After negotiations with unions on Tuesday, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that the base salary for public sector and government employees would increase by 4 percent as of 1 May, and that new a round of negotiations would follow in the autumn.

Plenkovic said that an agreement had been reached on three points and thanked the unions for their “readiness to compromise.”

“We have increased the amount for regular medical check-ups from 500 to 1,200 kuna. We have also reached an agreement to increase transport expenses. Until now they amounted to 1.00 kuna (per kilometer) and today we agreed that it should be 1.35 kuna, plus a corrective mechanism of 10 percent if the price of fuel increases, and it can also decrease. That way we have enabled people to be paid an appropriate transport allowance,” he said.

“And most importantly… a compromise has been reached on a 4 percent raise for the base salary as of 1 May,” Plenkovic said, adding the increase would be included in the May wage. The agreement is seen as a compromise solution as unions had demanded a somewhat higher increase and 1.35 kuna per kilometer commuter bonus, and other details.

New negotiations on salaries are set to continue in the last week of September, state agency Hina said.