ZAGREB, Sept 4 (Hina) - Croatians working aboard after they find such jobs with assistance of Croatian firms, experience problems in the payment of their salaries, read a statement released by the Croatian Workers' Society (HRS). The
society asked the Croatian Government's competent commission to take adequate measures in order to ensure that foreign employers respect bilateral agreements under which they employ workers from Croatia. The workers complain that foreign employers, namely Germans, are calculating a smaller number of working hours than the workers really have and they are also paying lessened amounts for the workers' pension and public health insurance. The society forwarded a letter to Deputy Croatian Labour Minister, Bozo Zaja, who leads the Government's commission in charge of granting work permits, asking him to publish the most important parts of a contract concluded between Germany and the former Yugoslav
ZAGREB, Sept 4 (Hina) - Croatians working aboard after they find
such jobs with assistance of Croatian firms, experience problems in
the payment of their salaries, read a statement released by the
Croatian Workers' Society (HRS).
The society asked the Croatian Government's competent commission
to take adequate measures in order to ensure that foreign employers
respect bilateral agreements under which they employ workers from
Croatia.
The workers complain that foreign employers, namely Germans, are
calculating a smaller number of working hours than the workers
really have and they are also paying lessened amounts for the
workers' pension and public health insurance.
The society forwarded a letter to Deputy Croatian Labour Minister,
Bozo Zaja, who leads the Government's commission in charge of
granting work permits, asking him to publish the most important
parts of a contract concluded between Germany and the former
Yugoslavia (SFRY) on the labour issues which Croatia has taken
over. This agreement also regulates the hourly wage.
The HRS cited an example from the construction industry where the
lowest pay before stoppages is 18.5 German marks per hour, and 14.2
DM per hour as the net hourly wage. The workers who complained that
one company with 200 workers paid them 12.5 DM as the pay before
stoppages.
Croatians also said they dared not think of asking for sick-leave,
as they were immediately fired, while hundreds of people were eager
to get their job.
The society believes that German labour inspectors and unions
cannot detect such problems owing the workers' lack of knowledge of
the German language, their fear that they will lose their job as
well as owing to the fact that employers are keeping parallel books
on the number of workers' hours.
The payslips always show the smaller number of hours than the
workers perform in a month as well as the hourly rates which are in
force in Germany but which are not actually applied when the workers
get the earned money.
(hina) ms
.