The real reason for the strike is the fight of flight attendants to achieve humane working conditions in a company whose leaders arbitrarily determine the working hours of the flight crew, explained protest coordinator Hrvoje Homek.
Their biggest problem is the changes in the work schedule that disrupt and prevent their private lives, putting them in a situation where they must be available to the company 24 hours a day. Another key issue is the drastic reduction of annual šleave, introduced at the beginning of this year. Although the salaries of flight attendants are very low compared to those in other airlines, workers agreed to a 5 percent pay cut due to the economic crisis, additional reductions through shorter calculations of night work, and significant reductions in transportation allowances. Since the announcement of the strike in February by members of the Cabin Crew Union and the Croatian Pilots’ Union with the Management of Croatia Airlines, they have been unable to reach an agreement on collective contracts. Despite the announcements in February, the Management has ignored all union demands to this day. This means that since then, the staff has been working without the protection of a collective agreement, solely according to the rules set by the Management. The Management of Croatia Airlines has been continuously reducing the rights of pilots and cabin crew for 10 years. This reduction of rights has raised questions about the safety of the passengers themselves, emphasizes the Croatian Pilots’ Union, which supports the strike and has announced that it will join. The Management allocates about 14 percent of expenses for the salaries of all employees, highlighting that this is one of the reasons for the significant loss of Croatia Airlines, although in other companies this figure is around 20 percent. The strikers are urging the public to support them in order to ensure humane working conditions in the company and the safety of passengers, which the Management is jeopardizing with its decisions. (Zlatko Salahović)
