Negotiators for the government and for public and government sector employees' unions on Friday agreed on an increase of the holiday allowance to €250 for non-union members and €300 for union members, agreeing that talks on the payment of the Christmas bonus would continue in September, when the Easter bonus and base pay would be discussed as well.

Unionist Domagoj Rebic said after the meeting that a task force would be formed to consider the unions’ and government’s arguments regarding base pay, expressing confidence room would be created to increase the base pay before September.

He said that some of the unions needed to consult with their bodies on the matter and that a final decision on the signing of an annex to the collective agreement would depend on what those bodies would decide.

Representatives of police and Ministry of the Interior employees’ unions Dubravko Jagatic and Zdravko Loncar said the same was agreed by government sector employees’ unions. The base pay will be discussed in the third week of September, after the tourist season, Loncar said.

Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy Minister Marin Piletic said that they were a step away from signing an agreement.

At a time when slightly more than 235,000 public and government sector workers are receiving April wages with a 2% increase in the base pay, we have agreed that the holiday bonus will increase to €250 for non-union members and to €300 for members of representative unions, he said.

Piletic added that talks would follow on a higher base pay percentage, noting that the Easter bonus would be discussed as well, to be paid in March 2024.

He said that the reform of the wage system, announced by the prime minister and the finance minister, would cover all of 1,621,000 insurees.

Asked how much money would be set aside for the holiday bonus, Piletic said that around €63 million was envisaged for public and government sector workers.

He added that amendments to the Salaries Act envisaged an increase in coefficients, noting that any agreement would have to result in higher wages for public and government sector employees.