The UGP association of entrepreneurs said on Monday that due to the decisions by the COVID response team that discriminated against entrepreneurs, they were organising a protest rally in Zagreb's main square on Wednesday, calling on entrepreneurs, tradesmen, employees and citizens to join them.

UGP said that the government and the national coronavirus response team were constantly making inconsistent and discriminatory decisions that had for months now been destroying micro, small ad medium-sized businesses. Many enterprises have been stripped of their constitutional right to work without any compensation or allowance. Unlike many other European countries, Croatia has not taken even one step to compensate enterprises, UGP said.

If you are banned from working, then you should be adequately compensated for, but the government just does not want to realise this, UGP claimed.

UGP said that a study by its economic advisory committee indicates that 7,000 companies had been in danger before the last lockdown and that their failure would create a HRK 3 billion deficit in the state budget.

“We reiterate that this jeopardised at least 49,000 jobs and as much as 10% of Gross Domestic Product. With the new lockdown these figures are even higher and 11,000 jobs have already been lost. If small and medium enterprises, as the pillar of the economy, go under, that will create a hole in the budget. How the government intends to finance healthcare, education and security?” the association wondered.

UGP noted that jobkeeping measures are supposed to help workers and not companies.

“Fixed costs will be covered only for the two months for the companies that are formally closed, while no one cares about the rest, some of which have seen their revenues plunge by over 90%, not even the Ministry of Economy. If this continues, there will not be any jobs left that will need saving,” UGP warned.

UGP said it was time hundreds of parafiscal fees that burden citizens and the country were abolished, including mandatory membership fees payable to the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts.