The government and civil servants' trade unions on Thursday signed a new four-year basic collective agreement and an annex to the agreement as well as an agreement regulating the amendments to the annex regarding the wage base for some 60,000 civil servants.
The new collective agreement includes all entitlements, wage scales and changes regarding the transport allowances.
The annex regulates the nonpayment of Christmas bonuses this and next year, and the nonpayment of holiday cash grants next year. Per diems will go down, and the jubilee awards for civil servant working for 10, 20, 30 or 40 years in their jobs are to be axed by half
After the signing ceremony in Zagreb, Deputy Prime Minister Neven Mimica said that the new collective agreement was an expression of the budgetary, economic and financial situation.
It also shows the understanding of both the government and the unions for te economic situation, and the agreement creates preconditions for budget savings, Mimica said.
He said that this collective agreement would be offered for further negotiations to public-sector trade unions and unions in public companies.
The head of the union of central and local government employees (SDLSN), Boris Plesa expressed satisfaction with the four-year period of the enforcement of the agreement.
He said that the basic text of the agreement remained unchanged except for sections on transport benefits.
The unionist was displeased with the suspension of some material entitlements, however, he said, unions chose the lesser evil.
The signing of this agreement was set for 2 August after the government's negotiating team and leaders of trade unions of employees in the police, the defence sector, the judiciary and in tax and customs administrations reached a deal after four negotiating rounds on July 25.
