HUP: Ill Bill on Adult Education

The HUP members drew attention more than once to insufficiently arranged branch in an adult education.

HUP (Croatian Employers' Association) is trying to include educational needs in the working world promoting an idea of integrating lifelong learning and continuous education of adults. A group was formed at HUP, ‘Adult Education’ that deals with this subject.

The HUP members claim that more than once they drew attention to adult education saying that it is insufficiently regulated. There is a necessity to create a quality legislative ground in cooperation with all relevant partners.

The existing bylaws (rule-book on secondary education of adults, N.N.112/200) and the rule-book on elementary school completion by exam (N.N.71/91), apart form being inadequate, they do not follow the increasing expansion of the market in adult education. There is a demand for a modern approach, introducing certain standards of quality and adjusting to new requests on labour market and EU standards.

HUP supported the initiative on the adoption of a Bill on Adult Education. Preparing of a new bill started in 2004, so in the beginning the suggestions of social partners were not included (unions and employers). HUP tried to warn the carrier of the bill against the following faults more then once:

There is a need for introducing transparent and regulated system of adult education assorted by one bill, and not numerous additional regulations and acts as the carrier suggested.

The system of adult education in Croatia should promote the quality and provide peer relationships among all bidders at the education marketing, no matter who the owner of the institution is.

Incentive conditions for the employers within the meaning of education financing.

The system of work and quality control in all institutions, through the system of adult education, along with reasonable criminal provisions.

In the last three months, HUP intensified the discussion by organising a panel with representatives from unions, employers, the Chamber of Commerce and ministry. Most suggestions were about the constitution of the Council of Education. It was asked for including representatives of the social partners.

We are especially worried about the tax-relief for the employers for the education and professional development of the employees. We asked for a definition of possible finance privileges for persons (e.g. tax reliefs for an employee who finances his education through the verified educational programmes), as well as companies (investment into an employee’s education until December 31, 2006 as 200% tax relief). This decree for the employers was banned with a new bill on income tax, which applies from January 1 2007. The tax relief for education and professional development of employees was abolished for the employers.

In other words, there will be no modes for stimulation of employers for investing into education of their employees. Due to that, we asked for including these suggestions into the Bill on Adult Education.

In the role of attendants of the program for improvement are entrepreneurs, managers and employees who are involved in the system of adult education. We believe that the implementation of the Bill in this region will cause a partial organisation, which will secure a better educational market, than it is known hitherto. A great contribution to the law is a motion towards regulating bids so private institutions became equal to public institutions and repression of unloyal competition. At the same time, a better quality of service providers in adult education and programmes of education is a need.

Since the new bill includes adoption of numerous by-laws, the social partners explicitly asked from the carrier of the law their involvement into its preparing so the preparation would be in accordance to the employers’ demands and employees’ expectations.

Educational leave is welcome, but ambiguous as it is now, it does not bring anything new nor has a stimulating role for an employee. We would like to emphasise that some employers already have an educational leave longer than seven days in their rule-book on work regulations.

An article in Labour Act already exists, Article 57, paragraph 3 (consolidated text). ‘Paid leave: An employee has a right to paid leave during the professional or general education, qualifying or specialisation as well as education for the works council needs or union activities under conditions, in duration and recompense by the collective agreement, by the agreement between a works council and an employer or by the book of the rules.

For the employers, the most stimulating are financial measures such as tax reliefs.