ZAGREB, May 13 (Hina) - The unions on Monday rejected a compromise put forward by the government to increase the number of employees considered as small employers who would be able to dismiss employees without any explanation. The
unions further emphasised that they would only agree to such terms if employers were to oblige themselves to take care of redundant employees.
ZAGREB, May 13 (Hina) - The unions on Monday rejected a compromise
put forward by the government to increase the number of employees
considered as small employers who would be able to dismiss
employees without any explanation. The unions further emphasised
that they would only agree to such terms if employers were to oblige
themselves to take care of redundant employees.#L#
It is absolutely unacceptable to increase the number of employees
without any protection from being fired while at the same time
employers will not oblige themselves to take care of these
employees, union sources told Hina following the first meeting of a
working group convened to discuss changes to the Labour Act (ZOR).
The government has remained steadfast to an earlier proposal which
would allow small employers to increase the number of employees
from 10 to 20. The government's compromise noted that employers
would, however, have to offer an explanation for dismissing
employees. The current ZOR allows employers with up to 10 employees
to fire them without any explanation.
Measures such as these only benefit employers who would decrease
their obligations and increase their profits while workers would be
in even greater fear to keep their jobs, the union source said.
In order to achieve the objectives intended with the amendments to
the ZOR it would be more worthwhile to reform inefficient
employers, change the tax laws and motivate exports and not
decrease workers' rights.
The government and employers, however, consider it necessary to
decrease some rights in order to make the labour market more
flexible. Unions are opposed to these measures because they believe
workers' rights would be reduced dramatically.
Four union centres recently organised protests and threatened with
general strikes if the government persists in reducing workers'
rights.
The government, however, softened its attitudes at the last
Economic-Social Council meeting and announced that it would offer a
compromise regarding the number of employees considered for small
employers.
It was then agreed that a working group would discuss the most
contentious issues to the ZOR: redundancies, dismissal period and
the definition of small employers.
The working group comprises 13 legal and economics experts and will
meet each day until May 15.
(hina) sp