Croatia platform workers face rights violations despite law changes

Labor unions in Croatia argue that proposed amendments to the Labor Act will not sufficiently address the systemic issues facing workers on digital platforms. Unions report frequent violations of worker rights, including unpaid wages, the withholding of portions of pay, and failure to compensate for hours worked.

Workers such as delivery drivers and taxi drivers often operate through intermediaries or aggregators, which unions claim allows major platforms like Glovo, Uber, Bolt, and Volta to avoid responsibility for their employment status. These workers frequently face deductions from their earnings for various fees or penalties, sometimes resulting in take-home pay below the legal minimum.

Additional challenges include the lack of rights to unionize and the difficulty of tracking working hours, as time spent waiting for orders is often not counted as paid labor. Krešimir Zovak of Novi sindikat noted that some workers are forced to return parts of their wages to employers under various pretexts.