The association gathers some 3,700 former employees, most of whom are ethnic Serbs, who remained in Vukovar while this eastern Croatian city was held by Serb rebels in the early 1990s. The exiled company management in Zagreb terminated their contracts in December 1991 after they failed to report to it.
The association believes that the annulment of their contracts was illegal, and the association's head, Mirko Grahovac, claims that Borovo workers in question were discriminated against on the basis of their descent.
Grahovac said that some employees who were declared redundant were able to exercise their rights, alluding to 1,476 former employees mainly of Croat origin, who received 1,500 kuna per year in service after they were sacked.
"If they can exercise their rights, so can we," Grahorac said addressing the protesters.
The association sent letters with its requests to Croatian and foreign institutions, including the Croatian government and parliament, the Council of Europe, the UN Security Council, the OSCE, international trade union federations, and the embassies of the United States, the Russian Federation, Canada, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and Switzerland in Croatia.
The association has set 30 September as the deadline for the fulfillment of its requests, otherwise it will continue the protest, Grahorac said.
He also accused the Ivo Sanader cabinet of failing to honour commitments assumed at a meeting with the association's representatives in Zagreb on 8 June this year.
At the end of the protest rally, demonstrators dispersed peacefully.