Eurasia Press & News
Croatia’s government begun its planned salary cuts for public employees and on Wednesday said it would decrease the salaries of 420 state officials by ten per cent, adding that it plans a similar reduction for the salaries of some 2,500 judges and judiciary officials.
The ”Jutarnji list” daily said the announcement took judges by surprise as Justice Minister Ivan Simonovic had on two separate occasions advised Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and other ministers at cabinet meetings that the salaries of judges should not be decreased. But ministers took the view that since judges are not protected by a collective agreement, their salaries could go down.
The president of the Judges’ Association, Djuro Sessa, stressed that judges are not state officials, nor do they have the same rights as state officials. Sessa was also surprised at the news because judges’ salaries were cut by ten per cent in 2000, and in practice they have not been receiving some benefits such as Christmas bonuses they should have by law. He said the measure will further slow down court procedures.
The government’s announcement on Wednesday was the first step in plans to lower salaries by an average of six per cent for some 240,000 employees in state and public services, in an attempt to curb spending and shore up government finances.
