The Association of Professional Firefighters' Unions warned on Friday that due to the failure to pass the rulebook on the classification of workplaces it would initiate a series of union actions on May 4, St. Florian Day, the patron saint of firefighters.

The rulebook was supposed to be adopted and go into effect on June 30, 2020, but it has not been adopted to this day, which is why firefighters do not have a regulated minimum wage, the trade union association announced.

They warn that currently only a small number of units have concluded collective agreements, while in units without a valid collective agreement there is no basis on which to calculate and pay wages.

The failure to pass the rulebook on the classification of professional firemen’s jobs was the topic of a meeting between representatives of the trade union and the Croatian Firefighting Association (HVZ), namely Fire Department chief Slavko Tucakovic, a few days ago.

The union points out that the adoption of the rulebook by the HVZ was announced in the next ten days only with a verbal guarantee. However, considering that, as they state, they have almost three years of announcing the adoption of that rulebook, they are preparing a series of trade union actions that will begin on May 4, the Day of St. Florian, the patron saint of firefighters, “and that in the form of a protest or a strike.”

The trade union of Istria, Kvarner, and Dalmatia will participate in the announced activities, the association said.