DEFENCE MINISTRY DENIES DAILY'S ARTICLE ON EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE OF ITS EMPLOYEES

ZAGREB, July 12 (Hina) - Croatia's Defence Ministry has denied an article published in Thursday's issue of the 'Jutarnji List' daily which asserted that a half of employees in the administration of the ministry finished only the primary school. The ministry refuted the daily's allegations about the educational structure and training of the employees in the administration of the ministry, as the article read that even 42 percent of the employees had finished only the primary school. According to the ministry's response, of 9,533 civil servants and white-collar workers in the defence ministry and the armed forces, 13.9 percent has a faculty degree, 51 percent has passed final exams of the (four-year-long) secondary schools, 18.4 percent has finished three-year-long secondary schools, and 16.7 percent finished only primary education. The ministry also refutes allegations about high salaries of those employees. According to the ministry, their wages have not been changes since May 1995. The average gross salary of ministry employees was 6,050 kuna in 2000 and was by 5.6 percent lower in comparison to the gross monthly salary of civil servants in other segments of the state administration and other ministries, which totalled 6,409 kuna. (hina) ms