ZAGREB, April 3 (Hina) - The Croatian government and trade unions agreed during Tuesday's round table on employment that it would be impossible to recover the country from the current economic and social crisis without joint efforts
of central and local authorities and social dialogue between the government, unions and employers. Present at the round table organised by the Association of the Independent Unions of Croatia (SSSH) were governmental officials, unionists, business people, representatives of German unions, and Croatian and foreign economic experts. A special guest was Emilio Gabaglio, the Secretary-General of the European trade unions confederation. Gabaglio said the problem of the jobless is a burning issue of all European countries including member-states of the European Union (EU), where the average rate of the unemployment is nine percent. The EU is conducting a well-planned policy
ZAGREB, April 3 (Hina) - The Croatian government and trade unions
agreed during Tuesday's round table on employment that it would be
impossible to recover the country from the current economic and
social crisis without joint efforts of central and local
authorities and social dialogue between the government, unions and
employers.
Present at the round table organised by the Association of the
Independent Unions of Croatia (SSSH) were governmental officials,
unionists, business people, representatives of German unions, and
Croatian and foreign economic experts. A special guest was Emilio
Gabaglio, the Secretary-General of the European trade unions
confederation.
Gabaglio said the problem of the jobless is a burning issue of all
European countries including member-states of the European Union
(EU), where the average rate of the unemployment is nine percent.
The EU is conducting a well-planned policy with mechanisms such as
self-employment, training for changes in occupations and
adjustments to the current demands of the market. Croatia can use
those experiences, he added.
SSSH leader, Davor Juric, described the social situation in Croatia
as frustrating, and accused the government of being insufficiently
socially sensitive, as the army, police and the expensive state
administration were still given the priority in the allocation of
budgetary means.
In this context, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Davorko Vidovic
reminded that one quarter of this year's budget would be earmarked
for different social programmes.
Vidovic added that one of the government's goal which it should
accomplish in the near future was to reach consensus with unions on
a wage policy in the state and public sector which was a
prerequisite for the continuation of structural reforms.
Draft amendments to the employment law were presented to the
participants in the round table.
The changes will introduce the competition to the state-run
Employment Office in the field of agency of finding jobs, the
compensation for the period of unemployment of craftsmen and
measures of an active police of employment.
(hina) sb ms