Strike averted

Cabin crew gets pay increase

There has been some welcome news for Croatia Airlines passengers, as the cabin crew union of the national carrier said it would not go on strike. The decision comes after the union secured a 30% pay increase for its members. Croatia Airlines management is less than happy with the new deal but says it was forced to give in to the union in order avert a similar strike to the one staged last year. The management says that cabin crew will be responsible for the airline’s financial losses as they have added an additional 700.000 Euro loss to the annual financial performance and from 2012 a further 2.7 million Euro loss, as the pay increase will apply to all other employees. Initially, cabin crew unions, unhappy with low wages and work conditions, threatened to strike on May 13 but the strike was postponed as talks between the management and unions resumed. Yesterday an agreement was reached.

The management of the Croatian national carrier says that cabin crew will now earn 1.000 Euros per month, despite the fact that they only work 70 hours per month. The cabin crew union refutes these claims, saying that Croatia Airlines cabin crew work 190 hours per month and are not granted overtime pay. The union highlights that up until now its member’s wages ranged between 400 and 650 Euros, which is significantly less than other airlines in the region. The agreement is said to have been mediated by government minister Božidar Kalmeta who doesn’t want a strike in his department during an election year.