In front of the management building of Croatia Airlines in Buzin, around 130 members of the Aircraft Cabin Crew Union (SKOZ) gathered, who began a four-day strike at 6 AM this morning, resulting in the cancellation of one-third of the flights of the Croatian airline today.
SKOZ Vice President Hrvoje Humek emphasized that all except 20 percent of the flight attendants and stewards of Croatia Airlines are participating in the strike, as they have a legal obligation to work even during the strike. He announced that union representatives will wait for a court decision regarding the management’s request for a strike ban at the County Court in Zagreb. The hearing is expected to start at 12 PM. Support for the flight attendants was provided by the pilots of Croatia Airlines, and the president of the Croatian Pilots’ Union, Andre Šarinić, announced that if legal conditions are met, the pilots will go on a solidarity strike with the cabin crew within 48 hours. “We want to support the flight attendants with whom we work closely and collaborate with their union,” said Šarinić, adding that his union has an additional problem because the management does not want to negotiate directly with the pilots but seeks to form a joint negotiating committee of all five unions operating in Croatia Airlines.
SKOZ representatives claim they were forced to organize the strike from July 9 to 13 because they have been unsuccessfully negotiating with the management of Croatia Airlines regarding the conditions for signing a collective agreement since the end of last year. The main demands are related to the respect of their non-material, legally prescribed rights. To fulfill these rights, Croatia Airlines should hire 20 new flight attendants or restructure the company so that the surplus administrative staff can be employed in that sector, but the company’s management firmly rejects this, emphasizes SKOZ. Their attitude towards workers was also demonstrated by hiring flight attendants from ČSA, BH, Dubrovnik, and Adria Airlines during the strike. This sends a message that they would rather pay others than their own workers, the protesters emphasize. SKOZ again denies the management’s claims that the company will incur a loss of one million dollars per day due to the strike, as if the company earned that much, it would not be in millions of losses. Since the CEO Ivan Mišetić declared the strike illegal and thereby prejudiced the court ruling, and threatened the protesting workers with dismissal, SKOZ believes there are grounds for filing a criminal complaint against him, added Humek. The union asks passengers who will have difficulties traveling due to the strike for understanding, as they are also fighting for their greater safety and better service during flights. (H)
