1996, december 28 - 1997, january 2 - railway workers challenge croatian constitution with second general strike
after losing the previous month's general strike in the courts, the railwaymen's trade union of croatia (rtuc) made a dual-prong attack on croatian railways. a week before calling a general strike, the rtuc issued a constitutional complaint which argued that the supreme court's decision ending the previous general strike violated the croatian constitution. the constitutional court agreed and the rtuc proceeded with the general strike. with the courts no longer available to them, the croatian government quickly ceded to most of the union's demands.
from the railwaymen's trade union of croatia's home page (now offline)
1996, november 28 - december 9 - over 10,000 railroad workers lead general strike
the railwaymen's trade union of croatia (rtuc) had struck several times the previous two years in response to low pay, inadequate housing and railway mismanagement. on february 28, 1996, an "agreement on breaking the strike" was signed with the government-owned croatian railways. in return for workers returning to work, croatian railways agreed to negotiate with the rtuc on the issues of pay, housing and railway management.
after many months of attempted communication with croatian railways management, no solutions were addressed. in frustration, the rtuc decided to call a general strike to get the goverment to address their demands. these demands were:
1. formal recognition of the rtuc as a collective bargaining agent.the strike ended on december 9, when the supreme court of croatia declared the strike illegal and required the rtuc to pay fines and legal fees to the croatian government.
2. adherence to the croatian railways labor code. specifically, the payment of bonuses, anniversary awards and distribution of gifts to children.
3. allowance to buy out apartments under the same conditions as other croatian citizens.
4. solutions to the mismanagement that has caused unsafe operating conditions, fiscal decline and undemocratic management.
from the railwaymen's trade union of croatia's home page (now offline)