17 June 2026
11th Congress of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees Held
At the 11th Congress of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees of Croatia, new Union leadership was elected and important decisions were adopted to guide its work in the coming period. The Congress is the Union’s highest governing body and brought together representatives of trade union branches from across Croatia to discuss key issues concerning the research and higher education system and the organisation’s future activities.
As part of the election process, the Union President and a new composition of the Grand Council, the Union’s most important political body between two sessions of the Congress, were elected. Members of other Union bodies were also elected, concluding an important democratic process within the organisation. Congress participants also discussed current challenges in higher education and research, with particular emphasis on the need to protect academic rights and freedoms, improve employees’ working conditions and ensure the high-quality development of the research and education system. The Union reaffirmed its commitment to representing the interests of employees in research and higher education and to continuing its active participation in shaping public policies affecting the sector.
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek was represented at the Congress by Chief Trade Union Representative Slađana Josipović Batorek, her deputy Luka Pejić and Union member Nemanja Spasenovski.
More information about the 11th Congress is available HERE.
1 June 2026
Participation in the 26th Sports Games of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees
The 26th Sports Games of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees were held from 27 to 31 May 2026. Rovinj once again hosted this year’s Games, and the trade union branch of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek was represented by 23 members: Kristina Kiš, Ivan Trojan, Slavica Svalina, Dubravka Kuna, Slađana Josipović Batorek, Gabrijela Vrdoljak, Jasna Poljak Rehlicki, Nemanja Spasenovski, Marina Zelić, Silvija Galić, Sanja Habulinec, Mario Varga, Goran Milić, Antonela Bajkovec, Kristina Jurić, Domagoj Tomas, Valerija Križanić, Zoltan Juhas, Danijela Ozimec, Snježana Vukelić, Vera Krajinović, Demian Papo and Dario Homoki. Competitions were held in 16 different sports and included members of as many as 62 branches, while our branch achieved an excellent fifth place in the overall ranking. The best results were achieved in the following sports:
TENNIS (W) – 1st place (Josipović Batorek)
SWIMMING (W) – 2nd place (Kiš)
CROSS-COUNTRY (W) – 2nd place overall (Kiš); 1st place in the category (Kiš)
CROSS-COUNTRY (M) – 3rd place in the category (Varga)
SWIMMING (W) – 2nd place (Kiš)
TABLE TENNIS (M/W pair) – 2nd place (Svalina)
BASKETBALL (W) – 3rd place (Vrdoljak, Bajkovec, Josipović Batorek, Poljak Rehlicki)
FUTSAL (W) – 2nd place
(Kiš, Bajkovec, Habulinec, Vrdoljak, Vukelić, Josipović Batorek, Poljak Rehlicki)
TOP SCORER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Gabrijela Vrdoljak
BEST PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Slađana Josipović Batorek
The Sports Games were marked by sunny weather, a competitive spirit and an excellent atmosphere away from the sports venues. We are already looking forward to next year, with even better sporting results and fewer cases of sunstroke! 😊
18 June 2024
FFOS Staff Participated in the 24th Sports Games of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees
The 24th Sports Games of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees were held from 12 to 16 June 2024. This year’s Games took place in Zaton, and the trade union branch of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek was represented by 20 members: Kristina Kiš, Bruno Eržić, Irena Pavela Banai, Ivan Trojan, Dragan Špoljarić, Mario Jurčević, Josip Arlović, Slavica Svalina, Dubravka Kuna, Slađana Josipović, Gabrijela Vrdoljak, Jasna Poljak, Igor Josipović, Danijel Jelaš, Željko Beissmann, Luka Pejić, Nemanja Spasenovski, Damir Sekulić, Anđelko Vlašić and Domagoj Tomas. Competitions were held in 15 different sports, and our branch once again placed fourth overall. The best results were achieved in the following sports:
1st place – football (W)
1st place – tennis (W) – S. Josipović
2nd place – cross-country (W) – K. Kiš
2nd place – bocce (W) – S. Josipović, J. Poljak
2nd place – table tennis (W, doubles) – S. Josipović
3rd place – table tennis (M, doubles) – D. Tomas, Ž. Beissmann
3rd place – cross-country (W) – I. Pavela Banai
3rd place – basketball (M) – D. Sekulić, L. Pejić, D. Tomas
3rd place – basketball (W) – S. Josipović, G. Vrdoljak, J. Poljak
3rd place – tennis (M) – B. Eržić
Participation was again very high, with competitors from as many as 56 different institutions. Around 800 Union members and members of their families attended the Games. The entire event in Zaton took place in an excellent atmosphere, and we are already looking forward to the next Sports Games!
1 June 2023
Participation in the 23rd Sports Games
The 23rd Sports Games of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees were held in Rovinj from 24 to 28 May 2022. A total of 57 branches participated, and our branch was represented by 21 members: Gabrijela Vrdoljak, Slavica Svalina, Slađana Josipović Batorek, Kristina Kiš, Valerija Križanić, Luka Pejić, Ivan Trojan, Goran Rem, Anđelko Vlašić, Danijel Jelaš, Dragan Špoljarić, Željko Beissmann, Damir Sekulić, Dubravka Kuna, Sergej Filipović, Domagoj Tomas, Igor Josipović, Nemanja Spasenovski, Mario Jurčević, Irena Pavela Banai and Jasmina Tomašić Humer. Competitions were held in 16 different sports, and our branch repeated the previous year’s result by taking an excellent fourth place overall. The best results were achieved in the following events:
1st place – tennis (W) – S. Josipović Batorek
2nd place – cross-country (W) – K. Kiš
2nd place – bowling – S. Josipović Batorek
2nd place – table tennis (W doubles) – G. Vrdoljak, S. Josipović Batorek
3rd place – bowling (W, pairs) – G. Vrdoljak, S. Josipović Batorek
3rd place – table tennis (W) – S. Josipović Batorek
3rd place – table tennis (MIXED) – S. Filipović, S. Josipović Batorek
3rd place – table tennis (M, doubles) – S. Filipović, Ž. Beissmann
3rd place – basketball (M) – G. Rem, L. Pejić, D. Sekulić
3rd place – basketball (W) – G. Vrdoljak, S. Josipović Batorek, K. Kiš, I. Pavela Banai
3rd place – beach volleyball (MIXED) – S. Josipović Batorek, I. Trojan, Ž. Beissmann
3rd place – football (W) – G. Vrdoljak, S. Josipović Batorek, K. Kiš, I. Pavela Banai, S. Svalina, I. Tomašić Humer, D. Kuna
3rd place – cross-country (W) – I. Pavela Banai
3rd place – swimming – K. Kiš
In addition to sporting success, the Games were marked by an excellent atmosphere and socialising away from the sports venues, and we are already looking forward to next year!
12 January 2023
Trade Union Meeting and Forum on the Crisis in the Higher Education System Held
On 12 January 2023, the newly elected President of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees, Tvrtko Smital, PhD, held a meeting with members of the trade union branch at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek. Following the meeting, the forum “Crisis in the Higher Education System” was held as part of the 11th Open Thursday series. A report on the forum can be read HERE, while a recording of the entire event is available on the Open Thursday YouTube channel.
4 July 2022
10th Congress of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees
At the Union’s 10th Congress, Tvrtko Smital, PhD, from the Ruđer Bošković Institute was elected as the new President, a new composition of the Grand Council and other senior bodies was selected, and programme guidelines in research and education policy were adopted.
The 10th Congress of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees was held on Saturday, 2 July, at the Faculty of Economics and Business in Zagreb, with 208 representatives from 133 Union branches participating in its work.
The Congress elected a new Union President, Tvrtko Smital, PhD, and 28 members of the new Grand Council, the Union’s key political body. New members of the Supervisory Board and the Court of Honour were also elected.
At the Congress, the Union adopted a research and education policy that paid particular attention to the current amendments to the Higher Education and Scientific Activity Act. It was emphasised that the Draft Act does not adequately address most of the system’s operational problems and demonstrates a lack of political courage to introduce more substantial changes, particularly in university governance and in the protection of academic rights and freedoms, which are threatened by the management of certain institutions. In this context, a resolution on violations of academic freedom and the misuse of autonomy was also adopted, in which the Union expressed deep concern, particularly regarding the situation at the University of Zagreb.
The Congress expressed particular concern about the unacceptable tendency towards the precarisation of assistants’ employment and decided to take a firm stand in protecting their status and employment conditions.
The Congress also adopted two further resolutions setting out the Union’s key positions on important social issues. In the resolution on the inability of politics and society to stop population emigration, it emphasised that Croatia’s political elites have no adequate answers and, instead of resolving the problem, focus on finding excuses. The resolution calls for an active foreign policy aimed at creating a bloc of countries facing the same issue and for insisting on a fair solution to be agreed within the EU.
The Congress also adopted a resolution on equalising the rights and responsibilities of Union members and non-members. It warned that rights arising from collective agreements are enjoyed equally by all employees, whether they are members who finance the Union that negotiates and concludes collective agreements or non-members who do not contribute to the costs of collective bargaining. The Union stressed that it seeks to equalise the rights and costs of all employees, drawing on numerous and varied international practices from the most advanced democratic countries.
The Union’s former Secretary-General, Vilim Ribić, did not stand for any position in the Union due to his retirement, nor did the former Union President, Professor Petar Pervan, PhD.
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek was represented at the Congress by trade union representatives Associate Professor Slađana Josipović Batorek, PhD, Luka Pejić, PhD and Gordana Gašo.
More information about the 10th Congress is available HERE.
31 May 2022
22nd Sports Games of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees
Following a two-year break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 22nd Sports Games of the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees were held in Rovinj from 25 to 29 May 2022. A total of 62 branches participated, while our branch was represented by 16 members: Gabrijela Vrdoljak, Slavica Svalina, Dora Ivanišević, Slađana Josipović Batorek, Kristina Kiš, Anita Papić, Valerija Križanić, Luka Pejić, Ivan Trojan, Goran Rem, Goran Milić, Anđelko Vlašić, Danijel Jelaš, Dragan Špoljarić, Željko Beissmann and Damir Sekulić. Competitions were held in 16 different sports, and our branch achieved an excellent fourth place overall. The best results were achieved in the following events:
1st place – basketball (M) – Rem, Pejić, Sekulić
2nd place – basketball (W) – Vrdoljak, Josipović Batorek, Kiš, Ivanišević
2nd place – beach volleyball (MIXED) – Josipović Batorek, Trojan, Beissmann
3rd place – bocce (M) – Beissmann, Milić
1st place – cross-country – Beissmann
2nd place – cross-country – Milić
3rd place – cross-country – Vlašić
3rd place – cross-country – Ivanišević
3rd place – swimming – Kiš
In addition to the sporting achievements, we will remember the Games for the excellent atmosphere and socialising away from the sports venues, and we hope that next year even more of us will represent the Faculty!
