The government plan to negotiate a reduction of the contracted Christmas bonus for 240,000 workers this year with the unions of state and public services has fallen through, writes novilist.hr.
During Friday, while the government offered unions 500 instead of 1,250 kuna for the Christmas bonus, at least two healthcare institutions paid their employees Christmas bonuses according to the collective agreement. According to the Independent Health Union, bonuses were paid at the Čakovec hospital and at the Zagreb »Fran Mihaljević« hospital.
– The employer has respected the collective agreement and the fact that funds for the payment of Christmas bonuses this year are secured in the hospital limits. Other employers should be forced to act in accordance with the law, says Spomenka Avberšek, president of the Independent Health Union. Since employers in the two healthcare institutions have complied with the law, Avberšek calls on others to do the same. In other words, she states that they »should be forced to act in accordance with the law«.
Although it has been known for several weeks that the government is considering savings that would ensure the non-payment of Christmas bonuses for state and public services, talks with the unions started at the last minute, and the authorities showed considerable disorganization. All healthcare institutions in this year’s budgets, or limits, have allocated funds for the payment of Christmas bonuses. However, as discussions about the possible non-payment of Christmas bonuses began to be more open about ten days ago, which would save the state around 300 million kuna, some institutions suspended already prepared payments of that December supplement to workers. (www.novilist.hr)
