Croatia
Key Facts
| Population | 4,398,150 |
|---|---|
| Collective Bargaining Coverage | 61% |
| Proportion of Employees in Unions | 35% |
| Principal Level of Collective Bargaining |
industry and company |
| Workplace Representation |
union and works council – but where no works council union can take over its rights and duties |
| Board-level Representation |
yes: state-owned and private companies |
| Company Board Structure |
monistic or dualistic (choice) |
Trade Unions
Union density is well above the EU average in Croatia with more than a third of employees in unions. However, union organisation is fragmented with four nationally representative union confederations and some unions outside these larger bodies, although recent legislative changes have resulted in a significant consolidation.
more ...Collective Bargaining
Collective bargaining in Croatia currently takes place at industry and company/organisation level, with company bargaining growing in importance. New legislation, determining which unions are entitled to negotiate, was passed in 2012. This is likely to reduce the influence of smaller trade unions in the workplace, although the situation will be affected by further legislation being introduced in 2014.
more ...Workplace Representation
Workplace representation in Croatia is provided both through trade unions and works councils, although if no works council has been set up the union representative can take on almost all its duties and responsibilities. This happens reasonably frequently.
more ...Board-level Representation
There is employee representation at board level in larger Croatian limited companies and all Croatian public limited companies. However, this representation is limited to a single member representing employees.
more ...European-level Representation
Croatian representatives on bodies related to European Works Councils and the European Company are in most cases elected by all Croatian employees in the companies involved. The choice of an employee representative at board level in a European Company is the exception, as he or she is chosen by the works council of the European Company, in line with national practice for employee board-level representation in Croatian companies.
more ...Health and Safety Representation
Health and safety representation in Croatia is provided primarily through safety representatives, elected by the whole workforce. In slightly larger organisations, there is also a joint safety committee.
more ...Financial Participation
Workers’ financial participation has a long tradition in the former Yugoslavia. In Croatia today, however, the incidence of financial participation schemes is below average. By European comparison Croatia is in the lower third with regard to both employee share ownership and profit-sharing schemes.
more ...