Union objections are unfounded, we do not violate regulations

The management of Brodosplit has rejected the objections of the union leadership in the company that the employment contracts offered to workers for establishing an employment relationship in that company are illegal, and has deemed such union positions as “entirely unfounded and inappropriate.”

The management emphasizes that “employers from the Brodosplit group do not violate any regulations.”

“The group management is in constant contact with public authorities, and the Government itself has appointed its representative to the Supervisory Board of Brodosplit, and its majority owner complies with all regulations and provisions of the privatization contract. Therefore, the union’s appeal to the public can be understood as an inappropriate expression of pressure on the employer to open negotiations for the conclusion of a collective agreement, although they do not emphasize this at regular meetings and encounters with representatives of Brodosplit, and not as a genuine concern for the workers of Brodosplit,” states the press release issued this afternoon by the Public Relations Department of Brodosplit.

Leaders of the three unions operating in Brodosplit (the Metalworkers Union of Croatia – Industrial Union, the Workers’ Union, and the Independent Union) today requested the Government to urgently intervene in monitoring the restructuring process of the company, as according to their press release, most articles in the employment contracts offered for signing to workers are contrary to the provisions of the Labor Law, and some of their provisions encroach on the privacy of workers. Therefore, the unions are seeking urgent assistance from the Government, otherwise they announce that they will turn to the European Commission or “take matters into their own hands.”

In response to the union’s objections, the press release from Brodosplit’s Public Relations Department emphasizes that standard employment contract forms have been posted on the company’s bulletin boards for a week with all explanations, and these forms are also available on the company’s website and on the Facebook page “Škveranke,” precisely so that workers can study the basic articles of the contract before they receive their proposed employment contract.

The union also received the contract forms when requested, the press release states, adding that workers who received specific proposals for employment contracts were also provided with preliminary salary calculations. The claim by the union that workers who will receive an offer to conclude a new employment contract must sign the contracts immediately is also inaccurate, nor is anyone forcing them to do so, it is claimed in the press release from Brodosplit’s Public Relations Department.

Leaders of the three unions operating in Brodosplit today stated the opposite of the claims of Brodosplit’s management, asserting that “despite the agreement that the proposal for the employment contract would be delivered to the unions for review a few days in advance, this was not done, and workers are being conditioned to sign the employment contracts immediately on the spot without the possibility of consulting about the content and rights with lawyers and unions.

The unions also criticized the new owner of Brodosplit (Tomislav Debeljak) for abusing the probationary work institute.

In response to the union’s objection regarding the provision on probationary work in the employment contract, Brodosplit’s management responds that probationary work is a common category of labor law, which the legislator itself recognized in the recent amendments to the Labor Law, in which it emphasized the importance of this institute.

“Moreover, the provision on probationary work is part of the standardized contract in the DIV group. When it comes to fixed-term contracts, it can only be offered to a worker when the employer deems it necessary for objective reasons,” states the press release from the Public Relations Department. It adds that it is up to the employer to assess, in accordance with their business needs, whether there is a need to employ workers on a fixed-term or indefinite basis.