ZAGREB, May 21 (Hina) - High school professors are continuing their strike which began on Monday, and will do so until a branch collective agreement is signed, the Independent Union of High School Employees said Tuesday.
ZAGREB, May 21 (Hina) - High school professors are continuing their
strike which began on Monday, and will do so until a branch
collective agreement is signed, the Independent Union of High
School Employees said Tuesday. #L#
"There is no important headway in talks with the employer, so the
strike will continue tomorrow," union president Andrija Puljevic
told a news conference.
On the second day 71.4 percent of high school professors in Croatia
joined in the strike, which is more than yesterday, Puljevic said.
He added that he would be meeting Education and Sports Minister
Vladimir Strugar this afternoon, but did not say whether the
contentious agreement would be signed today.
In Monday's contacts with Strugar, the two sides agreed that the
collective agreement would last until the end of 2003, not until
2006, as suggested earlier by the ministry.
Several less important provisions of the agreement were harmonised
with Strugar yesterday, Puljevic said, adding that they were not
prepared to concessions regarding material rights.
This largest high school union continues demanding that the branch
agreement regulates the issue of redundancy pay, Christmas bonuses
and gifts for children, as well as salary bonuses, which the
ministry is refusing as these rights are regulated by the
collective agreement for public services.
Puljevic commented on yesterday's statement by Prime Minister
Ivica Racan that the payment of the demanded rights would cost a
million kuna, by saying that he did not want to make any
calculations, but in any case, they needed "a whole lot less than
the billions which Racan has at hand".
Puljevic said he was "thrilled with the lightning speed of the
Zagreb County Court" which scheduled the first hearing in the
lawsuit filed by the education and sports ministry against unions
for illegally striking for 2pm today.
Asked whether unions will pay their members the time spent in the
strike if the court finds it illegitimate, Puljevic said the union
did not have sufficient funds for that. If somebody insists,
however, we will give up from some other activities and pay strike
compensation, he said.
Puljevic assessed that the strike was not being greatly disturbed,
but during the news conference, his assistants informed him that
the education ministry had ordered high school principles to have
schools function as of 3pm today.
(hina) lml sb