ZAGREB, April 10 (Hina) - Croatian Labour and Social Welfare Minister Davorko Vidovic on Thursday expressed surprise that trade unions decided to terminate negotiations over a bill on the Labour Law (ZOR).
ZAGREB, April 10 (Hina) - Croatian Labour and Social Welfare
Minister Davorko Vidovic on Thursday expressed surprise that trade
unions decided to terminate negotiations over a bill on the Labour
Law (ZOR). #L#
Vidovic stated that negotiations were nearing their final stage and
some technical details only remained to be refined in the packet of
labour-welfare legislation while the rest had been agreed to.
"However, this just simply did not go in favour of some in the unions
as there were not serious barriers to complete the entire job
today," Vidovic told Hina.
The five union federations withdrew on Wednesday from the
negotiations over the bill on the Labour Law and demanded an urgent
meeting with Premier Ivica Racan because the government's
officials had rejected a proposal concerning redundancy payments,
dismissal periods and unemployment allowances, which, as unionists
said, the unions proposed.
"Only two issues remained to be discussed in the bill to the ZOR on
which I insist, and these relate to the burden on employers and an
appropriate amount of compensation for employees," Vidovic said.
The government cannot change the concept of bills that have been
through their first reading in the Sabor. The fundamental objective
of the bill is to render the labour market more flexible along with
maximum social security for employees, the minister pointed out.
The president of the Independent Croatian Unions (NHS) Kresimir
Sever said that Vidovic was not authorised to negotiate contentious
issues outside the framework set by the Government nor to extend the
deadline in which to harmonise contentious matters.
If the Government obliged itself to the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund to decrease existing workers' rights
then this needs to be said to the public, Sever said, stating that
international financial institutions should insist on reforms in
the entire state system and not just labour legislature.
The Croatian Association of Employers (HUP) condemned the unions'
decision to withdraw from the negotiations led by the tripartite
task force about the changes to the Labour Law.
(hina) sp ms