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UNI Global Union stands in solidarity with Croatian workers at T-Mobile Croatia who are on strike today in protest over the company’s plan to cut unionized employees without proper negotiation with the union.



While the company plans to cut full-time, regular unionised workers, it has a rising number of temporary and student workers on its payroll. UNI is supporting the Croatian workers and their union, HST Croatian Telekom Workers (HST), in their demand that the company employs regular workers under decent conditions and respects social dialogue and collective bargaining rights.



More than 1500 workers demonstrated in Zagreb today, marching to the German Embassy where they delivered a letter asking the German government to intervene to end Deutsche Telekom’s double standard on labour rights and then ending with a rally at T-Mobile Croatia’s headquarters.



UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings wrote to T-Mobile Croatia’s parent company Deutsche Telekom calling on CEO Rene Obermann to intervene to ensure Croatian management respect social dialogue and collective bargaining processes.



“The company remains highly profitable in Croatia and a better balance of interests between management and the union needs to be struck to preserve jobs,” Jennings said in his letter to Obermann. “At this time, when Europe is facing an economic crisis, cutting good paying union jobs runs contrary to the best interest of Deutsche Telekom as it will further perpetuate the economic crisis.”



Since Deutsche Telekom entered the market in Croatia in 2000, the workforce has been reduced from a peak of more than 11,000 down to fewer than 6,000. With the further demands by company management, employment levels could soon fall to under 5,000.



UNI, along with German union ver.di, US union CWA and the International Trade Union Confederation have been calling on the Deutsche Telekom to respect worker and union rights globally in their We Expect Better campaign.



UNI and the We Expect Better campaign members stand in solidarity with HST.