Women�s Network and Trade Unions: Status of Women in Croatian Labour Market

gay.hr

12 March 2007

On the occasion of March 8, the International Women�s Day, the Croatian Women Network, in cooperation witht he Women Section of the Association of Independent Trade Unions of Croatia and the Women Committee of the Croatian Independent Trade Unions, organized a protest march, starting at former factory �Nada Dimic� and ending the walk at �Kamenita vrata� (Stone Portal), as a warning to deteriorating position of women in the labour market.

About 60 protesters, mostly women but also several men, distributed leaflets with their demands along the way. At the Kamenita vrata, they were expected by the Police which prevented them from reaching the Croatian Sabor (the parliament) and present their demands to the Members of the Sabor.

One of the main demands is to introduce changes in the Labour Law, especially provisions regarding unregulated employment and time-limited employment contracts.

�We demand that time-limited contracts are defined as an exception by the Law and that employers are prohibited from possibility to make such contracts for a period longer than one year. After one year, those contracts should automatically transform into full-employment contracts�, said Bozica Zilic from SSSH Women Section.

Protesters also demanded regulation that would prescribe the maximum number of employees that can be contracted for time-limited contracts, as well as elimination of possibility to extend such contracts by renaming the position.

They also warned that unemployment rates are much higher with women then with men, and that women, on average, receive between 15 to 20 percent lower salaries then men working in the same positions.

The organizers called the names of Sabor Members at the Stone Portal, and received support by several women MPs, headed by Gordana Sobol, Chair of Sabor Committee for Gender Equality. Dragutin Lesar, Antun Kapraljevic and Jozo Rados also supported the gathering.

�The decision to start at former textile factory �Nada Dimic� was intended for its symbolic power, having in mind that it once employed 95% women, prior to its privatization�, said Bojana Genov, coordinator of Croatian Women�s Network.

Kresimir Sever, president of Croatian Independent Trade Unions, commented that women problems and issues are discussed in Croatia only on occasion or if it is fashionable. He also expressed his hopes that the �shameful Law on Prohibition of Public Gatherings on Mark�s Squary will soon be abolished.