People who are not vaccinated should not be discriminated against, the STUH tourism union said on Friday commenting on a statement by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on the possibility of not approving job-keeping aid to those who have not been vaccinated against COVID.

“STUH has called on and is still calling on its members and workers in hospitality and tourism to get vaccinated and we understand the prime minister’s efforts and wishes for Croatian citizens to be vaccinated, considering it would resolve many problems, from returning to a normal life to reducing government costs. We agree with the prime minister and it would be absurd to stimulate anyone who is being vaccinated now with a financial reward, but at the same time, it is unacceptable to create disincentives for those who do not want to get vaccinated,” STUH said in a press release.

STUH called on the prime minister to refrain from such statements and to discuss the possible repercussions with his associates.

The union underscored that Croatia’s biggest problem in tourism was the shortage of labour.

A Council of Europe resolution, passed in late January, states that vaccination in the EU is not obligatory, and therefore people who are not vaccinated should not be discriminated against, the union said.

The SSSH union federation said on Friday that conditioning government support with vaccination constituted unacceptable pressure on workers who do not want to get vaccinated.

As long as vaccination is voluntary, withholding government support from those who have not been vaccinated is ripe soil for discrimination, SSSH said.

SSSH was one of the first to call on workers to be vaccinated, but workers must not suffer any sanctions if they are not vaccinated, the union added.