70,000 Teachers, Scientists, and Nurses on Strike

Union leaders of teachers, professors, scientists, and nurses reported at today’s press conference that the turnout for the one-day warning strike against the government’s austerity policies in public services is high, with at least 70,000 employees participating.

President of the Independent Union of Employees in Secondary Schools of Croatia, Branimir Mihalinec, stated that 315 secondary educational institutions are on strike, with nearly a 100% turnout from members and many non-members also participating in the strike.

The leader of the Preporod union, Željko Stipić, noted that, according to data received by 11 a.m., the strike is taking place in 300 out of 330 branches through which Preporod operates, and where there is no strike, it is due to minor technical issues.

Nurses and technicians are also on strike, says the president of the Main Council of the Croatian Professional Union of Nurses and Technicians, Anica Prašnjak. Announcing numerical indicators, she states that the majority of nurses are on strike, but due to the nature of their work, they cannot participate in a way that they do not work at all, but perform tasks that cannot be interrupted. She claims that nurses and technicians on strike face numerous problems such as being listed and threatened with dismissal.

Izabela Kin from the Union of Croatian Teachers reported that out of 820 branches of the SHU, the turnout in 424, from which data arrived by 11 a.m., is 90%, meaning that 16,000 members are on strike. There are no major problems except for the listing of strikers, which is reported to the inspection, she said.

President of the Grand Council of the Independent Union of Science and Higher Education, Vilim Ribić, stated that the turnout of his union’s members is at least 75 to 80 percent, with final results expected tomorrow.

Ribić believes that the government should respect today’s strike as it demonstrates the strength of unions in the public sector, and the support from industrial unions indicates that unions are united despite attempts to incite their divisions and conflicts.

The leader of the science union targeted the Minister of Science, Education, and Sports, Željko Jovanović, for his claim that the real sector earns for public salaries, calling for his resignation due to that statement.

Commenting on Jovanović’s statement that there is no need for a strike as negotiations for the basic collective agreement for public services are ongoing, he stated that such an opinion is completely misguided as strikes are indeed conducted during negotiations as a method of pressure and demonstration of strength.

Unions united in the Croatian Union Federation and the Croatian School Union Preporod organized today’s strike due to the cancellation of the Basic Collective Agreement (BCA) for public services, the announcement of the abolition of salary supplements, the reduction of funds for education and science in the state budget, the reduction of salaries for teachers through the elimination of supplements of 3, 5, 7, and 9 percent, and the prohibition of hiring new nurses.

Due to the strike, practically all schools in Croatia are closed today. Minister of Science, Education, and Sports, Željko Jovanović, stated that his ministry respects the right of unions to strike, but believes that the strike is unnecessary while negotiations for the BCA are ongoing.