FORUM OF S-E EUROPEAN EMPLOYERS' ASSOCIATIONS MEETS ON BRIJUNI

ZAGREB, July 13 (Hina) - Members of the South-East European Employers' Forum (SEEEF) met on the northern Adriatic island of Brijuni on July 9-11 to discuss preparations for the first joint meeting of the South-East European employers' associations and unions, to be held in late September, the Croatian Employers' Association said in a statement on Friday. The Brijuni conference tackled projects of social dialogue which the Forum is to propose to the second working table of the Stability Pact for South-East Europe called Initiative for Social Cohesion. The conference agreed that the principles of freedom of association are still not being applied in some countries which is why some member-countries (Macedonia, Yugoslavia and Bosnia-Herzegovina) submitted formal complaints to the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Committee for Freedom of Association. Some employers' associations are still unable to register as employers' associations and are therefore unable to participate in negotiations between employers and unions. Confident that the main priority of the region covered by the Stability Pact is the creation of new jobs, a process in which employers and their associations have the key role, the Forum has requested support from the ILO and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE). The Forum is determined to draw up a media project on the fight against corruption because direct foreign investments are seriously threatened by lack of transparency and corruption, the Employers' Association reported. Present at the Brijuni conference for the first time, along with ILO and IOE representatives, were representatives of the Macedonian Employers' Association. (hina) sb rml