NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN IRONWORKS UNIONS AND POLICE BEGIN IN SISAK

SISAK, Nov 21 (Hina) - The representatives of the Coordinating Body of unions of the Sisak Ironworks, Ivica Kenda and Mato Somic, as well as Sisak-Moslavina County prefect Djuro Brodarac, began negotiations with county police and commanding officers of the intervention police at 2PM Thursday. #L# One hour before, the intervention police used force against the Ironworks workers when they began to break through a police cordon. After the workers managed to overcome two police cordons at the entry of the new Sisak bridge, after which they took over control of the bridge, intervention police set up another cordon at the bridge's exit leading towards the Sisak-Zagreb highway. Around the start of the negotiations, Sisak-Moslavina prefect Djuro Brodarac stood at the side of the protesters. Despite the workers shouting at him as being "a thief like all the rest" and that "he had not stood at the helm of the convoy of the Ironworks protesters when they marched through the town," he voiced support to the workers, and went to negotiations with police commanders with union representatives, protesting against the fact that the intervention police had used force on the workers causing injuries to some of them. About 2,000 workers are still standing on the bridge, about 100 metres away from the new police cordon. Sisak residents are supporting the workers and are approaching the bridge, shouting, together with the workers, "We Will Not Give Away The Ironworks, We Will Not Give Away Sisak." The head of the union Coordinating Body, Mato Somic, told reporters on the bridge that the protesters would not disperse until somebody from the government spoke to them. He announced that Labour and Social Welfare Minister Davorko Vidovic (born in Sisak) and Interior Minister Sime Lucin would be arriving later in the afternoon. (hina) lml sb