SOME 500 SISAK IRONWORKS EMPLOYEES RESUME WITH STRIKE

SISAK, Aug 1 (Hina) - About 500 workers with Sisak's Ironworks on Wednesday resumed with a strike which the company's workers began on July 5, although another 1,675 employees stopped the strike at 6 a.m. today. Those who resumed the strike are members of the Association of Trade Unions' (HUS) union of metal workers, while the other workers are members of the union of metal workers of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions (SSSH). HUS president Zdenko Mucnjak told the strikers the HUS branch at the Ironworks had decided to resume with the strike until a bankruptcy trustee was chosen. This should be done in coming days, he said, adding Prime Minister Ivica Racan had promised to receive workers' representatives in August to analyse bankruptcy proceedings for the company. Mucnjak acquainted the strikers with a July 26 government decision on filing for bankruptcy with restructuring at Sisak's Ironworks, with a promise that surplus labour would be provided for. According to the president of the HUS union of metal workers, Dario Repac, "the management and the government as the owner have not met even one requests which prompted the workers to go on strike on July 5." The requests referred to a regular payment of monthly wages in their full amount and a lasting solution for the status of Sisak's Ironworks. Repac said production in most of the company's plants could not get going without the HUS union of metal workers. (hina) ha