ZAGREB, May 31 (Hina) - At Friday's meeting with the heads of the Croatian parliamentary committees for the Constitution, finances and the government budget, representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) wanted to know
whether the government intended to give in to union requests regarding amendments to the Labour Act, and particularly to the request to establish a solidarity fund which would finance dismissed employees.
ZAGREB, May 31 (Hina) - At Friday's meeting with the heads of the
Croatian parliamentary committees for the Constitution, finances
and the government budget, representatives of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) wanted to know whether the government intended
to give in to union requests regarding amendments to the Labour Act,
and particularly to the request to establish a solidarity fund
which would finance dismissed employees. #L#
The president of the Constitution, Rule Book and Political System
Committee, Mato Arlovic, said this was a form of a social system. He
said he believed an agreement with social partners would be hard to
come by.
Commenting on a statement by the IMF delegation that social
negotiations should end as soon as possible, Arlovic said the
parliament agreed with the necessity to change a part of the labour
legislature, but one should not be hasty because of possible social
unrest.
IMF representatives also wanted to know whether Croatia was
planning a serious tax reform.
There is no need for a serious reform of the tax system, but the
government is discussing a draft law on financial violations and
the establishment of a financial court, Arlovic said.
He said that new laws would secure a stricter tax discipline by
piling all financial violations, which, he said, would create the
need for the establishment of a financial court at the finance
ministry, such as in Germany.
Besides these laws, the government was also looking for instruments
for fighting grey economy and placing funds from games of fortune
under control, he said.
IMF representatives warned about the non-transparency of spending
funds of two extra-budgetary funds, and stressed that the
parliament must have control over the overall public expenditure.
Commenting on an announcement that negotiations on a new stand-by
arrangement with the IMF would be continued in September, as soon as
the IMF Mission receives all statistical data, Arlovic said that
the parliament had nothing against the negotiations, but in the new
arrangements, Croatia should be given sufficient room to reach an
agreement with social partners regarding economic, labour and
social legislature.
(hina) lml sb