Croatia/ 5.1 General legislation  

5.1.6 Labour laws

There is no specific legislation regulating labour relations for the cultural field. There is also no systematic monitoring of trends regarding cultural employment. However, according to the Strategy for Cultural Development in Croatia (Cvjetičanin and Katunarić, 2001) the labour market shows some general trends towards more flexible employment similar to those observed in other European countries. The State Institute for Statistics produces annual reports based on a very narrow definition of culture (see chapter 4.2.3).

There is a unified system of salaries for those working in the public sector, including those employed in state-established cultural institutions and those working in the city or municipal cultural institutions.

The Union of workers employed in the cultural sector (HSDK) - cultural institutions, ministry of culture, etc., includes freelance artists as well. In 2003, HSDK signed a collective agreement for employees working in the cultural institutions whose salaries are paid from the state budget (NN 2/04, addition NN 77/07). In 2012, the government cancelled the Collective Agreement for public sector employees, and this includes those employed in culture. The HSDK has agreed to the changes proposed by the government that will include cutting the rights of employees in the public cultural sector, but the situation is still not settled with the new changes under way.

There is a need to clarify the position and rights of those who are employed in institutions vis-à-vis self-employed or freelance artists and cultural workers. It can be expected that this issue will be put on the agenda in the future. The Union of Actors was established 18 years ago, but still it does not function properly. An initiative for the establishment of the Union of Freelance Artists was outlined in 2008, but it is still not active.

See also comparative information provided in the Compendium "Themes!" section under "Status of Artists".

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