is now asking the employees of all of its branches to give up their bonuses in hope the ailing company could thus save some 10.8 million Euros.

The unions are not willing, however, pointing to their collective agreements that ensure these bonuses.

Anto Jelic, the president of the ZET drivers' and transportation workers' union said that the agreements specify the payment of Christmas bonuses by December 20th. Children's bonuses should have already been paid, he adds.

"The Chairman of the Management Board Ivo Covic has given us a verbal assurance that the agreement would not be broken, but if we are given no other options, we will paralyse the city," Jelic said. He added that his union has 1,600 members.

Jelic says that workers' salaries are already lower than they were in 2007, and that the drivers earn 6,000 kunas (812 Euros) per month if they do extra hours at nights and weekends.

The president of the coalition of Zagreb Holding unions Darko Kleinberger said that the strike is their last option.

"We are aware of Holding’s difficult financial situation, but we had warned them about that earlier even though they were assuring us in June that they would have enough money," he says.

"We have been in negotiations with the management board for a month now and once we exhaust all options, including lawsuits, we can start thinking about the strike."

Jelic would also prefer to avoid the strike, but says that many workers would be discouraged from pursuing expensive lawsuits.

Zagreb Holding, on the other hand, says that there is no reason for a strike to go ahead.

"Today we are continuing our talks and I believe that we will find a common ground," the company's spokesperson Dusan Viro told the Croatian daily Jutarnji List.

Tag cloud unions  drivers  lawsuits  president  negotiations  management  bonuses  Holding  agreements  children  salaries  money  Jelic  Euros  options  kunas  transportation  workers  Christmas  Zagreb

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