Talks to avert strike at Croatia Airlines break down

"The management stuck with their views, no compromise was offered, and no new collective agreement. We are sorry, we ask citizens for understanding, but on Wednesday there will be a strike, and a collapse of airline traffic," Marko Bozicevic of the Pilots' Union (HSPP) told N1.

Croatia Airlines' workers, and their union ORCA, had announced a strike earlier this year in April, but agreed to postpone it after meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

The primary issue concerns appointing new company management which would make it possible to finally sign a new collective agreement, as the last one had expired in January 2016. Plenkovic had met with the unions earlier in July and, according to the unions’ representatives, promised their problems would be addressed. The last government session before the recess was held last Thursday, but the decision on appointing the airline’s new management was not made.

"If the Wednesday strike does take place, about 70 percent of the company's flight with 5,000 passengers will be affected. It's not true that the management did not offer anything - the unions asked for (provisions costing) 53 million kuna (€7.2 million), and the management offered 13 million kuna (€1.7 million)," member of the company's management, Davor Janusic, said.

However, since their demands haven't been met, and they did not sign a new collective agreement, the HSPP and ORCA announced in late July that pilots, cabin crew, and mechanics would all go on strike starting on Wednesday, August 8.

The company's management reacted by saying that the strike - expected to last until the employees' demands are met - would cause a damage of €800,000 per day, and that the company simply does not have the funds to finance an extra 53 million kuna (€7.2 million) per year needed to secure the provisions asked demanded by the unions.

(€1 = 7.39 kuna)

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