The customs officers' union on Monday held a meeting in the Ministry of Labour regarding working conditions and adjusting the wage indices in customs services, with customs officers claiming that their wage indices are 20% lower compared to other employees in the Ministry of Finance.

“Customs officers are working in poor conditions. Legal provisions and the collective agreement are not adhered to. We are rarely given new uniforms and we have to buy our own toilet paper and soap. Overtime work is not paid and regular health check-ups are not conducted,” union leader Rino Storic said after the meeting with the ministry’s representatives and in the absence of Labour Minister Josip Aladrovic.

Storic said that legal provisions and the collective agreement for about 2,800 employees are not adhered to.

He claimed that there is a lot of differences in the wage indices within the customs service and that they have warned the Ministry of Finance of this discrepancy for years, but without any response.

“Our last demand was sent to the prime minister personally, yet we did not receive any response. I hope that the government has realised that for years it is has been causing confusion in public services. They are the ones who adopt regulations on indices and define the rules of the game,” said Skoric.

The customs officers’ union expects a concrete response to its demands within seven days at the most. If the government does not respond in that time, the union will submit a complaint to the International Labour Organisation that workers’ rights are not be respected.

Skoric added that customs officers are prepared to wait for the foreign consultants the government has announced will amend the regulation on wage indices.

He added that the union wants its status to be resolved as it is currently exposed to unprecedented pressure which threatens to shut down the union.