PM confident that agreement on base pay will be reached with unions

Addressing a press conference after a meeting of the ruling coalition, Plenkovic commented on Monday's second round of talks with the public service unions on increasing base pay. He said he was confident that an agreement would be reached "in the coming weeks, with the good will and desire of the government and the unions to find a mutually acceptable solution."

He presented a roadmap of activities related to salary increases for the state administration and public services, saying that the income of state administration and public service employees would increase five times over the next few months.

First, he said, there will be an increase in the pay base. It will be followed by an increase in the Christmas bonus, a pay increase based on the law on salaries in state administration and public services, which should enter into force in January, and then an increase based on the adoption of two decrees on pay coefficients.

"As of 1 January, a package of laws related to tax reform will be in force, and it will also lead to an increase in wages. And ultimately, for the first time, the amount of the Easter bonus will be agreed with the unions," Plenkovic said.