ZAGREB, Feb 26 (Hina) - The government will not withdraw its draft changes to the Labour Act because it wants to develop the labour legislature and make it flexible, as well as protect workers' rights, Prime Minister Ivica Racan said
in parliament Wednesday.
ZAGREB, Feb 26 (Hina) - The government will not withdraw its draft
changes to the Labour Act because it wants to develop the labour
legislature and make it flexible, as well as protect workers'
rights, Prime Minister Ivica Racan said in parliament Wednesday.
#L#
An MP of the Christian Democrats (HKDU), Anto Kovacevic, asked
Racan whether the government would withdraw its motion from
parliamentary procedure, describing it as "anti-human and in
favour of wild capital, not workers".
Racan replied the government should not withdraw the proposal to
make work more flexible because of its ambition to help and protect
workers.
"The issue of labour legislature has for a long time been present on
the Croatian political scene and will remain there until we show
that we are able to make an expected and necessary step forward in
making labour flexible and inevitably changing the labour
legislature," said Racan.
He expressed hope that a discussion on amendments to the Labour Act,
which would soon enter the first reading, would result in agreement
and a joint solution by the government and social partners, but
added the government was prepared to consider better solutions.
Asked by Croatian Bloc's Zdravka Busic about the frequent use of the
term "Western Balkans" in the context of Croatia's joining the
European Union, Racan said the government objected to any kind of
advocating of the regional approach.
"One should not scare the Croatian public with the regional
approach. The individual application for membership in the EU and
its individual assessment indicates that this (regional) approach
is out of the question," said Racan.
He said he did not want to debate on geographical orientation,
adding that Croatia was a central European, Mediterranean and a
Balkan country.
Despite the fact that many people considered the Croatian
application for membership in the EU premature, it was welcomed,
Racan said. He added that he expected a positive development of the
situation.
"I do not wish to discuss the year, but if Rumania and Bulgaria were
promised to join the EU in 2007, I hope and believe that this could
happen to Croatia as well," he said.
(hina) lml