‘Foreign Workers’ Have Caused Disputes Between Employers and Unions

The Economic-Social Council today supported, by majority vote, the proposal for amendments to the Law on Mandatory Health Insurance, the proposal for a tariff on fees and reimbursement of costs for the work of lawyers, and the proposal for a decision on determining the annual quota of work permits for the employment of foreigners in 2010.

All these proposals were supported by a majority vote as the unions opposed all three cases, reported at a press conference after the meeting the president of the Economic-Social Council and the Association of Trade Unions of Croatia, Damir Jakuš. State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Zoran Pičuljan, reported that the Economic-Social Council supported the proposal to introduce a unified fee for lawyers for the entire first-instance procedure in housing, labor, and property disputes, as well as disputes regarding children’s rights. According to him, these disputes encompass one-third of all disputes conducted in Croatia, and the unified tariff will enable more favorable access to legal for a significant number of citizens. Additionally, the number of submissions in the first instance is limited to four according to the proposal, što also reduces costs, says Pičuljan.

Damir Jakuš on the other hand states that citizens will not have lower costs in two-thirds of disputes and that legal protection will be inaccessible to them in a significant portion of disputes. The director of the Croatian Employment Service, Ankica Paun Jarallah, reported that she proposed 6,948 work permits for foreigners in 2010 to the Economic-Social Council, što is 40 percent less than this year. A total of 6,000 extensions of valid permits and the issuance of 948 new ones are planned. By activity, the most permits will be granted to foreigners for work in construction (300), shipbuilding (243), and tourism (138). The unions did not support the proposal, believing that permits are proposed for workers who are sufficiently available in Croatia. They also did not support the proposal to amend the Law on Mandatory Health Insurance, which proposes the abolition of the exception under which the right to reimbursement of transportation costs, regardless of distance, is granted to persons on islands, in areas of special state concern, and in mountainous areas.

This abolishes the right for individuals from these areas who travel to a doctor outside their place of residence to claim travel expenses that have so far been covered by the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) even for journeys up to 30 kilometers. This exception should remain, as its abolition will most affect residents from areas of special state concern and mountainous areas, says Jakuš. The meeting of the Economic-Social Council was left by the vice president of the Croatian Trade Union Confederation, Vilim Ribić, due to the decision-making by majority vote. Damir Jakuš is also dissatisfied with such decision-making and believes that it should be discussed whether the Economic-Social Council should make decisions by agreement or by majority vote. The acting director of the Croatian Employers’ Association, Bernard Jakelić, believes that the rules of operation of the Economic-Social Council are established by the Labor Law and the agreement on its establishment, and that consensus is not always easy to achieve. He criticized the unions for their unpreparedness and mutual disagreement. (H)