POLICE CADETS END PROTEST AFTER TALKS WITH INTERIOR MINISTRY

ZAGREB, Nov 13 (Hina) - The protest staged in downtown Zagreb on Wednesday by some 180 police cadets, whom the Interior Ministry has failed to grant employment six months after they finished their secondary education, ended in St. Mark's Square around 2am Thursday after the cadets and officials from the Interior Ministry held talks and signed conclusions. The leader of the Croatian Police Workers Union (SPH), Dubravko Jagic, told Hina this morning he could not comment on the conclusions until the negotiations were completed. The talks will resume on the basis of the material signed last night by the cadets, the union and the Interior Ministry, he said. The police cadets started the protest at 1 pm yesterday, seeking guarantees of employment and stressing they had signed contracts with the Ministry which guaranteed employment after secondary education. However, after they completed secondary education, the Ministry offered them further education at the High Police School. Of 330 students, 180 are seeking employment in the police. Interior Ministry spokeswoman Zinka Bardic said that in late August the Ministry had informed all students that it did not need more police staff with secondary school qualifications following reorganisation and offered them employment after they completed the high police school. The cadets claim no one can force them to continue their education and that they had respected their part of the contract. (hina) rml