Povijest sindikalnog organiziranja medicinskih sestara u Hrvatskoj: možemo li razdvojiti stručne i radničke interese?
Nurses’ Movement in Croatia; is it Possible to Separate Professional and Workers’ Interests?

Author(s): Snježana Ivčić
Subject(s): Economic history, Social history, Recent History (1900 till today), Health and medicine and law
Published by: Durieux
Keywords: nurses’ history; nurses’ strike; trade unions; professional organizations; health workers;
Summary/Abstract: This paper researches the history and present state of the nurses’ trade union movement in Croatia, and covers the period from 1945 to the present day. The history of the emergence of the nurses’ trade union is an unrecognized area in scientific and professional literature in Croatia with no paper or book dealing with this issue. This work is based on archival research as well as on professional and scientific literature. It is a contribution to a deeper understanding of the rich but only partially explored history of nursing. This research covers two different periods: one period from 1945 until 1991, and one covering the establishment of a nurses’ association after 1991 until today. In the first period, the accent is on the fight for workers’ rights though the creation of professional associations rather than trade unions. After 1991, the situation began to change and several trade unions representing nurses were established. From that year on, the power and strength of trade union initiatives was recognized and the fight for better workers’ rights became more structured and visible. In the research, several strikes are analysed in order to show some of their specific aspects as well as the characteristics they had in common with other health and public workers’ struggles. The research results show a (false) dilemma regarding the emergence of professional associations and trade unions in the context of nurses’ rights. They point to the importance of the fight for workers’/nurses’ rights and the important role that trade unions played.

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