Railway Workers' Union president Zoran Marsic and Croatian Engine Drivers' Union president Nenad Mrgan delivered their demands to the government with regard to the difficult situation in HZ Cargo, which should be privatised, as well as in HZ Passenger Transport and HZ Infrastructure.
Marsic said no good solution for HZ Cargo had been found yet with Transport Minister Sinisa Hajdas Doncic, demanding that one be urgently found. He said the unions expected the government to invest in HZ's trains, adding that Croatian trains were slow because of a poor and unsafe infrastructure.
The unionists reiterated that they were not against restructuring and that they wanted any solution to be found for HZ Cargo, including possible privatisation.
Management has announced 700 layoffs among HZ Cargo's 2,800 employees and the unions want to be consulted before the fate of the workers and the company is decided.
The unionists also demand that an urgent strategic partner be found, accusing the HZ Cargo management of incompetence and the HZ management of hiring administration staff and downsizing production staff.
Between noon and 2 p.m. the Engine Drivers' Union stopped freight trains in a strike of warning.
Before the strike and the protest outside the government, Mrgan and Marsic told reporters the situation in HZ Cargo was disastrous and that the company might fold in two to three months.
They said they were willing for social dialogue with the owner to reach an agreement to save the company but that the other side was not willing to talk.
This morning they met with Minister Hajdas-Doncic but were disappointed that the topics they were interested in were not discussed.
The minister said he could not handle HZ's problems with the unions and that this should be done by the management and the unions, Marsic said.
Mrgan said that if the management was incapable of solving HZ Cargo's issues, it should be replaced, adding that the company would not survive without an injection of capital.