TRIESTE – Wages reduced for around 450 employees at Rijeka’s 3. Maj shipyard: the new management has cut the variable component of pay by an average of 15%.
The decision was justified by operating losses and a decline in productivity. The measure, signed by the new president Roko Vuletić, caught the unions by surprise, as they denounced the lack of consultation.
According to management, the shipyard has been recording losses of around 500,000 euros a month since the beginning of 2026, despite having orders on its books, highlighting a structural imbalance between costs and revenues.
Vuletić described the results as “catastrophically negative” and justified the measure as necessary to stabilise the accounts and overcome a model considered no longer sustainable. “The era in which losses were covered from outside is over”, he said, recalling the around 200 million euros in public funds absorbed by the shipyard in the past.
The company presents the cut as temporary: the situation will be monitored monthly and, if the company returns to profit, year-end bonuses have not been ruled out. The only exception is the processing and bending department, which increased production by 50% and was excluded from the reduction.
The position of the Croatian metalworkers’ union is critical. Representative Juraj Šoljić stressed that in previous meetings no wage reduction had ever been proposed, but rather possible increases. While acknowledging the production difficulties, the union is calling for prior and ongoing consultation with the company on measures that directly affect workers.
