SSSH GATHERS TWO THIRDS OF ENTIRE UNION MEMBERSHIP IN CROATIA

ZAGREB, Jan 19 (Hina) - The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH) gathers almost two thirds of the entire union membership in Croatia, assessed a tripartite commission composed of the Croatian government, unions, and employers, with the aim to establish how represented union federations are. According to the commission's data, the unions which are part of the SSSH gather almost 290,000 workers who pay a union membership fee, SSSH secretary-general Vitomir Begovic told reporters in Zagreb on Wednesday, pointing out this was 66 percent of the entire trade union membership in Croatia. Begovic said the figure does not include a couple of thousand members of the Union of Retired Persons of Croatia who, he said, due to the difficult social situation do not have to pay the membership fee. Second according to the number of members is the Coordination of Croatian Public Service Workers' Unions, which accounts for 10.5 percent of the entire union membership in Croatia. Third is the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Croatia, with nine percent, followed by the Croatian Association of Trade Unions, and the Association of Workers' Trade Unions of Croatia, each with seven percent of the entire union membership. (hina) ha mm