ZAGREB, Oct 12 (Hina) - The Croatian government and public servants' unions on Friday signed a protocol for conducting negotiations on a new Basic Collective Agreement. This enables the two sides to resume negotiations next Friday.
The starting point for the talks will be two drafts of the Collective Agreement, proposed by the government and by unions, said a union leader, Ivica Ihas, after today's session in the government's building where the protocol was signed. Next Friday the two sides will negotiate unions' rights, and in the continuation of the negotiations they will focus on workers' rights, Ihas said. The government has assumed the obligation to acquaint the unions with corrections of coefficients for public servants' salaries and with a draft budget for 2002 within the next 15 days, so that they could begin negotiations on the base of salaries for next year. The government's dr
ZAGREB, Oct 12 (Hina) - The Croatian government and public
servants' unions on Friday signed a protocol for conducting
negotiations on a new Basic Collective Agreement. This enables the
two sides to resume negotiations next Friday.
The starting point for the talks will be two drafts of the
Collective Agreement, proposed by the government and by unions,
said a union leader, Ivica Ihas, after today's session in the
government's building where the protocol was signed.
Next Friday the two sides will negotiate unions' rights, and in the
continuation of the negotiations they will focus on workers'
rights, Ihas said.
The government has assumed the obligation to acquaint the unions
with corrections of coefficients for public servants' salaries and
with a draft budget for 2002 within the next 15 days, so that they
could begin negotiations on the base of salaries for next year.
The government's draft collective agreement envisages the
reduction of payment for work done on Saturdays, Sundays and
national holidays as well as night shifts.
The government proposes days off for overtime work instead of
financial compensation.
Saturdays would no longer be non-working days, and would be
calculated into the duration of annual leave.
Under the government's draft agreement, the payment during sick
leave will be cut from the current 95 to 75 percent of the salary.
Material entitlements such as remuneration for long service and
bonuses for holidays would be defined by annexes to the collective
agreement during the process of the adoption of the state budget.
A local public transportation bonus would be given only to
employees whose offices are outside their permanent place of
residence, and it would be limited to 240 kuna (approximately 30 US
dollars).
Prior to the resumption of the negotiations, the unions rejected
the government's proposal, assessing that it restricted the
incumbent rights of the public sector's employees.
The unions chose the collective agreement which the government
terminated two weeks ago as their starting point for the talks. They
remain in unison not to accept solutions below the level of the
rights workers acquired in line with the cancelled agreement.
(hina) ms