Trade unions consist of workers who join together and organise to protect their rights and advance their interests in relation to work.

Trade union work is based on collective action; that is, organising workers on the understanding that this gives them greater strength in relation to employers than if each of them independently negotiated their working conditions or tried to solve their own problems.
Only once organised into a trade union can workers collectively negotiate with employers about their wages and working conditions and organise industrial action if no agreement can be reached.
Therefore, the first step is to discuss workers’ rights and trade unionism with other colleagues, leading to a joint decision to take action.

The more workers there are in a trade union, and the better organised and the more active they are, the more influence and pressure they can exert on their employer. For this reason, successful trade union organisation in each employer depends on how many workers are members of the union and how willing they are to participate actively in union work.

The right to organise a trade union is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and the Labour Act. No-one can be dismissed or put at a disadvantage because of their trade union membership and participation in trade union activities.
The Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia encourages trade union organisation at the level of sectors of economic activity and it also promotes the merger of related trade unions. Only trade unions with a large number of members and in a range of employers can be strong enough in terms of personnel and finances to be able to provide effective assistance to members in negotiation with employers and to resolve their problems.

The UATUC provides support in trade union organisation to its representatives and the shop stewards of affiliated trade unions.

Legal representatives and trade union organisers in the UATUC’s regional offices deliver answers, advice and practical assistance to the members of our trade unions in relation to:
•    organising a company-level trade union; that is, trade union activities within the employer;
•    collective bargaining with employers on wages, material entitlements and other working conditions;
•    communications with employers in order to solve problems affecting trade union members;
•    organising industrial action and other trade union activities;
•    recruiting new members to the trade union.

We are always ready to talk to individuals or groups of workers who want to organise a trade union and to provide them with assistance.

If there are workers who want to organise themselves into a trade union, we:
•    provide them with information and advice;
•    refer them to a specific trade union that organises workers in their industry, where such a union exists within the UATUC; or
•    support them in establishing a new trade union, where this is not the case.

Read more about trade union organising here.