REPORTS ON STRIKE IN SCHOOLS AND HOSPITALS SUBMITTED TO GOV'T

ZAGREB, Jan 16 (Hina) - Croatian Vice-Premier Goran Granic said Thursday that the government should talk and seek solutions with its social partners, the unions, but that it cannot fulfil somebody's impossible requests. #L# Granic spoke at a government session during a discussion on reports on strikes in primary and senior schools and that of doctors. Education and Sports Minister Vladimir Strugar reported that the announced five-day strike in primary schools ended up as a two-day strike, with a significantly lower turnout than expected by the union. A lesser number of people also took part in the high school strike than during the last strike in November. The high inflation of strikes lately, especially in education, harms the education system itself, said the minister. Health Minister Andro Vlahusic said most medical institutions were working normally, including general practitioners, emergency wards and most hospitals. The Croatian Doctors' Union, which organised the strike, is requesting a 45 percent salary increase, he recalled. The wish of people to have higher salaries and pensions is understandable, but the problem is on which basis to increase the salaries, Prime Minister Ivica Racan said. He stressed an increase in salaries was possible only if the economy grew. Only higher economic growth rates, of seven percent, while keeping the inflation low at two percent, would lead to a real increase in salaries as everything else is unacceptable and an assault on Croatia's security, said Racan. Reconstruction Minister Radimir Cacic cited the newest data on the growth of GDP and the estimate that this year could end with a growth of GDP of close to or exactly five percent, not four percent as planned. He said that the real salary growth last year was 4.5 percent. Racan again called on social partners to talk and see what could be done, instead of exerting pressure. (hina) lml sb