The management of the national flag-carrier Croatia Airlines said on Wednesday that crisis measures will be implemented to minimise the damaging consequences of a workers’ strike announced to begin on Monday, July 9.

Workers employed at the national flag carrier Croatia Airlines announced yesterday that they would go on strike on Monday, adding that the last round of talks with the company’s management had fallen through on June 11. They said that they would cease all operations until the management agrees to their new collective agreement.

The strike is set to begin at 6 am, and workers are demanding an increase in salaries, longer-term collective agreements, and the reduction in overtime hours assigned to employees.

“Because of the current situation and the damage the strike will certainly cause our passengers, as well as Croatian tourism and economy as a whole, the decision was made that all the vacation approvals for July and August will be rescinded on the day the strike begins,” Croatia Airlines management said in a press release.

They added that all specific decisions on work duties in crisis situation will be given to employees directly from their superiors.

The management said they would stop applying the expired collective agreement and instead apply the rules of the labour law, meaning the pay for July and August, as well as any bonuses, will be proportionally docked for all the workers who go on strike.

They invited the union’s representatives to continue the negotiations on the collective agreement on Thursday, July 5.

“We have to emphasise that, over the last 18 months, during which the deal on new collective agreement was not reached, the company has implemented and honoured all the provisions of the previous agreement…, which means that all the employees (including the union members) had the exact same rights they would have if the agreement was still in power,” the management said.

The company is not able to earmark additional 53 million kuna (€7.1 million) for the union’s demands. They have twice refused the offer on 2.5 percent pay increase as well as other benefits (such as Christmas bonuses) in late 2017 and in 2018, and the refusal to sign the new collective agreement, has resulted in financial harm to all the Croatia Airlines employees, the management said.

They called on the unions and all the employees to “seriously think about the meaning and consequences of a strike at this time.”

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