403 employees are leaving HT, no further layoffs will follow

Yesterday, at the headquarters of Hrvatski Telekom, representatives of the employer and the union signed a new Collective Agreement that will be in effect until June 30, 2014.

On behalf of the company, the new Collective Agreement was signed by Ivica Mudrinić, President of the Management Board and CEO of HT, and Irena Jolić Šimović, Member of the Management Board and Chief Human Resources Officer, while on behalf of the union, Juko Cikojević, President of the Croatian Telecommunications Union  and Ivan Majdak, Vice President of the Republic Union of Workers of Croatia.

– The negotiation process, which began in November last year, despite differing opinions on certain issues, took place in a constructive atmosphere with the aim of ensuring conditions for achieving business goals in complex economic circumstances while fundamentally not reducing the material rights of employees – stated the company’s announcement.

In parallel with reaching an agreement on signing the new Collective Agreement, during the next year and a half, during which there will be no declaration of technological surplus, special severance packages have been agreed for certain categories of employees, increased by 50 percent above the severance packages established by the collective agreement. Based on this offer, 403 employees will leave the company by the end of June this year.

One of the novelties is the reduction of the holiday bonus from 6,000 to 3,000 kuna gross. The majority of other material rights remain unchanged, for example, the Christmas bonus of 2,500 kuna, Easter bonus, gifts for children, and jubilee awards. Severance payments remain at an average amount of 360,000 kuna gross cost to the company per employee. 

– We are satisfied with the Collective Agreement signed today, which again shows that HT is a responsible company that ensures high material rights for employees and very competitive working conditions even in times of crisis. By signing the Collective Agreement, we have shown that social dialogue is not only necessary but also possible, to the benefit of all parties involved – said Irena Jolić Šimović, Member of the Management Board and Chief Human Resources Officer.

– I believe that with the new Collective Agreement, in these difficult times, we have fulfilled our main goal – saving jobs – stated Juko Cikojević, President of the Croatian Telecommunications Union, during the signing.