With the implementation of the new collective agreement in the hospitality industry from May 1, 2024, the minimum wages in Croatia will increase by an average of 17 percent for basic hospitality occupations and it applies to all employers and workers in the Republic of Croatia in the activities of providing accommodation, preparing and serving food, the HUP reported on Thursday -a.
According to HUP (Croatian Association of Employers), this is the largest increase in minimum wages through the collective agreement in the hospitality industry on an annual basis so far and the result of the decision to extend the application of the new Collective Agreement in the hospitality industry, made by the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy.
In addition to the salary, employers in tourism provide additional benefits, accommodation, food and more, where both they and trade unions in tourism say that it is crucial that all stakeholders in tourism think about how to ensure the most competitive working conditions in comparison to neighboring countries.
Behind the new contract, apart from the Ministry of Labour, are HUP’s Hospitality and Tourism Association, Croatian Tourism and Services Union (STUH) and the Union of Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia (SIKD).
The increase in the basic gross wages without allowances for employees in the hospitality industry was agreed in four classes according to the complexity of the work – from the lowest increase of 11 percent to the highest of 20 percent.
Thus, for the first two classes – simple and less demanding jobs such as cleaners, waiters, porters, luggage carriers, i.e. maids, assistant waiters, cooks, receptionists, confectioners and the like – an increase in the gross salary by 20 percent was agreed, amounting to 840, i.e. 850 euros.
For waiters, cooks, confectioners, and receptionists, the contracted amount is 880 euros, which is an increase of 16 percent, and for waiters and specialist cooks, the minimum gross salary is increased by 11 percent, to 980 euros.
In addition to salary increases, the Collective Agreement also defines other material rights of employees, as they say from HUP, “significantly above the legally prescribed ones, which the tourism sector follows through a 20-year long tradition of successful negotiations between unions and employers in this sector”.
The new Collective Agreement in the hospitality industry is in effect from this year until the end of 2025, and the novelty is that it has been agreed to apply to foreign and agency workers as well as supplementary provisions on the schedule of working hours and provisions on redistribution.
On the occasion of the extension of that contract, the president of the HUP Hospitality and Tourism Association Željko Kukurin emphasized that people are the “foundation of quality tourist services” and that in Croatia, everyone who works and makes decisions in tourism must create competitive working conditions compared to neighboring countries.
“The entire industry strives to continuously improve working conditions for employees, and the extension of the Collective Agreement is another step in that direction. Trade unions in tourism are an important partner on this path, and that is why I am glad that we are reaching a consensus with them on important issues and improving the sector together in which we work,” concluded Kukurin, Hina writes.
