Zagreb - Minister of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy Marin Piletić said on Thursday that the amendments to the Labor Act (ZOR) are aimed at creating a modern labour market and responding to the challenges and changes in the market while protecting workers and entrepreneurs.
We want to create a quality framework for the modern labour market. The changes to the ZOR maintain the spirit of the times and respond to the key challenges faced by workers and employers, Piletić said while presenting the bill to the Sabor.
Workers will be able to work additionally for another employer without the approval of the first employer
"We live in challenging times, going from one crisis to the next, and we need to take all possible steps to make the labour market more resilient," he said.
He noted that the amendments are the result of intensive work over the past two years by the ministries in cooperation with social partners. The bill received 774 comments and 146 of them were accepted, he said.
The new ZOR limits fixed-term contracts, regulates work from home, remote work and work via digital platforms. It introduces a new way of performing permanent seasonal jobs, which also includes work on open-ended contracts and the possibility of working legally in the off-season.
In addition, workers will be able to work additionally for another employer without the approval of the original employer. We are talking about individuals who want to work extra and earn money without a regulated relationship. They will be able to work an extra eight hours a week in addition to their full-time job, explained Piletić.
The base wage may not be less than the legal minimum salary, so people employed in a lower-paid job will feel the effect of the new law through an increase in their earnings.
"After the changes to the law, the monthly wage of people with 15 years of service will be almost HRK 300 higher," he underscored.
Material benefits more favourable for union members that signed the collective agreement
In order to encourage people to work longer, the notice period and severance pay are being revoked for workers who meet the requirements for an old-age pension.
Union members who are signatories to the collective agreement will be eligible for more favourable material benefits, which encourages the work of unions and union membership.
"This is not a suppression of trade unions but quite the opposite," asserted Piletić in response to remarks by MP Ružica Vukovac (For a Just Croatia).
While the ruling party praised the amendments as comprehensive and as a response to new conditions and challenges in the market, the opposition had a number of objections, saying that the ZOR will not protect workers but would enable even greater exploitation.
Additional work is not a matter of desire but of necessity, half of the employees receive less than HRK 6,300 and they cannot live on that, so they are looking for additional work. Now, they will be exploited until death instead of being guaranteed a higher base wage, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, Peđa Grbin (SDP) said.
Is calling a fireman disturbing his free time?
His party colleague Andreja Marić asked why the provision saying that an employer may not call an employee outside of working hours was not incorporated in the ZOR.
"There is no unequivocal answer to that question. I agree that free time should be free, but what will a firefighter say when he gets a call to respond to a fire, is that a disturbance of free time? There are a number of situations where this cannot be implemented," replied Piletić.
Katarina Peović (Workers' Front) believes that the law enables a 30% wage decrease under unclear conditions and will force workers to work during the week without any rest and will transfer the cost of working from home to workers.