Croatia Airlines' trade unions have reached an agreement with the government not to partake in industrial action until a new management has been named, which is expected to take place in April. It comes after the union of Croatia Airlines Cabin Crew voiced support for their pilot colleagues earlier this week and urged the government to select a new Chief Executive Officer who "did not participate in the airline's destruction". Both unions have previously criticised the manner in which the state organised a recent public tender to select the carrier's CEO, after it annulled last year' s process and issued a new call for applications, while removing necessary airline experience from the list of job requirements.
Following talks with the government this week, the unions' chief negotiator, Tomislav Kiš, said, "We want to negotiate with a management that will be in place for a full five year term and will be responsible and independent in its decision making. We don't want political appointees running the airline, if that is in any way possible at state-owned Croatia Airlines, which is of particular strategic importance. We want an aviation literate management". Unions are in the process of discussing new collective bargaining agreements after deferring industrial action, which was planned over the 2017 summer season, in order to allow for further talks to take place. The Croatian Minister for Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, recently said, "Developments concerning the appointment of the new management are not as alarming and everything will be OK”.
Croatia Airlines' CEO Jasmin Bajić was selected as the carrier's interim chief in late 2017 on a six-month basis. He was preceded by Krešimir Kučko, whose five year term had ended and was extended by six months. "Every employee who sees their future in Croatia Airlines is deeply worried by the fact that the government is unable to find an expert to run the company for two years now. At the same time, managers who were catalysts in worsening employee relations have retained their positions or been promoted, while the company is losing employees and its share on the market", the Cabin Crew Union said. Croatia Airlines handled a record number of passengers last year and is set to post a profit for 2017, the latter being achieved primarily through the sale of assets. Furthermore, it will launch four new seasonal routes this summer.
I really hope the government picks the right person for the top job this time.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know who are the candidates? Last year we pretty much knew all of them.
DeleteHaving a feeling Bajic will be selected again.
DeletePurger knew the candidates last time around. Maybe he could share some details.
DeleteHe is too busy with the pilots ;)
DeleteYou will be surprised whit what I am busy now, but it is not in Croatia and not pilots. Surprise, surprise, but it is not time jet to put it public jet.
DeleteI know candidates but I will write article about it, so you have to wait for few days.
And little correction: Union gave to minister 60 days without industrial actions, not end of April, and that is 6.4.2018.
@Purger
DeleteJel će u tom novom remek-djelu biti napisano da ti ložiš sindikate da sebe ili svog jarana uhljebiš kao "stručnu osobu koja nije učestvovala u uništenju tvrtke"? Pa da ljudi znaju što se događa?
I reci nam još... kakav ti je plan kad premijer na sebi svojstven način na čelo CA stavi nekog trećeg kao što je napravio u drugim državnim firmama? Jel onda planiraš sa sindikatima patiti kad izgube pregovaračku poziciju za kolektivni ugovor radi tvoje igre ili ćeš nestati?
A kako je to sudjelovao?
DeleteI don’t understand this hate and these conspiracy theories against Purger. As far as I understand, he’s a passionate enthusiast and profesionally uninvolved in aviation. His arguments are generally sound and he often speculates just like the rest of us. So why these conspiracy theories?
DeleteBecause people don't like to hear the truth here. They preffer to shout Bravo ....!
DeleteSebe? Ja se niti vidim u Croatiji, niti za to imam vremena, ni želje. Eto to sada javno kažem (ne prvi puta). Radim 16-20 sati na dan, nikada ne spavam preko 6 sati, čest kada i samo 3 sata. Radim 7 dana u tjednu. Ne odlazim na godišnji odmor. Samo bi mi još Croatia trebala.
DeleteMog jarana? Nitko od mojih prijatelja nije podnio molbu za mjesto CEO-a, niti se itko od mojih prijatelja bavi zrakoplovstvom. Znam da Vam je to teško povjerovati, ali ima nekih ljudi koji neke stvari u svojoj domovini (i šire) rade iz ljubavi i za dobrobit zajednice.
Ja nemam nikakav plan kada premijer na čelo stavi nekog svog igrača. Zašto bih imao plan? Niti rušim kompaniju, niti dižem revoluciju, niti želim zlo toj kompaniji, pa da joj je na čelu i Lucifer osobno, željet ću joj svu sreću i imat će svu moju pomoć. Ali i kritiku kada napravi gluposti.
Sindikati će radi mene izgubiti pregovaračku poziciju? Radi moje igre? Koje igre, Isusje i majko božija? Vi stvarno niste istina. Ali nemate ni najmanjeg pojma koliko ste daleko od istine.
Nestari? Ja sam javna osoba u Republici Hrvatkoj (i to ne po osnovi zrakoplovstva). Ovdje imam vlastiti business, obitelj, prijatelj, obiteljsku kuću, nekretnine. Jako teško ću nastati. I ne vidim bogami zašto bi nestao.
Purger, nikome se nisi dužan pravdati! Odličan si i samo tako nastavi!
DeleteAko nemaš vremena onda se ostavi te CA. bavi se svojim poslom. Svim tim svojim bogatstvom. Očito imaš vremena kad iskačeš na svim mogućim televizijama i portalima.
DeleteDa, tvog jarana.
Dižeš revoluciju ti i onih možda 10% zaposlenika. Na žalost tih 10% je jako i glasno. Ostali šute i nemogu da vjeruju. Otišao sam iz te kompanije dalje ali znam što se događa tamo.
Izgubiti će sve jer se ni jedan CEO neće pitati ništa kao što se nije ni dosada ni jedan nije pitao.
Sve do jednog si popljuvao i ni jedan ti nije valjao. Niti će valjati dok ne dođe jaro ili jedan od ovih tebi blagonaklonih ikonopoklonika koji će tvoje "stručne" savjete slušati sa iskolačenim očima na rubu ejakulacije.
Da nestati ćeš sa televizija i portala a oni će ostati u toj kompaniji kojoj ti želiš dobro ali je jedino dobro tvoje dobro.
Nisam do sada komentirao tvoje izljeve ali čovječe dosta je.
Pitaj malo one koji rade svoj posao na koji su pristali u toj kompaniji i ne petljaju se gdje im nije mjesto što misle o tebi i o ovom isključivo tvom cirkusu koji provodite ti i ovi gore navedeni koji bi ga napravili i da rade u bilo kojoj kompaniji (da mogu) jer njima nikada ništa ne valja. Da vidiš kako se smire kad dođu raditi za pravog gazdu, a nije baš da imaju nešto više nego u CA. Manji od makova zrna.
Još jednom: nitko od mojih "jarana" nije u zrakoplovstvu, niti se kandidira ni za jednu fukciju u zrakoplovstvu ili CTN-u.
DeleteTreba sve ostaviti? Pustiti da Croatia doživi sudbinu Maleva, Cyprusa, Estoniana, Air Bosne, Macedonian Airlinesa...?
I da se razumijemo, ja ne podržavam apriorno sindikate. Niti ja vodim ikakav cirkus, niti vodim sindikate, niti želim sudjelovati u vođenju Croatie Airlinesa, niti želim ikome pomoći da dođe na vrh Croatie Airlines. I ovo jasno naglašavam.
Ja radim svoj posao. U zrakoplovstvu me institucije i mediji angažiraju. I to u široj regiji. Nema dalje!
Is this to say that the unions were planning a strike?
ReplyDeleteHope they don't have a genius idea to go on strike during the summer like they wanted to last year.
ReplyDeleteIt depends if they make collective agreement.
DeleteAnd they did not strike, just and only because of benefits of Croatia and tourism. Not like British pilots who were in strike for 30 days in July and August.
DeleteBut minister promise that he will moderate negotiations about collective agreement and it will be done till end of year. Instead he ignore Unions, not even answer their appeal to have meeting. So, what is their options? Do they have any exempt strike?
It was the cabin crew of BA who was striking last year, not pilots.
DeleteYou are right. Sorry for mistake, and thank you for correction.
Delete'Croatia Airlines' trade unions have reached an agreement with the government not to partake in industrial action until a new management has been named, which is expected to take place at the end of April.'
ReplyDeleteIn other words they realized there is no point in grounding the airline in February or March, it's wiser to wait for spring/summer as there will be more pressure in order to demand more money from their loss-making employer.
I think they really don't realize how bad the situation is at OU.
Croatia Airlines was crushed on the coast, seasonality is still a major issue, it's facing more and more competition at ZAG while LJU keeps on adding lowcost flights thus positioning itself as the 'cheaper' alternative to an overpriced ZAG.
Unless something fundamentally changes, all of them will be working, on a summer seasonal basis, in Zadar.
And what do you think is main goal of pressure and industrial actions?
DeleteThey want Government to choose professional management who will make changers. Pilots does not want to interfere in management, they just don't want political and incompetent management any more. And to choose it, not to delay it again after one year of postponed.
And you think it's that easy? OU has been mismanaged for years and years and like any other failing business it needs a large capital injection in order to be restarted. Who will give those millions to OU? Which Croatian government will put an end to the long-standing employment practices?
DeleteIt's one thing to speak of a certain theory but it's a whole other to actually implement it.
The best outcome would have been to privatize OU but it seems there were no buyers. With each new route to Croatia, OU's value goes down.
If they don't want political management, they should advocate they want the airline to be privatised. It is utopian to expect professional and unpolitical management in a government-owned entity in the Balkans. Surely they must have learned this by now.
DeleteExactly. Look at what happened in Greece. Their civil aviation sector did not stabilize until a private company (Aegean) took charge after the government one (Olympic) collapsed under the weight of its own incompetence and corruption.
DeleteIf you want OU to flourish then find a rich buyer who will know what to do with it.
But Nemjee you will agree that it should be done before, but for sure they have to do it at least now.
DeleteYou have examples of state running companies which are successful, like Air Baltic.
Pilots are not apriory against privatization.
But for sure they want to point how urgent is to react. Not to wait 14 months just for choosing CEO.
I absolutely agree that it should have been done long time ago- especially back when OU had a much stronger presence on the coast.
DeleteIn my opinion, BT is the exception that proves the rule. Also, the Latvian business ethic is a bit different from ours. Not to mention that their CEO is a German guy.
The real question is who would be interested in OU? Maybe the best would be to sell it to LH and hope Eurowings would use ZAG as a mini base from where it would also serve the coast.
Personally, I think drastic measures are needed to save the airline but I fear the government doesn't know how to save OU.
Well, Minister will have presentation on Wednesday. We will see if that will be any help.
DeleteAir Baltic is not exemption. You have so many examples. If you want you can read my last article in Tango 6 where you have 50 independent airlines that are successful more than 10 years.
I think he is speaking of Europe where almost all government airlines failed or are failing
DeleteNemjee samo zvekece po buretu. Koji ce im andrak Zagreb kad imaju slobodan pristup svim aerodroma na obali. EU kuzis stari moj? Jedinstveno trziste.
DeleteЗагреб има преко 3 милиона путника и знатно ниже трошкове него Немачка, Аустрија, Белгија... те би им се исплатило да комбинују континенталну Хравтску са обалом користећи локалну посаду. Уз све то, могли би комбинују и летове широм Европе по моделу:
DeleteЗагреб-Минхен-Европа-Минхен-Загреб
Европске фирме отварају погоне у Хрватској из истог разлога то јест због повластица и јефине радне снаге.
+10000 nemjee
DeleteZAG is a booming market and it's working the whole year and not just in summer
Nemjee 5:25
DeleteMislim da si pobrkao Hrvatsku i Srbiju sto se tice jeftine radne snage. prosecna neto plata u Hrvatskoj je oko 900 evra (6.500 kuna, objavljeno pre nekoliko dana, izvor Drzavni zavod za statistiku), a na takvu neto platu Hrvatske kompanije imaju ogromna davanja drzavi do bruto plate, koja stope su jedne od najvecih u Evropi, i upravo jos uvek nedovoljno investicija u Hrvatskoj investitori objasnjavaju SKUPOM radnom snagom u Hrvatskoj. Toliko. Pozdrav.
I find this really strange. OU is expanding its network, fleet and profit as is mentioned in the last sentence but employees make it sound as if the company has never been worse off.
ReplyDelete+1 don't get it either.
DeleteEasy. All money they make in summer is wasted in winter.
DeleteThis is true. There was a conference in Zagreb last week where Jasmin Bajic was one of the speakers. He said (and I quote) "We only make money between May and October afterwards then we have a 96 million kuna loss". He also listed around 10 destinations which were profitable. They were the main Europeans airports.
DeleteDo you remember which ten? I suppose LHR wasn't there so my guess is: ZRH, MUC, FRA, VIE, CPH, AMS, BRU and I can't think which other three. Maybe seasonal ones like PRG or MXP?
DeleteAll the ones you wrote plus he said Rome and Paris.
DeleteSo has there been a decision about privatizing OU so the state no longer decides about this sort of stuff?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.exyuaviation.com/2018/01/croatia-airlines-to-remain-state-owned.html
DeleteThank you. Missed that.
DeletePrivatization is very risky no matter who they chose. If things don't go to plan and the owner shuts OU it could really screw the tourism industry, at least for one season. So I understand why they are cautious.
DeleteThe coast would not feel OU bankruptcy
DeleteAn airline with a lot of potential. They just need a good management team.
ReplyDeleteSo true!!!!
DeletePurger if you say it's true, do you think you can do a better job managing the company or consulting them how to manage it?
DeleteMe managing? Of course not, I am not that capacity. My business for last 26 years is little company with just 6 employees. OK, Kučko had 3. But if I would be so prepotent to say that I am qualified for that job, I will be the same as they are. I am no qualified or good enough for that job. Not even near.
DeleteConsulting? Yes I could do that.
So influencing with no responsibilities.
DeleteI don't need any influence at all. I don't want to be consultant in Croatia Airlines and don't see myself in it. Don't have time fore that.
DeleteAs I said, I can do it, but I don't think it will ever happen.
The government simply doesn't care. Full support to the unions of OU and the possible strike during summer months. That's the only way to achieve something!
ReplyDeleteApparently 10% of full time cabin crew transferred to ground operations last year.
ReplyDeleteApparently too much stress and long flying hours.
DeleteThey should transfer over to Emirates to see what long flying hours means.
DeleteUnions are obviously trying to influence the process of selecting the new CEO.
ReplyDeleteThey are right in doing that considering who the government's track record.
Delete@ 10.29 wouldn't this ceasefire in hostilities mean exactly the opposite? They are trying not to influence the selection process with a strike.
DeleteCroatia Airlines is an unsuccessful company and the best what could be done is to privatize it for one kuna and get rid of that moloch from the public finances. There will always be companies interested to fly only those pilot and cabin crew blood suckers in OU will not have an opportunity to blackmail the state and the public.
ReplyDeleteGood. I was afraid they might be planning to strike.
ReplyDeleteWho was the most successful CEO of Croatia Airlines?
ReplyDeleteKresimir Kucko since he went on to become the CEO of Gulf Air :D
DeleteTurns out that way.
DeleteGood news. Wish OU a successful summer season.
ReplyDeleteWhy is the current CEO so problematic for the unions? He has worked at Croatia Airlines for a very long time. He started out in lower management positions and worked his way up. I don't see this as political interference so why are the unions are unhappy?
ReplyDeleteBecause he is an Ivan Misetic inspired CEO. Misetic's daughter is part of the government and he is very much still interested in Croatia Airlines.
DeleteSo why doesn't Misetic come back? He was successful as a CEO
DeleteSuccessful? After him the company had to go through restructuring because of losses and debt. He was also sitting on the board of a Lufthansa airline at the same time as being CEO of Croatia Airlines.
DeleteThe current CEO is from HDZ of course. That's problem number 1.
DeleteThe notion of the government selecting someone to run an airline is so silly. I thought Croatia has moved past that.
ReplyDeleteI think in most countries, companies that are 100% government owned have their leadership selected by the government.
DeleteI'm interested to see how the fleet will develop under a new CEO. Will they finally get 100 seat aircraft and what will happen with the neos.
ReplyDeleteThe neos will come. Too late to do cancel them and they were renegotiating that for years so they could fix the mess made by Misetic.
DeleteOT:
ReplyDeleteZagreb numbers are out for the first month,
+ 13.2%, 191200 pax in January, up by 22000
+ 45% Cargo 1020 tons.
Number of operations down ~2750
February will most likely be also up by around 10-12%, January and February are slowest months for Zagreb airport, there's latterly nothing happening in the City.
Easter Brake this year is at the end of March and first week of April. So that'll be when airport should get busy.
Prediction for first 5 months:
Jan: 191 270
Feb: 165 700
Mar: 223 000
Apr: 257 700
May: 300 000
Numbers are not out and they are not official.also we've had this posted a few days ago too as an off topic.
Delete@AnonymousFebruary 10, 2018 at 4:20 PM
DeleteThis is my first post in over a week on this blog, I rarely visit this blog, so I posted this, the information is accurate, however Zagreb airport is yet to put it up, they normally are slow with January numbers as it is the start of the year.
Normally they wait for February and January before they post the result on their website.
Hope we get a decent CEO which Croatia Airlines and Croatia deserves.
ReplyDeleteJames Hogan is free these days... :D
DeleteI don’t think he is aloud to leave the UAE someone wrote somewhere that he is under house arrest in Abu Dhabi
DeleteHe is not in the UAE anymore. He has a consulting company in Switzeralnd.
DeleteCool... I was wondering it was true or not.
Delete