The Minister of Labour and Pension System, Mirando Mrsić, stated that pension payments are not in question. Pensions will, as he said, be adjusted next year.
Minister Mrsić presented amendments to the Labour Law in Osijek. He stated that their goal is the security of workers, who, as the weaker link in the labour market, need to be protected and should be enabled to be employed more easily and quickly. The legal amendments also aim to allow employers to better adapt to the labour market, facilitate restructuring, and respond more effectively to crises and other challenges.
He added that the negotiation of wages between workers and employers should return to a contractual relationship, meaning that wages can only be defined by an employment contract, and not by some other instrument.
Speaking about the issue of redistributing working hours, which is considered controversial in public, Mrsić emphasized that it already exists in tourism and construction, where, during the season, people work up to 60 hours a week, and outside the season, an average of 40 hours a week.
With these amendments, we want to enable others, who have needs, to work more hours than the legal maximum during a certain period, but also to ensure that workers are paid for overtime, so the claims of some unions that workers will be exploited do not hold, Mrsić assessed.
As he emphasized, the State Inspectorate will receive much broader powers, one of which will be the control of working hours in companies.
He pointed out that the intention of the legal amendments is not to make it easier to dismiss workers, but to facilitate the mobility of the workforce, thus proposing measures such as working for multiple employers and in a remote workplace, as well as working from home.
