Workers’ Front MP Katarina Peović said on Monday that workers in the Zadar student cafeteria have been on strike legally and legitimately for 25 days, despite facing heavy pressure from their employer.

The Director of the Student Standard Agency and the Rector of the University, Dijana Vican, are using budget funds to pay for student catering, thereby attempting to make the strike unnecessary, Peović claimed at a press conference in front of the Croatian Parliament building.

“The Director is working as a cashier, and the Commercial Director is serving food. While this is not illegal, it constitutes pressure on the workers,” Peović stated.

At the same time, she added, workers are being threatened and prevented from exercising their union rights. She clarified that salaries should be negotiated and not remain a unilateral act of the employer, noting that workers are seeking the systematization of jobs, job scoring, and wage calculations accordingly.

“They are not striking for higher wages, but for a decent life,” she said, noting that students who support the workers are also being intimidated.

She called on Prime Minister Plenković to issue a statement regarding the fact that the state budget is being used to break the strike and to explain why workers are being denied their legitimate demands due to Rector Vican’s arbitrariness. She also called on parliamentarians and university workers to stand in solidarity with the strikers.

Originally published on the e-Zadar portal on November 9, 2020.