Three trade union confederations and the Pensioners' Union are organizing a major protest on April 18 in Zagreb's central square under the name 'Croatia together for higher wages and pensions'.

The main reason for taking to the streets is the enormous inflation in Croatia, because of which the unions are ultimatively demanding that the average net salary in the country amount to 2,200 euros, and the minimum 1,100 euros. As emphasized by the president of the Association of Independent Trade Unions of Croatia, Mladen Novosel, on the program Otvoreno na HRT televiziji , the arrival of more than 100 buses of protesters from all parts of Croatia is expected, demanding a zero rate of corruption as well as affordable housing and food.

Sharp accusations against the state and employers

Trade unionists claim that since independence Croatia has sold off all its resources and become completely dependent on imports of energy and agricultural products, which is now directly affecting citizens. Novosel warned that today 750,000 Croatian pensioners survive on less than 612 euros per month, while at the same time employers' profits are growing by an incredible 336 percent. It was emphasized that as much as 40 percent of the value created in Croatia goes to profits and dividends, while workers are left with crumbs, and they see a particular problem in the tourism sector where the offered wage is shamefully low compared with the enormous earnings during the season.

Entrepreneurs warn of catastrophe

Representative of the Voice of Entrepreneurs association Dražen Oreščanin responded on HRT television that the union demands are completely unrealistic for an economy like Croatia's and that money must first be earned. He explained that Croatian gross domestic product amounts to around 24,000 euros per capita, and paying the requested 2,200 euros net would mean a gross cost of around 3800 euros per month. That amount represents almost 190 percent of domestic output and is completely unsustainable, and its forced introduction would cause a collapse in business operations, new huge price increases, and double-digit inflation from which workers ultimately would have absolutely no benefit.

The Government protects the budget and rejects increases

State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour Ivan Vidiš clearly stated that there is simply no room in the state treasury for new major increases. He explained that of the 39 billion euros in the Croatian state budget, as much as half goes exclusively to existing wages and pensions. Vidiš emphasized that Croatia must be extremely cautious because of the serious global situation and instability in energy supply in the world, adding that any unrealistic increase in benefits would require painful cuts, additional state borrowing, and financial irresponsibility that the Government at this moment neither wants nor can afford.

Loss of billions of euros due to corruption

President of the Trade Union of State and Local Civil Servants and Employees Iva Šušković believes that the fundamental problem is a completely dysfunctional system in Croatia, and not only the nominal level of wages. She presented shocking estimates that out of 90 billion euros of Croatian gross domestic product, as much as 11 billion euros disappear through corruption channels and scandals. The unions warn that the current wild prices in Croatia are literally swallowing every euro earned by citizens, which is why they are demanding deep state reforms and the encouragement of domestic production that will make it possible to finally live with dignity from honest work.

Official statistics reveal the real situation

How far union wishes currently are from Croatian reality is best shown by the latest official data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics for January 2026. According to those figures, the average monthly paid net salary per employee in legal entities of the Republic of Croatia amounted to 1,511 euros. This represents nominal growth of 1.1 percent and real growth of 0.8 percent compared with the end of 2025, while on an annual level that growth in Croatia amounts to 8.5 percent nominally. The average gross salary in Croatia for the same month reached 2114 euros, which vividly shows that the average Croatian worker is still almost 700 euros away from the amount the unions are demanding today.

An even more precise and somewhat harsher picture of living standards in Croatia is given by the median net salary, which for January 2026 amounts to 1,304 euros, meaning that half of all employees in Croatia work every month for a salary equal to or lower than that amount. Statistics from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics also show astronomical differences among sectors in Croatia. The highest average net salary was paid in air transport and amounts to 2,352 euros, while at the very bottom are workers in clothing manufacturing who receive only 986 euros net per month for their arduous work, which clearly illustrates the enormous and deep inequalities in the domestic labor market.

When all is said and done, it is crystal clear that Croatia is currently in a dangerous squeeze between growing worker dissatisfaction and strict macroeconomic constraints. While official data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics record continuous statistical wage growth, everyday living costs and inflation in Croatia make that growth almost invisible to the ordinary citizen who is barely making ends meet. The ultimate demand for an average salary of 2,200 euros currently seems like science fiction for the fragile domestic economy, but at the same time it serves as the last and loudest alarm to the Government and employers that the existing model of cheap labor is no longer sustainable if they want to prevent a new mass exodus of experts and workers from Croatia.