Workers of ‘Glas Istre’ Begin Strike

Workers of ‘Glas Istre’ began a strike on Sunday, which will continue until the union’s demands are met or until the strike committee decides to end it, reported Maša Jerin, the chief commissioner of the Croatian Journalists’ Union at ‘Glas Istre’, at a press conference held in the newsroom of the daily newspaper in Pula.

This is a consequence of months of unsuccessful negotiations between the union and the employer, who wants to introduce a six-day work week, further reduce already halved salaries, and lay off about 30 workers, or a quarter of the employees, she said.

“The union does not agree to this and is demanding that a collective agreement be signed, which will be the result of negotiations and not an order from the employer, and in which there will be a minimum of security for us workers,” emphasized union commissioner Jerin. She added that ‘Glas Istre’, regardless of the employees’ strike, will continue to be published due to the decision of the judge of the County Court in Pula, Ondina Vidulin-Matijević, who declared journalism a necessary job that cannot be interrupted even when workers are striking to fight for their rights. Jerin called such a decision shameful and assessed that this court ruling on the introduction of work obligations aims to prevent and diminish the effects and impacts of this strike. According to union data, about 80 employees of ‘Glas Istre’ are on strike, while 20 have work obligations.

Unknown Instead of Journalists of Glas Istre
“Tomorrow’s newspaper will not be the real ‘Glas Istre’. These newspapers are created under work obligations, and we workers are the real ‘Glas Istre’,” said union commissioner Maša Jerin at the conference, calling on readers to show solidarity with them and not to buy such ‘Glas Istre’. She added that the employer recently sent a letter to the workers of ‘Glas Istre’, stating that all those who participate in the strike “must spend their strike time outside the company’s business premises and cannot stay in their home newsroom”.

Jerin noted today that unknown individuals appeared in the ‘Glas Istre’ newsroom yesterday, who will most likely work while the workers are on strike, and who are not employees of this company, and the union has reported this to the Labor Inspectorate. The union commissioner announced a press conference for Monday at the city market where striking workers will distribute their newspaper ‘Glas štrajka’ to citizens. She also thanked everyone who has been supporting the employees of ‘Glas Istre’ these days, stating that the workers of ‘Glas Istre’ have received, among other things, support from the president of the International Federation of Journalists, who supports this strike.

Reduced Salaries for Strikers
A member of the management of ‘Glas Istre novine d.o.o.’, Albert Faggian, described the current situation in ‘Glas Istre’, where workers have been on strike since this morning, as “distressing”, saying that “this was not needed by anyone” and that “this is not a good service to anyone”.

“As a representative of the employer, I respect the law and the workers’ rights prescribed by law, including the right to strike. I believe that in today’s time, every worker who decides to strike must have the guts to do so because it is a difficult decision that I respect,” emphasized Faggian. He added that he is always ready for compromise, but in a situation where salaries are discussed, “he cannot accept any compromise that involves paying something that does not exist, but only what is exactly available in the company’s bank account”.

Speaking about the consequences that the strike may have for the future status of the workers of ‘Glas Istre’, the management member emphasized that he does not believe that anyone who is on strike would be placed in a worse position than those who are not on strike. However, Faggian believes that the strike could result in certain financial problems in such a way that the company’s revenues are reduced, and it is impossible, as he said, “to withdraw more from the company’s bank account than what is in it”. According to him, tomorrow’s issue of ‘Glas Istre’ will be published in the volume it usually is, and it will be created by people who have work obligations and those who have not opted for the strike.

“We are looking for solutions to overcome this situation. It would be unacceptable not to have talked to certain individuals who will join us in work if we deem it necessary,” said Faggian. When asked whether workers will be paid for the days spent on strike, he replied that they will not because “under the provisions of the Labor Law, strike days are not paid”.

“The salary of people who are on strike will be reduced proportionally to the time spent on strike,” concluded Albert Faggian. When asked how long these daily newspapers can endure under such conditions, he emphasized that they will endure “as long as the City of Pula and the entire region have a need for Glas Istre”. (H)