As Božica Žilić, president of the Trade Union of Education, Media, and Culture (SOMK), attempted to join her members inside the public kindergarten in Biograd, Croatia, she was stopped by a security guard. The incident occurred on May 12, amidst a strike initiated the same day, after the city repeatedly declined to engage in collective negotiations aimed at equalizing workers’ rights with those of elementary school teachers, as required by law.
At the very beginning of the strike, workers reported being confined to a small, chairless room, restricted from leaving except to attend a pre-scheduled meeting with trade union officials—a meeting from which additional union representatives, including their lawyer, were excluded. This prompted Žilić to call the police, marking a first in her tenure with the union. She later told the media that the city had persistently dismissed all proposals from the workers and had launched a campaign of intimidation that resulted in health issues for at least two employees.
In a conversation with Peoples Dispatch, Žilić described how the city administration was using every means at their disposal to stop the workers from fighting for their rights, but they remain determined in their efforts. The kindergarten workers enjoy support among the families and parents of the children, she points out. As the strike began, a parents’ initiative picketed in front of the building, calling upon the city to fulfill the workers’ demands for the benefit of the children.
Read more: Teachers and parents unite for right to early education in Croatia
Žilić criticized Mayor Ivan Knez for his contradictory statements, pointing out his claims of insufficient funds to meet the workers’ legally mandated demands, while simultaneously trying to hire strike-breakers to continue operations during the industrial action. “The money is there—but the will to use it isn’t,” Žilić concluded.
Currently, 24 of the 36 kindergarten staff members are on strike, challenging the administration’s claims that the action has not disrupted the education provided to approximately 200 children. SOMK warns that the administration is attempting to downplay the impact of the strike and mislead the public. Although the union has arranged for minimal service to support parents without alternative childcare options, it is untrue that operations are proceeding as usual as the city has suggested. “After all, a strike is supposed to cause disruptions,” the trade union pointed out on an earlier occasion.
The strike has underscored a broader issue with how cities treat the workers’ right to organize, as similar patterns of resistance from city officials are reported in the towns of Vrsar and Slunj. In Slunj, authorities even attempted to have the strike declared illegal, though their request was quickly dismissed by the courts.
Mayor Knez has taken things one step further and threatened to privatize the kindergarten if the strikes continue. “If we privatize, we will know where we stand,” he declared during a City Council meeting, announcing plans to complete the privatization process by September this year, according to local media.
However, in his announcements, Knez has not addressed how privatization would affect parents and children, who benefit from public preschool education, nor has he discussed the city’s obligations to contribute to national education strategies, which prioritize strengthening public kindergarten networks.
If the mayor pursues the decision to privatize the kindergarten, it is certain he will encounter resistance from both workers and parents – and the trade union will be in the first lines of that resistance.
