"Work in Croatia is underpaid anyway, particularly in the textile, building and metal industries and in trade, and the agreement proposed by Bulgarians would give employers in those sectors a free hand to blackmail Croatian workers," URSH leader Boris Kunst said at a press conference in Zagreb.
The cost of labour in Bulgaria is even lower even than in China. A factory worker in Bulgaria is paid USD 0.73 per hour, as opposed to USD 3.81 in Croatia. A Bulgarian engineer works for USD 1.43 per hour, while his Croatian colleague earns USD 6.91. A medium-level manager earns USD 10.61 per hour in Croatia and 2.8 in Bulgaria, according to Kunst.
"The Croatian government's migration strategy for 2006/2007 does not provide for bilateral agreements, so it is strange that the government has sent the proposed agreement between Croatia and Bulgaria to Parliament for consideration," the trade union leader said.
Kunst said that in his opinion there was no need to open the Croatian labour market before the completion of accession talks with the European Union.