SURPLUS STAFF IN VUKOVAR HOSPITAL GIVEN NOTICE; 3.5 MILLION KUNA FOR SEVERANCE PAY

VUKOVAR, March 10 (Hina) - The governing council of the Vukovar hospital on Monday decided to implement a programme for solving problems of surplus members of the hospital's staff. #L# Pursuant to the Labour Act, 98 employees, who were proclaimed redundant at the end of last year, were given notice on the termination of their employment. The hospital's head, Dr. Vesna Bosanac, said the Croatian Health Insurance Institute (HZZO) had ensured about 3.5 million kuna for the severance pay to be given to the redundant workers. She refuted accusations of mismanagement and of having run the hospital in an uneconomical manner, and called on the HZZO, that last week pointed the finger at her for poor financial results, to be more active in the resolution to the hospital's problems. The current debt of this health institution towards suppliers is 7.4 million kuna (approximately 970,000 euros). Dr. Bosanac has recently appealed on the Croatian public to help improve the poor financial situation in the hospital. Thus, the Zagreb-based Diners Club Adriatic sent funds worth 350,000 kuna to pay bills for gas supply. With the departure of the surplus employees, the hospital's budget can save about 600,000 kuna monthly, she explained. (1EUR =7.6 kuna) (hina) ms sb