About Us

Novi sindikat was founded in 2002 in Zagreb as a general trade union, meaning that it brings together and organizes workers from all sectors and industries across the Republic of Croatia. As it sees the purpose of trade unionism in unity rather than fragmentation of workers, the New Union works daily to connect and strengthen the trade union movement, overcoming professional and territorial divisions. In its work, Novi sindikat promotes the principles of independence, transparency and unconditional commitment to the interests of all its members.

Today, Novi sindikat brings together around 3,000 workers from the private and public sectors, employed by more than 100 employers, and has 59 union representatives from several sectors (wood and paper industry, metal industry, textile industry, demining, utility services, social welfare, financial sector, platform workers, civil servants and public employees, trade, hospitality and tourism, and shipbuilding).

From the very beginning, the union has focused on core trade union work – daily field work with workers, collective bargaining and the organization of trade union actions. We are recognized for our uncompromising struggle for workers’ rights in Croatia, marked by dialogue, industrial action and protests. This has resulted in the conclusion of 18 currently valid collective agreements at the employer level, and we are also signatories to the sectoral collective agreement for the wood and paper industry.

Eight people are permanently employed by Novi sindikat. The union has offices in Zagreb, Karlovac and Ravna Gora, as well as the head of an office in Zadar. Two persons are authorized to represent the union, and the Executive Board has seven members.

We are members of the international network Clean Clothes Campaign and the European trade union federation UniEuropa. The president of the union is also the coordinator of the European Production Focused Group (EPFG), which operates within the Clean Clothes Campaign network.

We also coordinate the work of two national coalitions. Through the Labour Law Initiative, which we launched in 2022, we cooperate with around thirty associations, trade unions and political parties working on labour legislation. The coalition drafted and submitted its proposal for amendments to the Labour Act in June of that year.

Through the Coalition for a Decent Wage, consisting of three trade unions and five associations, we promote our wage calculation based on the Clean Clothes Campaign methodology (Europe Floor Wage), which represents the minimum level necessary for workers to live with dignity, as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia. The coalition has also organized awareness-raising actions. We participated in the European Citizens’ Initiative by collecting signatures for a decent wage, and through information stands in several cities across Croatia we informed citizens about what a decent wage is, how much it should amount to and how it could be achieved.

During the process of adopting the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages, we submitted our proposal to include decent wages in the directive, for which we gathered written support from 15 NGOs from EU Member States.