Despite the announcement that employees in public services would not receive Christmas bonuses in the guaranteed amount of 1,250 kuna, about fifteen healthcare institutions have paid them with this month’s salary.
The funds for Christmas bonuses in healthcare had already been secured within the contracted limits of the institutions, stated Spomenka Avberšek, president of the Independent Union of Healthcare and Social Welfare. The Union leader therefore questions why, about ten days before the payment of Christmas bonuses for which funds were secured, someone remembered that they could not be paid in the agreed amount, but that employees in healthcare could only receive 500 kuna. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Darko Milinović only stated that he hopes the Government and the unions will reach an agreement. Citing as examples hospitals that have paid Christmas bonuses, such as Zagreb’s KB Dubrava and the Fran Mihaljević Clinic for Infectious Diseases, as well as hospitals in Čakovec and Popovača, Avberšek called on other directors to respect the collective agreement and pay workers what they are entitled to. Otherwise, she announced a lawsuit against the Government as the employer for non-compliance with the collective agreement. (H)
