Our trade unions organise workers and advocate their rights in a range of sectors from manufacturing and the construction industry through trade, tourism and services to healthcare, education, utilities and public services.
Trade unions affiliated to the UATUC are signatories to more than 300 collective agreements, thus establishing for the large majority of our members a higher level of workers’ rights than those prescribed by law.
Established in 1990, UATUC has kept its status as the strongest trade union organisation in Croatia.
The UATUC protects and improves workers’ rights and the overall wellbeing of its members and all workers through dialogue, activism and advocacy, led by values of justice, equality, solidarity and unity.
We deal with issues which are the shared interest of all our members and we offer support to trade union organising efforts and the work of our affiliated trade unions as well as their local unions established at company level. In our work and in the way we are financed we are completely independent of employers, the state and political parties. The UATUC is affiliated to the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and is one of the founders of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
Affiliation to the UATUC gives trade unions a stronger voice at national level and a direct influence over the process of the adoption of laws and public policies. Shop stewards in our trade unions enjoy day-to-day support from our legal and other experts who provide them with advice and assistance in every aspect of their work from collective bargaining to the organisation of protests and strikes.
Furthermore, shop stewards and activists have at their disposal a joint trade union education system, EDUCA@SSSH, as well as numerous other tools for their trade union work. Members of our trade unions enjoy free legal assistance. They might never need to access it, but it is a guarantee that their rights are protected.
Being a part of a confederation also means engaging in joint struggle when it comes to issues relevant to members of all trade unions and workers in general. No union on its own can prevent changes to the Labour Act or block the increase in the retirement age to 67 years. On many occasions, however, we have proven that, together, affiliated to confederations, we can succeed.
Through international trade union organisations, and in partnership with a number of European trade unions, we help to resolve problems which come at our members from outside Croatia. At the same time, we are always ready to help any group of workers that wishes to organise and become a part of the Croatian, European and international trade union movement.
Brochure on UATUC - Together we are stronger
Only when organised in a union can workers collectively bargain with the employer about their wages and working conditions and organise strike action if they cannot agree with the employer on these issues.
