About fifty flight control workers in the Croatian air traffic control workers' union (HSSKL) protested on Thursday in front of the flight control tower at Zagreb Airport, accusing the Air Traffic Control director, Vlado Bagaric, of pressuring and intimidating workers.

“Seeing as Bagaric is negating any problems in Air Traffic Control or any pressure on employees, we’ve come here today so that flight control workers and other employees can show that the pressure and long-standing abuse are still continuing,” union leader Kresimir Rakoci told reporters.

Rakoci claimed that 194 employees have signed a statement disapproving of the director’s conduct and that they have been working under great stress and tension over the past year and a half because of Bagaric’s behaviour.

“The last straw or example of intimidation was to launch dismissal procedures against me as the union leader which is an attack on the union and union activities, guaranteed for every worker in Croatia,” said Rakoci.

The leader of the Independent Croatian Trade Unions, Kresimir Sever, said that the union supports the flight control workers.

“These people have been exposed to stress and pressure since last year when collective bargaining started and the president of the management board proposed wage cuts,” said Sever.

Even though the union agreed then to the pay cut, Bagaric did not reduce his own salary but had in fact paid himself a bonus.

“This year the union did not agree to any further pay cuts, which did not occur, so the unions withdrew some of their demands and said they would wait for better times. But that doesn’t seem to be enough,” said Sever.

Flight control staff are continuing to do their job so the system remains safe, however they warned that they are afraid of what will follow if their union representative is fired, said Sever.

There is no direct influence here by the prime minister or any particular minister, however the government appoints the Supervisory Board which comprises three ministers, so it is obvious that the government is directly responsible for the situation in Air Traffic Control, added Sever.

The Croatian Air Traffic Control (HKZP) commented on the protest, saying that this was yet another unnecessary attempt of manipulation to put pressure on the management, primarily by representative Rakoci.

The exclusive aim of that media pressure is to try and save Rakoci’s job, who is manipulating union members for his own particular interests while presenting lies and malicious accusations without any proof, HKZP said in a press release.

HKZP added that the decision to dismiss Rakoci came as a result of a series of violations from August 2020 to August 2021 and that with his irresponsible conduct, he caused problems in the entire flight control system in Croatia.

“His case is currently in court and HKZP will completely respect the court’s decision which should be delivered soon,” the press release said.

HKZP noted that despite the decrease in traffic of 90 percent in the first few months of the coronavirus crisis and income losses of 50 percent on the year, they nevertheless ensured regular wages and rights for all their employees throughout the entire time, with a significant number of employees receiving more than 40,000 kuna (€5,320) net wage a month.

A collective agreement has been signed with the representative unions and is in force until 30 September 2022. It guarantees exceptionally high workers’ rights and is being entirely adhered to, so there is no reason for any union pressure, HKZP’s press release said.