Three education unions that organized a protest in Zagreb on Friday due to dissatisfaction with the coefficients and grading system said that they would not let themselves be trampled on, that they would initiate legal proceedings against ministers Radovan Fuchs and Marin Piletić, and they also announced a possible strike in schools.
The president of the Independent Union of Employees in Secondary Schools of Croatia, Zrinko Turalija, pointed out at the protest that for more than a year they have been pointing out everything that is troubling the science and education system.
"We sought the fulfillment of demands that can be reduced to three basic ones - redefining coefficients, exemption from grading that would be harmful to our system, and the postponement of modular teaching," he said on Zagreb's central square, assessing that Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs, who was booed by protesters several times, does not understand the role of unions and does not care about quality reform.
Because if he had, he added, then he would have taken into account the objections received in the e-counseling regarding the new curricula in vocational schools, which reduce the number of foreign language hours, and some general subjects become modules, which is why they believe that students will receive less general education and have fewer chances of enrolling in universities.
He recalled that the unions had argued for the reform to be postponed for a year and stated that the minister had offered them that.
"He was ready to 'trade' reform to buy social peace before the elections because he got the 'green light' from the one who is responsible for everything, to get rid of those annoying union flies. Yes, you heard right, Minister Fuchs, who swears so much by reform, was ready to postpone it for the sake of trade," Turalija pointed out.
But, he added, these unions were not ready to trade, and that is why they are protesting today and not backing down from the Government, which "obstructs and tramples them in every possible way".
Stipić: Consultations on strike are starting
The president of the Preporod School Union, Željko Stipić, has announced the union's next moves. He says he will initiate legal proceedings against Minister Fuchs and Minister of Labor Marin Piletić and file a complaint against Croatia with the International Labor Organization for government interference in the union's activities.
He also announced that field consultations on the strike will begin on Monday.
"This story of ours will certainly end in the next month to a month and a half," he announced, noting that the unions did not want a strike in June but wanted to reach an agreement before then. "But if they really want to, they will have a strike in June," he said.
Stipić rejected claims that politics is behind the union. "We are not politics, but profession and knowledge, and our party is education," he stressed, adding that any government that does not prioritize knowledge is their opponent.
"The unions have been fighting for 15 months against the harmful quasi-reforms of the Andrej Plenković government aimed at education, and we are persistent because the fight for better education is the fight for a better Croatia," said Stipić, repeating that they will not be trampled on.
Kroflin: The government is lying to the citizens
The Secretary General of the Independent Union of Science and Higher Education, Matija Kroflin, reminded that today is Europe Day and that our Prime Minister is a "great European", but added that the Prime Minister's Europe is not exactly like theirs, in which the Government is not allowed to lie to its citizens.
It is a lie that the principle of "equal pay for equal work" is currently in force, because if that were the case, we would not be here today, said Kroflin.
"Prime Minister, education and science are not enemies of the state. No one is here today to destroy anything, these people are building our future. They have gathered to send a message that they disagree with you and your policies, that they do not want you to turn the country into a country of spokespeople, perceptions and deception," he said.
He pointed out that the government has "a mouth full of social dialogue," but that it refuses to talk to them.
"The only thing we can conclude from all this is, Prime Minister, that you are vindictive and that you do not want to restore dignity to these people because you do not tolerate those you cannot control. You have increased your salary more than a large number of people standing here today have a salary. We will not accept that. We will not look lies in the eye and pretend that it is true, as some of your unions do, which you manipulate and allocate property that is not theirs," Kroflin said.
Professor from the Zagreb FPZG Ana Petek also said that they are asking the prime minister, who has already dismissed dozens of ministers, "to finally dismiss the most incompetent one", Minister Fuchs, who is the only one "in the general chaos of the salary reform" who did not fight at all for the employees of his system.
The crowd gathered at the protest showed their dissatisfaction with whistles and drums, as well as union signs and banners, such as: "Coefficients are unfair, we demand change!", "Salary growth = dignity growth", "Every fight is a victory", "Divide the unions and rule! It won't work!", "Education and science are important, except when they demand their rights" and "I'm not a teacher, but I support them".
They also shouted "we will not be trampled on", "the government is lying", "the square is full", but also "minister, go away".
Photo: HINA/Damir Senčar
