Together we are stronger!

What is a trade union?

A trade union is a group of workers who voluntarily join together to protect and advance the interests of all of them together.

Trade unions offer a range of services to their members including negotiating better wages and working conditions, and providing free advice and legal representation.

Trade union membership and activities must not be a basis for being dismissed or put at a disadvantage. Along with the right to organise and engage in trade union activity, trade union rights also include the right to bargain collectively and to strike.

All workers, and society as a whole, benefit from trade union activities because, for example, the rights that trade unions achieve in collective bargaining are exercised by everyone, not just trade union members. The eight-hour working day, the right to paid sick leave and annual leave are considered normal today, but they are the result of long-standing trade union struggle.

Trade unions fight not only for better working conditions: their goal is to build a fairer society by achieving full employment based on quality jobs. They also advocate the reduction of inequality, primarily through the development of a high quality and accessible social security system, including state care for the unemployed, the poor and the infirm, and pension and health insurance for all.

What do you get by joining?

There are numerous advantages of being a trade union member: apart from being able to improve your working conditions and your labour rights through the trade union, you are also provided with free access to legal advice and protection, as well as education services. Numerous studies show that workers in trade union organised workplaces earn higher wages than those not represented by a trade union, while they also have better healthcare arrangements. Trade union members are less likely to be dismissed and they enjoy other advantages compared to non-members.

Although today many workers’ rights are protected by law, in practice these rights are not always respected. As individuals, you cannot have much influence on your employer, but workers together, organised in a trade union, have much more power.

The most important services trade unions provide to members are:

• collective bargaining and the conclusion of collective agreements with the aim of determining the price of labour and other rights related to work;
• supervision of the implementation of collective agreements, other regulations and legal acts governing labour relations;
• organisation of industrial action, including strikes;
• provision of legal protection to members;
• improvement of working and living conditions and the protection of life and health at work;
• protection against discrimination at work or relating to work on any grounds;
• The promotion, realisation and protection of trade union rights and freedoms, especially the right to action, and protection for shop stewards;
• trade union education and training.

In order to represent their members and promote their interests effectively, trade unions must be financially independent from the state and employers. Funds from trade union membership fees are used for union activities at the level of the company, the branch trade union and the Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia. They pay the wages of the trade union staff who provide legal and specialist assistance to members and shop stewards, while they also contribute to maintaining offices, keeping members informed, delivering training for trade union representatives and members, providing solidarity assistance to trade union members, and more.

Join – find your trade union!

You can become a trade union member by contacting the shop steward in your company or company-level branch or by filling out an application form. You can join one of 24 trade unions affiliated to the UATUC and, if there is no trade union in your company, you can join individually.

If there are more of you who want to become trade union members, our trade unions will provide you with all the help you need to establish a company-level branch.

Become a trade union member::

• if you want to make sure your rights at work are properly respected;
• if you want the possibility of participating in setting your wage and working conditions through collective bargaining;
• if you want your employer to pay contributions for pension and health insurance
• if you want to have a right to vacation
• if you want a better working conditions
• if you want free legal assistance in matters related to the employment relationship.

The strength and the success of trade unions primarily depend on the number of trade union members and their awareness, organisation and willingness to participate in joint actions, including strikes and protests. Therefore, every trade union member can and should contribute to increasing the number of trade union members.

Become a member - because together we are stronger!

Become a shop steward!

There are four levels of union organisation of workers:

• company-level branch;
• trade union;
• trade union confederation;
• international trade union associations.

The trade union is the fundamental and most important level of trade union organisation which, in Croatia, can be established by at least ten workers. Within a trade union, company-level branches can be established which usually bring together all members who work at the same employer. All members in a company-level branch democratically elect a shop steward who represents them towards the employer and ensures communication between the members of the company-level branch and the central office of the trade union. Unlike a company-level branch, a trade union has legal personality: by signing the membership form, a worker becomes a member of the trade union, not the company-level branch.

Trade union confederations, such as the UATUC, include a large number of trade unions that operate in different fields or activities. Confederations primarily deal with the problems that relate to all or the large majority of workers who are members of trade unions affiliated to a particular confederation. Finally, in order to protect and promote the rights of workers in a globalised society, the international connection of trade unions is necessary, especially at the level of the European Union to which Croatia belongs.

Since trade unions are democratic organisations, members of the company-level branch choose shop stewards who represent them towards the employer, enabling them to have their voice heard in order jointly to solve the problems that concern them in the workplace.

The role of shop stewards

A shop steward is a worker who is employed by the employer and who represents the first and most frequent contact the members have with the trade union. It is not necessary that every shop steward immediately possesses all the knowledge and skills necessary to perform their function successfully. More important than that is to be motivated and ready to learn and develop. Trade unions can and must help them in that respect.

Shop stewards organise the company-level branch and its activities and are responsible for its entire operation. They are elected by all the members of the company-level branch, and all members can run for the role. Elections are carried out at an assembly of the company-level branch and the shop steward is usually elected for a four-year period.

Shop stewards can be removed from office if they act contrary to the statute, acts and other decisions of the trade union; if the members who elected them remove them in a no-confidence vote; or if they themselves request removal from office.

In larger company-level branches, where the number of members or the complexity of the company's organisation justify more than one shop steward, there is often also a shop stewards committee that helps in performing tasks and implementing the activities of the company-level branch.

Rights and obligations

Since shop stewards are elected by members, they have a responsibility both to members as individuals and to the trade union as an organisation. Among other tasks, they submit a written activity report and a financial report to the members of the company-level branch once or several times a year. They are responsible for ensuring communication between the members in the company-level branch and the central office of the trade union. This includes the delivery of the necessary reports and information to the central office but also the transfer of information from the central office to the members of the company-level branch.

Shop stewards have the right to protect and promote the rights and interests of trade union members within the employer. They have the right to use part of their paid working time for trade union work. The exact amount of that time is usually defined by collective agreements (at branch or company level) and often depends on the number of trade union members in the company-level branch. Collective agreements often also prescribe the number of working days per year that a shop steward can use to access trade union education courses.

During the performance of trade union duties (and for six months afterwards), it is not possible, without the consent of the trade union::

• to cancel the shop steward’s employment contract; or
• put the shop steward, in any way, into a less favourable position than their previous working conditions.

Approaching potential members

An important task of shop stewards is to be constantly recruiting other workers into the trade union. Therefore, all other workers should be seen as potential trade union members.

If workers do not agree to join straight after the shop steward has approached them, this does not mean that the steward should give up immediately. Perhaps the first approach did not occur at the right time – due to workers’ personal moods, preoccupations with other problems and various other factors. In addition, not every worker that shop stewards approach has to become a member right away – it’s enough to begin with to get the person interested. If a person is ready to spend ten minutes or so talking about the trade union, that is already a good start and such a conversation is worth continuing on another occasion.

Collective bargaining

The fundamental tool used by trade unions in representing members and improving their working conditions is collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is the process of negotiation between the trade union, as the representative of workers, and one or more employers in order to reach an agreement which regulates wages, working hours and other working conditions.

Although many labour rights are prescribed by the Labour Act, collective agreements regulate them in more detail with the aim of trade unions being to agree on a higher level of rights than the one guaranteed by law. Furthermore, collective agreements regulate other issues that are important for a certain activity or for working conditions in an individual employer but which are not prescribed by law.

Collective agreements are concluded at different levels. Hence, there are branch collective agreementswhich a trade union concludes with an association of employers from a certain branch (or sector or activity). One example is the Collective Bargaining Agreement for the Construction Industry. Such agreements are binding on all the employers who are members of the employer association that concluded them, while the minister of labour can extend their application to all employers in the relevant industry. Also, collective agreements are often concluded at the level of a single employer. These are company-level collective agreements..

The rights obtained on the basis of collective agreements apply to all workers, not only trade union members.

• Characteristics of the collective bargaining system
• A practical manual on collective bargaining
• What is the base of collective agreements and how to use it
• Comparative analysis of the collective bargaining system

The history of trade unions and their role in modern society

The rights obtained on the basis of collective agreements apply to all workers, not only trade union members.

The history of trade unions

Trade unions arose during the industrial revolution in the 19th century when workers became aware that they, as individuals, could not protect themselves or oppose employers. They were illegal then but the first strong trade unions with large numbers of members emerged in early 19th-century Great Britain where, due to industrial expansion, people from rural areas, including women, children and immigrants, were flocking to the cities in search of work. Working all day in difficult conditions, they began to fight for better working conditions and higher wages, with their strikes often quelled in blood. In the 1860s and 1870s, workers organised themselves in many countries demanding the eight-hour working day; there were mass demonstrations and the violent suppression of protests in which many workers lost their lives. By the end of the 19th century, however, trade unions had been legalised in many countries.

The Croatian trade union movement was created and developed following the example of similar movements in Austria and Germany.

The first Croatian trade union was created in Zagreb in 1870: the Trade Union of Typographical Workers. Soon after that, trade unions were founded in numerous other industries and, at the same time, the first strikes were organised, mainly with the demand for shorter working hours.

From the beginning of the 20th century trade unions in western Europe constantly increased their membership, reaching a peak in terms of membership, strength and social influence in the years after World War II. Between 1945 and the mid-1970s, trade unions in the western world made a major contribution to improving the living standards of workers, both by increasing the real value of wages through collective agreements and by contributing to the reforms that have created modern welfare states and public health and pension insurance systems.

In Croatia between 1945 and 1990, trade unions had a different social role than today and were more focused on providing various social services to their members than on negotiating wages and working conditions.

Trade unions in modern society

Since the end of the 1970s, trade unions in the west have been faced with increasing challenges due to the liberalisation of the market (including the labour market), globalisation and the prevailing neoliberal economic policies. For Croatian trade unions this means that, after 1990, they have been faced with a double challenge – transformation and the modernisation required by the transition to a market economy and a democratic political system; and, at the same time, confronting the similar problems and challenges that have been plaguing trade unions in the west. During this period Croatian trade unions were reformed into democratic, independent workers’ organisations and the system of labour relations began to develop in the same direction as the one that exists in western countries.

In the last two centuries, the world and the conditions in which we work and live have changed significantly, but the conflicting interests of workers and employers, as well as the need for workers’ collective action, still exist. Furthermore, the financial, economic and social crisis that engulfed Europe and many parts of the world at the end of the first decade of the 21st century was not caused by workers, but rather by irresponsible investors, bankers, employers and politicians who cared only about their short-term interests and not about the welfare of workers and citizens.

Therefore, we need trade unions and the joint struggle of workers for a fairer and more responsible society as much today as at any time in history, trade unions and the joint struggle of workers for a fairer and more responsible society as much today as at any time in history.

What have trade unions achieved?

The eight-hour working day, health and pension insurance, paid sick leave and annual leave, occupational health and safety and much more are all the result of trade union work and struggle. Today, trade unions are actively influencing the level of labour rights of trade union members and other workers – mainly through collective agreements. It is only because of collective agreements that many workers in the Republic of Croatia today have the right to:

• travel allowance;
• additionally paid overtime;
• years of service bonus;
• vacation and/or Christmas bonus;
• exceptional length of service award;
• gifts in kind and vouchers;
• birth grants, etc.

The right to freedom of trade union membership and trade union activity is one of the first and most important rights that the trade union movement won in its history. This means that in Croatia, as in all democratic states, no-one may be punished or put at a disadvantage because of their trade union membership and trade union activity. This especially applies to employers’ decisions regarding employment and dismissal, job changes, working conditions, promotion and wages. Trade union rights also include the right to bargain collectively and to strike.

Fundamental values of trade unions

The trade union movement is based on the values of unity and solidarity. Trade unions advocate and fight for social justice; that is, for a society in which everyone enjoys equal rights and has equal opportunities to live decently from work, to realise their potential and to participate equally in all aspects of social, economic, political and cultural life.

Building a socially just society implies, among other things, achieving full employment, based on quality jobs, as the main goal of economic policy. It also means developing a high quality and accessible social security system (including state care for the unemployed, the poor and the infirm, and pension and health insurance for all). And it entails the pursuit of other public policies that both reduce economic and social inequalities and promote the chances of individuals and groups who are in an unfavourable social and economic position.

Human rights and human dignity, as well as equality and non-discrimination, are inseparable from the concept of social justice. It is especially important for trade unions to fight actively against any form of discrimination; that is, for equal rights and equal treatment for all regardless of gender, nationality, religion, disability or sexual orientation.

The right to freedom of trade union membership and trade union activity is one of the first and most important rights that the trade union movement won in its history. This means that in Croatia, as in all democratic states, no-one may be punished or put at a disadvantage because of their trade union membership and trade union activity. This especially applies to employers’ decisions regarding employment and dismissal, job changes, working conditions, promotion and wages. Trade union rights also include the right to bargain collectively and to strike.

Free and active trade union endeavour requires a society where freedom, democracy, pluralism and tolerance exist. Democracy does not only mean the right to vote for all citizens, but also the right to active participation in other spheres of social life. Trade unions therefore particularly advocate industrial democracy; that is, workers’ right to co-decide the issues that concern them at work. Pluralism means that everyone has the right to their opinion. Pluralism cannot function without tolerance or the acceptance of diversity among individuals and groups, regardless of whether it is different opinions, attitudes, values, personal choices or characteristics that cannot be influenced by individuals

A brief history of the UATUC

The Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia (UATUC) was established on 13 May 1990 at the time when, in parallel with political changes and the introduction of multi-party democracy, the process of the democratic reform of trade unions began. Although the UATUC is the legal successor to the former Union of Croatian Trade Unions (SSH), the founding congress was attended by both reformed ‘old’ trade unions and newly founded unions – a unique case in transition countries.

Immediately following the founding congress, a membership recruitment campaign began in which every member of the previous unions of SSH voluntarily signed an application form for the respective branch trade union.

Right from its foundation up until today, the UATUC has remained the largest and the best organised trade union confederation in Croatia and has been the initiator and leader of each of the most significant and best supported trade union actions. The UATUC is also the most active and recognisable Croatian trade union confederation at international level. Since 1996, it has been a member of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), while it was an associate member of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) from 1998 until 2004, after which it has been continuously a full member.

From its foundation to the present day, the UATUC has held eight congresses and been led by six presidents.

Vision of the social role of unions within the UATUC

The Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia advocates the broad involvement of trade unions in the design and implementation of all public policies that affect labour and social issues and, in general, the quality of life and the level of democracy in society. This means that we believe that trade unions should be involved in decision-making not only on labour legislation and economic policies, but also on issues related to pensions, healthcare, the education system and many other issues.

Our mission

The UATUC protects and improves workers’ rights and the overall wellbeing of its members and all workers through dialogue, activism and advocacy; and is led by values of justice, equality, solidarity and unity.

Our vision

Work Fit for People.

Fundamental values that guide the UATUC in its work are: equality, mutual respect and appreciation, solidarity, democracy and the value of knowledge.

What does the UATUC advocate?

• full employment as the main goal of economic policy;
• reduction of inequality in society as the main goal of social policy;
• increased wage levels, including the minimum wage, and reduction of the wage gap;
• a high-quality and accessible public healthcare system;
• a public pension system based on intergenerational solidarity;
• high-quality and free education and lifelong learning;
• an appropriate system of social protection and the reduction of poverty;
• the improvement of industrial democracy – workers’ codetermination;
• freedom to organise trade unions and bargain collectively;
• the high-quality protection of occupational health and safety;
• good management of the public sector;
• participatory democratic society;
• the suppression of all forms of discrimination.

Find out more about the Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia in the UATUC brochure..

Public activity of trade unions

By advocating and proposing solutions, trade unions influence public policies; they negotiate with employers and the government through social dialogue; and they conduct public campaigns, organise strikes, organise and participate in public debates and publish specialised publications.

Trade unions and public policies

In their attempt to influence public policies, trade unions are particularly focused on economic and social policies, but also on a number of other policies that affect the level of human rights and democracy in society, as well as the public services provided by the state to citizens.

trade unions primarily advocate measures that encourage employment; that is, they aim to achieve full employment. Today, governments are mainly geared towards achieving economic growth (the growth of gross domestic product), but it is important to know that economic growth is not always accompanied by an increase in employment or the creation of new jobs. If GDP growth is mostly due to growth in the income and profits of the financial sector, workers and ordinary citizens often do not benefit at all.

Trade unions advocate an active social policy with social protection for all citizens and the reduction of inequality in society. Social policy is not only about social benefits – the tax system is also a first-class instrument of social policy as it directly affects the distribution of social wealth. Trade unions traditionally advocate progressive income tax regimes; that is, the principle that those who earn more must also contribute more to society.

Healthcare and pension systems are fundamental issues for trade unions. Both are systems that cannot be organised on market principles because that would result in significant social injustice and the irrational spending of social wealth. Trade unions advocate a high-quality and accessible public healthcare system which will ensure the right to healthcare for all citizens; as well as a public pension insurance system which will deliver a dignified life in old age for everyone.

Privatisation of the healthcare and pension systems, or of certain parts of them, has proven to be a failure in many countries. The result is usually an increase in costs and a decrease in the quality and scope of healthcare or in the level of pensions. Health and safety in old age is not something on which anyone should be making a profit.

Other public services provided by the state, such as the education system or care for children and the elderly, are also important to trade unions. Trade unions advocate free education for all, as well as high-quality care services for children and the elderly; these are particularly important for achieving equality between women and men in the world of work.

Crucial to the construction of a modern, economically and socially successful state is the establishment of the rule of law, as well as good governance in the public sector.. Unfortunately, the political elites in Croatia are to blame for the poor governance of the public sector (state administration, public services and public undertakings). Even worse, the elites are using the results of their poor governance as an excuse for privatisation, instead of trying to improve the quality and level of accountability of public sector governance.

Furthermore, trade unions advocate the advancement of human rights and the development of a democratic society since those aims arise from basic trade union values. This means that trade unions stand, among other things, for the equality of men and women in the world of work and all other spheres of social and private life; the abolition of all forms of discrimination on any grounds; freedom of expression and assembly; democratic political processes that encourage the active participation of citizens in the design and implementation of public policies; the accountability and transparency of public authorities; etc.

Social dialogue

In a broader sense, social dialogue includes all forms of negotiation, consultation and the exchange of information between trade unions and employers and their associations, as well as between trade unions, employer associations and the government, on topics of common interest in the area of economic and social policy.

Bipartite social dialogue

TRADE UNIONS + EMPLOYERS/EMPLOYER ASSOCIATIONS

• collective bargaining;
• different forms of cooperation including the organisation of bipartite councils, negotiating agreements, the drafting of joint opinions and conducting joint activities;
• informal consultations.

Tripartite social dialogue

TRADE UNIONS + EMPLOYER ASSOCIATIONS + GOVERNMENT

• drafting institutional agreements on the consultation of the social partners on regulations and public policies (via the Economic and Social Council);
• participation of the social partners in certain state and public bodies;
• informal consultation between public authorities and the social partners.

The bipartite social dialogue is a natural result of the position that employers and trade unions occupy on the labour market. Ensuring an adequate level of wages and working conditions is the fundamental trade union aim, and collective bargaining is the main tool to achieve it. Strikes and other forms of industrial action are a legal and legitimate means of putting pressure on employers with the aim of forcing them to accept trade union demands. Ultimately, trade unions want to reach agreements with employers because this is the only way they can influence wages and the working conditions of their members.

The tripartite social dialogue is based on the belief that the inclusion of the social partners in the processes of shaping public policies is beneficial both for public authorities and for society as a whole. Finding consensus between government, trade unions and employers is a much more desirable way of making decisions in society than unilateral decision-making.

Participation in social dialogue does not reduce the ability of trade unions to use other methods of cooperation and pressure in advocating the interests of their members, such as alliances with other social organisations, public advocacy, industrial action, protests, lobbying, etc.

Other forms of the public activity of trade unions

In advocating their goals – the rights and interests of workers who are trade union members – trade unions and confederations also use numerous other means. All these different ways in which trade unions try to influence public opinion and decision-making processes are a normal part of the functioning of any democratic society.

Some of the other forms of public activity of trade unions:

• protests and other similar public actions;
• public campaigns through the media and social networks;
• media appearances;
• participation in political and expert debates, panels, conferences and similar gatherings;
• publications.

The future of trade unions

Due to deindustrialisation and the growing share of services in the economy, the spread of precarious and informal forms of work, the longer duration of education and other trends, trade union membership has been significantly reduced in recent decades worldwide.

Globalisation, accelerated technological progress and climate change present new challenges to trade unions. Therefore, rapid and constant adaptation to new ways of connecting workers behind their common interests is necessary. Capital has never been more connected, while market liberalisation has led to a race to cut costs by hiring cheap labour in underdeveloped countries, negatively affecting workers’ rights. There are more and more part-time and temporary jobs, (bogus) self-employment, short-term jobs and platform jobs, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to organise such workers.

Stoga je najveći izazov za sindikate kako prevladati suprotstavljene ciljeve do kojih dolazi zbog potrebe da se sa sve manjim sredstvima brane sve ugroženija prava sadašnjeg članstva te nužnog ulaganja u rad na povećanju broja članova među mladima, neformalno zaposlenima, honorarcima, samozaposlenima i drugim oblicima nesigurnog rada.