CORRECTING ITEM HNA3038 HEADLINED "ANOTHER UNION LEAVES... "

ZAGREB, Oct 16 (Hina)- Please note that a mistake has occurred in item HNA3038 headlined "ANOTHER UNION LEAVES "PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE" AGREEMENT". The correct headline should read "ANOTHER UNION LEAVES "PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT" AGREEMENT" and the correct item should read as follows: #L# ZAGREB, Oct 16 (Hina) - The Croatian Association of Trade Unions (HUS) has decided to back down on the "Partnership for Development" agreement, stating that conditions for the implementation of the agreement, signed last December, had not been created. The implementation of the social agreement between the government and four union federations represented in the Economic-Social Council (GSV) has not even started because implementation documents have not been adopted, nor has its implementation been discussed at GSV sessions, HUS president Zdenko Mucnjak told reporters. The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH) and the Association of Workers' Trade Unions of Croatia (URSH) had previously backed down on the agreement, so that the only remaining signatory is the Council of Croatian Public Service Workers Unions. The HUS believes that the government has not committed itself yet to dialogue with its partners, in which the most important economic and social decisions would be adopted by consensus. That is why at its next meeting with the social partners the HUS will propose "freezing" the agreement until better times and shifting to tripartite dialogue through the GSV, Mucnjak said. Speaking about the government's ignoring the social partners in the adoption of important decisions, Mucnjak mentioned the non- transparent privatisation of the insurance company "Croatia osiguranje" and the reform of the Defence Ministry, a process in which he said unions were not consulted with regard to providing for redundant employees. We apologise for any inconvenience. (hina) it