ZAGREB, Jan 15 (Hina) - Croatian Vice-Premier and chairman of the Croatian Privatisation Fund's management board, Slavko Linic, on Tuesday dismissed claims that he had signed a statement turning down a request by 2,320 non-assigned
workers of the "Borovo" footwear factory to be given severance pays.
ZAGREB, Jan 15 (Hina) - Croatian Vice-Premier and chairman of the
Croatian Privatisation Fund's management board, Slavko Linic, on
Tuesday dismissed claims that he had signed a statement turning
down a request by 2,320 non-assigned workers of the "Borovo"
footwear factory to be given severance pays. #L#
Speaking in an interview on Croatian Television, Linic said that
the workers would receive severance pays before they were laid
off.
He reminded that the workers lost their jobs back in 1991 due to the
aggression against Croatia and that the former government and the
former parliament in November 1998 "sealed their fate". It was
decided at the time, Linic said, that those workers should no longer
be considered employed because their company, as well as other
companies in eastern Slavonia, did not pay pension and health
insurance contributions for its workers.
Linic also commented on statements by some members of the
Opposition who attended last night's protest meeting of Borovo's
employees near Vukovar, to which they were invited by a committee in
charge of protecting the workers' rights and the Croatian Returnees
Association. Responding to claims by those officials who said that
double standards were being applied in the settlement of similar
problems in different parts of Croatia, Linic said that there were
many politicians in Croatia who were only paying lip service to the
solution of problems.
He confirmed that the government would discuss the case of Borovo,
which he said had incurred a debt of over one hundred million kuna.
Commenting on claims by factory representatives that attempts were
made to lease the factory's immovable assets and construction land
free of charge to those interested in investing into the Vukovar
free zone, instead of leasing them for a fee to cover the severance
pays, Linic said that charging the lease of assets, which were not
being used by the factory, would discourage investors.
Severance pays can be paid out from the sale of the factory's
commercial facilities in Slovenia, Macedonia and elsewhere, which
are not being used, he said.
If it is not solved by the factory management, the problem of
surplus workers will have to be dealt with by the Croatian
Privatisation Fund (which owns the factory) and which so far "had to
provide more than 200 million kuna for the salaries of many
companies whose managers failed to find adequate solutions", Linic
said.
(hina) rml