ZAGREB, 30 April (Hina) – Wage data for February 2025 show that 70% of Croatian workers earn between the minimum wage of €754 net and €1,512, Darije Hanzalek, president of the Independent Croatian Trade Unions, said on Wednesday, noting that Croatian wages still lag behind those in the EU.
Speaking at a panel discussion titled “Being a Worker in Croatia on 1 May 2025”, he said that, according to Eurostat, the average gross hourly labour cost in Croatia in 2024 was €16.5, while the EU average stood at €33.5. In Austria, Germany and Ireland, where the rate is around €43 per hour, the gap is even wider, he noted.
„Claims by employers that Croatian workers are too expensive, and that this affects competitiveness and drives up prices, simply do not hold water,“ Hanzalek said.
He emphasised that Croatian employers must strive to be competitive in terms of working conditions and pay, or risk continuing worker shortages and the loss of future prospects. Around 65% of Croatian workers earn less than the national average wage of €1,416.
Wages in Croatia are low across all sectors, but it is especially painful that they remain low even among the wealthiest private-sector employers, including telecommunications, banks and energy company INA, said Vesna Mamić, president of the Croatian Telecommunications Union.
Hrvatski Telekom workers have had enough and announced a protest for 10 May in Zagreb’s main square, involving underpaid employees from HT, A1 and Telemach, she said. “We want to send a message: profits cannot come at the expense of workers.”
Ivan Forgać, president of the Croatian Railway Workers’ Union, said railway wages remain below average despite supplements for difficult working conditions.
He pointed to serious issues within the sector, saying that large state-owned entities such as HЕЅ Infrastruktura and HЕЅ Cargo exploit their position over smaller companies that maintain trains and tracks, demanding very low service prices. As a result, in these subcontracted companies, the average salary last year was just €970, despite 90% of employees having completed secondary vocational education, he added.
Nenad Leček, head of the Croatian Union of Textile, Footwear, Leather and Rubber Workers, said the situation in these industries is alarming due to low pay, poor working conditions and widespread layoffs, especially following the payout of state subsidies for job preservation.
“Companies are shutting down, employers are relocating abroad, and the subsidies were spent without oversight,” he said.
