The president of the strike committee, Tomislav Kiš, responded to the official statement and accusations from the University claiming that the strike initiators are using manipulation and do not have the right to represent the strikers.
To the Zadar Public:
“I am not surprised by the pamphlets appearing on Zadar’s news portals. I will not respond to everything, except for the most basic points—purely for the sake of truth and where I have been addressed on a personal level. These manipulative statements, where half-truths are used to force a certain conclusion, require the full truth:
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I admit that I ended the collective negotiations after we reviewed the full text and content, and once we noted the three points of dispute we could not agree on. Any further negotiations had ceased to make sense.
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I acknowledge that the conciliation process was completed on my initiative (it was a completion, not an interruption, as it can only be successfully or unsuccessfully finished). What else could I have done after receiving messages from the other side stating, ” We’ll never sign that ?”
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I admit that as a trade union professional, I only represent the portion of the Agency’s employees who are union members. I have no right to represent the others.
And last but not least:
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Mrs. Vican, we have never met or spoken personally. I never received an invitation from you, but I admit it is true that during the collective negotiations, I stated I was negotiating with the Management of the Agency. Under the Labour Law, they are the only ones authorized to negotiate, not the University. I will repeat that now: negotiations with the Agency yes; negotiations with the University on a topic where it is not a social partner—no; but a conversation with you yes.
During the strike, there were several occasions when we were supposed to meet, but you insisted you did not want to confront me. The first such occasion was when you met with student representatives last week. Although you expressed your views on the strike, you firmly rejected the possibility of inviting me to present the reasons for the strike and the workers’ perspectives. After that, you invited all striking employees to a meeting but explicitly rejected the possibility of me attending with them. Furthermore, you constantly raise the illegitimate question of my presence in the strike, even though international and Croatian legislation grants workers the right to elect their own representatives.
Regarding all other accusations, I will not react because I do not have the time I am leading a strike.
I would add that as a trade union, we fight for the social rights of our members, the fundamental right being a collective agreement with a regulated salary. Please, for the sake of truth, do not go hunting for political ‘white mice’ (ghosts).”
Home photo: 057info
