Croatian Post (HP) will lay off 700 workers by New Year as part of its restructuring process, for which it has already secured around 110 million kuna from its own funds for their severance.
The severance has been agreed upon with social partners, with whose help a list of surplus employees has been created, and all workers have been informed about this and the conditions of departure, emphasize the management of HP. The average severance pay will amount to around 160,000 kuna net, with the highest severance pay of 200,000 kuna net going to workers who are entitled to disability pension due to professional incapacity or immediate danger of becoming disabled. This is the first phase of addressing the surplus in a company that has more than 12,000 employees, and an agreement with social partners has established the conditions for the severance of workers from 2008 to 2010, so new layoffs will follow in the next two years.
HP states that it "does not expect a significant number of additional workers to leave," while unions estimate that another 500 employees could be laid off next year, in two groups – the first in May and the second in November. Unions do not expect social conflicts regarding new layoffs as the agreed severance packages are very stimulating in conditions where the average salary in HP barely exceeds 4,800 kuna. HP has a rather old workforce structure, with many employees over 45 years of age and with established disabilities or risk of disability, who find it difficult to adapt to new technologies and the demands of improving business processes, say union representatives.
