Education-sector unions on Wednesday rejected a new offer by the government to end the strike and said that it was even lower than what they had been offered last week, adding that the current teachers' strike would continue and that negotiations had been suspended until further notice.

At today’s negotiations at the Ministry of Labour and Pension System, the government presented a new proposal to the unions – the already proposed increase of 6.12% of the base wage and an analysis of the entire wage system in the public sector to include the job complexity indices of employees in primary and secondary schools, and in the science and higher education sector.

The new element in the government’s proposal is the signing of an agreement on a wage supplement in education and science which defines the government’s obligation to give all employees in the education system a 2% wage supplement if it does not amend the regulation on job complexity indices by 30 June 2020. The government offer also said that teachers would be paid for the days they were on strike until November 15.

Mihalinec: Croatia doesn’t deserve a government like this

The head of the secondary schools union, Branimir Mihalinec, said that last Tuesday the government offered the option of increasing the job complexity index by 2% and was now offering an optional 2% increase in supplements, which is financially a lower offer than the one of a 2% increase of the job complexity index.

“This offer is lower than the one that was put to a referendum and that teachers are resolutely rejecting. We are disappointed. Croatia does not deserve a government like this,” Mihalinec said underscoring that the unions did not sign the offer.

He added that that meant that the strike would continue and that any further negotiations with the government were suspended until further notice.