The Independent Trade Unions (NHS) and the Federation of Workers' Trade Unions (URSH) on Monday protested against the Ivo Sanader cabinet's amendments to the said law, explaining that those changes would lead to the ban of workers' rallies in St Mark's Square in Zagreb.
Last Friday the parliament added the government's proposal in question to the agenda of its ongoing session and members of parliament are expected to discuss it this week.
The draft amendments to Article 11 of the law stipulate the ban on staging peaceful rallies and protests in the vicinity of protected buildings in which protected persons stay such as the President of the Republic, the Parliament Speaker, the Prime Minister and heads of state or government from foreign countries, parliament speakers from other countries as well as delegations of European and other international organisations.
The draft amendments read that it can be expected that rallies and protests near protected buildings and persons "might lead to incidents," which is why the ban on public rallies and peaceful protests near protected buildings and persons "is a justified state interest".
The NHS issued a press release accusing the government of intending to limit the democratic right of citizens to express their discontent. This union federation said the amendments were a step backward in the democratisation of Croatian society.
The NHS wonders whether the recent protest of Sljeme meat-processing company workers, who for 35 days picketed St. Mark's Square, in which the Sabor and the government are located, prompted the government to make this move.
The URSH accuses the government, which it labels as incompetent of solving serious economic and social problems, of trying to remove protesters as far as possible from its vicinity.
The URSH insists on an urgent meeting with the Sanader cabinet on this topic, or it will stage a protest rally in front of government and parliament headquarters in St Mark's Square.