In Croatia, judges and state prosecutors are on a so-called white strike, or warning measures, for the third day.
It has been announced that the strike will last until February 2, and during that time work will only be carried out on cases that are threatened with obsolescence.
The deputy president of the Association of Croatian Judges, Tijana Kokić, said that 90 percent of the judges are participating in this strike, and stated that until this morning there were, neither new offers from the Government, nor invitations to talk.
“Judges who are not members of the Association of Croatian Judges also joined us,” Kokić told HRT.
Zoran Vinković, a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Croatian State Prosecutors, said that the warning measures are a signal to the executive power that something needs to be improved and repeated the demands of state prosecutors – that the salary system be fully regulated, that a comprehensive law on the salaries of judges and state prosecutors be adopted.
“The last proposal of the Ministry of Justice offered only some material rights and there was no perspective on when the talks will continue. A new, modern law according to the European standard should be passed – which will include indexation, salary classes and coefficients. This means that in case as the state’s standards grow, so do wages, and vice versa,” stated Vinković.
Adviser to the Minister of Justice and Administration, Ivan Crnčec, said that after the last strike, judges’ salaries were increased by around 580 euros for the first degree and amounted to around 2,300 euros, which is 1,100 euros more than the Croatian average.
Crnčec also stated that the conversation with the judges has never stopped and that the Government has embarked on a comprehensive regulation of the salaries of officials and employees, including those in the judiciary.
