The government cannot pass the buck onto workers and employers, unionists and employers said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting on linking support measures to COVID-19 vaccination, adding that the the problem regarding inoculating the population needs to be legally regulated.

The leader of the Independent Croatian Union (NHS) Kresimir Sever said that the government needs to be responsible, warning that passing the responsibility on to workers and employers just provoked further divisions in society.

I am not personally opposed to (coronavirus) vaccination but until it is not legally regulated there is no way to compel people to do so, he said.

Director of the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP) Damir Zoric said that they can understand the state’s expectations and appeals. He believes that everyone should be vaccinated but that there is no legal instrument to compel citizens to do so.

“The state has to make a decision and then we will be obliged to implement that decision,” said Zoric.