In the letter, Luc Triangle, General Secretary of industriAll Europe and Valter Sanches, General Secretary of IndustriALL Global said; “We condemn the fact that the forthcoming pension reforms have been decided without genuine consultation and negotiation with unions, who were explicitly informed by government officials that there was no room for negotiation on the planned reforms.”
They continued to express their solidarity with the Croatian workers and unions; “We share your serious concerns with regard to the negative impacts of the pension reforms. While the stated intention of the reforms is to bring greater financial suitability to the pension system and encourage greater participation of older workers in employment, in practice they will likely come to the detriment of income security for many of Croatia’s current and future pensioners.”
It is outrageous that the Croatian Government has refused to negotiate their pension reform with the national trade unions. Refusing to discuss alternative proposals – that is not acceptable in a democracy and it is not acceptable in the European Union.
IndustriAll Europe General Secretary, Luc Triangle, said “Croatian unions are rightly taking to the streets to protest. IndustriAll Europe fully understands your actions. We are with you. The advice of the European Commission could cause harm to workers who need early retirement for health reasons. In Croatia and throughout the EU we need a guarantee of a good job for all workers that gives a decent life and a decent pension for a well-deserved retirement after many years of work.”
industriAll Europe and IndustriALL Global Union call on the Croatian Government to change its reform, to negotiate with trade unions for fair pensions for all workers in Croatia.
A copy of the industriAll Europe letter to the Croatian Government can be found here.
A copy of the joint letter from industriAll Europe and IndustriALL Global Union can be read here.
A copy of the letter to industriAll Europe's Croatian affiliates can be found here.