International Workers’ Day is celebrated on May 1st and serves as a reminder that every person has the right to a dignified wage for their work, fair and adequate working conditions, workplace safety, reasonable working hours and rest, as well as the ability to organize and engage in collective bargaining.
The field of labor, including employment and civil service relations and the prevention of discrimination in employment and at work, is also a significant area of work for the Office of the Ombudswoman and consistently ranks high in the number of citizen complaints. In 2024, the Ombudswoman’s Office opened 327 new cases in the area of labor and civil service relations. Among the newly opened discrimination cases, the largest number — as many as 175 — related to complaints in the field of employment and labor.
This indicates a range of issues citizens face when trying to exercise their rights related to employment, which can also affect the realization of other rights such as the right to health, social security, and adequate housing.
The most common issues raised by citizens continue to include undeclared work, illegal overtime, non-payment of wages or partial payments “under the table,” illegal hiring practices, failure to report workplace injuries, and workplace harassment — commonly referred to as mobbing — which is still not adequately regulated.
Citizens have also approached the Ombudswoman due to discrimination in employment and at work, for example because of discriminatory job ads, workplace discrimination based on health status, age, ethnic origin, union membership, and other discriminatory grounds.
Unfortunately, workers are increasingly reporting that they are subjected to workplace harassment or mobbing, which involves physical or psychological abuse at work where one or more persons systematically harass and humiliate another individual with the intent of undermining their reputation, honor, and dignity. This type of abuse is not necessarily tied to any specific ground of discrimination. The association “Mobbing,” which provides free legal and psychological support, reported that in 2024, 832 people claimed to be victims of mobbing — an increase of over 20% compared to the previous year, when 678 such cases were reported. Citizen complaints reveal that abuse can sometimes last for years, and that workers often do not seek legal protection in labor or criminal proceedings due to a lack of legal knowledge, fear of dismissal, or insufficient financial resources.
Therefore, it is essential to legally strengthen the protection of workers against this kind of abuse in the workplace. An opportunity for this lies in the upcoming alignment of the Labour Act with new EU directives, with a transposition deadline in June 2026, and the ratification of ILO Convention No. 190 on the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work, which was also recommended by the Ombudswoman in her 2024 Annual Report.
Croatia is also seeing a growing number of foreign workers, nationals of third countries, who are increasingly turning to the Ombudswoman to highlight a range of problems they face — primarily related to their employment. In the area of labor rights, foreign workers mostly face the same types of violations as domestic workers, but also some specific ones — such as limited knowledge of the Croatian language, which hinders their understanding of their rights and how to protect them, issues related to adequate housing, and, unfortunately, increasingly frequent racist hate-motivated attacks.
Ultimately, with the increase in the number of workers and economic activities, there has also been a rise in workplace injuries, including those with fatal outcomes. It is therefore necessary to properly ensure worker safety and take preventive measures to avoid workplace injuries — primarily through risk assessments, effective implementation of prevention measures, and raising awareness of the importance of occupational safety. As such, the Ombudswoman has recommended the ratification of ILO Convention No. 187 on the promotional framework for occupational safety and health from 2006, which has already been ratified by 16 EU member states, in her 2024 Report.
More information on the right to work and discrimination in employment and at work can be found in the Ombudswoman’s 2024 Annual Report.