Croatia Airlines unions hint at summer strike

The Workers Organisation of Croatia Airlines (ORCA) has warned it may stage industrial action during the summer when the carrier handles the bulk of its annual traffic after unions described the company as being on the "verge of collapse", a claim the management has disputed. At the same time, the government has approved for Croatia Airlines to take out an 8.5 million euro loan to finance the overhaul of aircraft engines. The loan, which is being provided by two banks, one of which is state-owned, must be repaid by December 31, 2022. The latest developments at the company and the ongoing feud between the unions and management overshadowed the carrier's launch of two new routes from Zagreb last week, which marked the airline's third consecutive year of network expansion.

The unions have again warned that the airline is facing a shortage of staff, particularly in its maintenance division. "Aircraft are returning to service from maintenance late because of bad planning and a lack of licensed mechanics. There is no one to work in the hangars in three shifts", the pilots' union said. Aircraft have been late for up to 45 days in returning to service, forcing the carrier to wet-lease over a dozen different jets and cancel a number of flights through to May 17. Furthermore, the union noted that over the past four years 44 pilots have left Croatia Airlines and a further 73 mechanics, 68 of which went on to work abroad.

Croatia Airlines' employees are pushing for a new collective bargaining agreement after the previous one expired seventeen months ago. Talks between the unions and management have so far failed to produce results, while conciliation measures headed by the government have also been unsuccessful. This, according to ORCA, will pave way for a strike, which was cancelled in August of last year to allow for more talks over the collective agreement to take place between all parties involved.

Over the weekend, Croatia Airlines' management denied union claims that the carrier was on the verge of collapse, boasting of its strong financial performance in 2017, but failing to mention it was generated primarily through the sale of assets. Furthermore, the management said it was not facing an exodus of workers and noted that between January and April a total of seven different carriers operated on the airline's behalf on 89 flights. Meanwhile, the acting CEO of Croatia Airlines, Jasmin Bajić, has had his term extended by a further six months after the government failed to name his successor following a public call to select the carrier's new management.