Trade union and workers council in protection of workers interests and rights

Prava i interese radnika u Republici Hrvatskoj, sukladno propisima zastupaju sindikati i radnička vijeća. Sindikati kao udruga radnika zastupaju prava i interese radnika koji su učlanjeni u konkretni sindikat neovisno o tome kod kojeg poslodavca ti radnici rade, dok radničko vijeće kao tijelo izabrano od strane radnika u jednom konkretnom poslodavcu štite prava i interese svih radnika zaposlenih kod tog poslodavca bez obzira jesu li članovi sindikata ili nisu. Na prvi pogled brojne su sličnosti između sindikata i radničkih vijeća kada su u pitanju prava i interesi radnika. Stoga se ovim radom ukazuje na posebnosti uloge sindikata i radničkih vijeća u zaštiti radničkih prava i interesa, s posebnim osvrtom na sličnosti i razlike koje u tom kontekstu postoje između njih. Važnost uloge sindikata i radničkog vijeća nemjerljiva je posebice u danas sveprisutnoj nesigurnosti radnih mjesta i plaća radnika u Republici Hrvatskoj. S tim u vezi, a polazeći od osnovnih načela radnog prava među kojima su i: sloboda rada, pravo na rad, pravo na plaću za rad i sindikalna sloboda, opravdana je potreba postojanja udruga ili tijela koja će se skrbiti za zaštitu prava i interesa radnika. Ovu potrebu prepoznao je i hrvatski zakonodavac pa je u hrvatsko radno zakonodavstvo ugradio brojne odredbe kojima uređuje prava i obveze sindikata i radničkih vijeća u pogledu navedene zaštite radničkih prava. Sindikat je udruga radnika koji se dobrovoljno udružuju radi zaštite i unapređenja interesa članova toga sindikata. Kroz zakonsko pravo na sindikalno pregovaranje, sindikati za svoje članove mogu ostvariti niz poboljšanja u ostvarenju prava radnika kroz primjerice bolje radne uvjete, plaće i slično. Jedan od instituta kojim Zakon o radu omogućuje radnicima da kod poslodavca sudjeluju u pitanju koje se tiče odlučivanja o njihovim socijalnim i gospodarskim interesima i pravima je radničko vijeće. Ono kao takvo predstavlja tijelo koje može biti osnovano od strane radnika u skladu s donesenim zakonom.The rights and interests of workers in the Republic of Croatia, in accordance with regulations, are represented by trade unions and workers' councils. Trade unions as an association of workers represent the rights and interests of workers who are members of a particular union, regardless of which employer they work for, while the workers' council as a body elected by workers in a particular employer protects the rights and interests of all workers employed by that employer. whether they are union members or not. At first glance, there are many similarities between unions and works councils when it comes to workers' rights and interests. Therefore, this paper points out the specifics of the role of trade unions and of works councils in the protection of workers' rights and interests, with special reference to the similarities and differences that exist between them in this context. The importance of the role of trade unions and workers' councils is immeasurable, especially in today's ubiquitous job and wage insecurity in the Republic of Croatia. In this regard, starting from the basic principles of labor law, including freedom of work, the right to work, the right to pay and trade union freedom, the need for the existence of associations or bodies to protect the rights and interests of workers is justified. This need was also recognized by the Croatian legislator, so he incorporated numerous provisions into Croatian labor legislation which regulate the rights and obligations of trade unions and workers 'councils with regard to the aforementioned protection of workers' rights. A trade union is an association of workers who voluntarily associate in order to protect and promote the interests of the members of that trade union. Through the legal right to trade union bargaining, unions can make a number of improvements to their members in exercising workers' rights through, for example, better working conditions, wages and the like. The Workers' Council is one of the institutes by which the Labor Law gives workers the opportunity to participate with the employer in deciding on issues related to their economic and social rights and interests. It represents a body which can be established by workers in accordance with the law