UNIONS: REAL AVERAGE WAGE IN 1999 WAS LOWER THAN OFFICIALLY STATED

ZAGREB, March 22 (Hina) - The real average salary in Croatia in 1999 amounted to far less than the officially stated 2,916 kuna, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH) told reporters in Zagreb on Wednesday. Once managers' allowances are excluded from and the workers not receiving their salary included in the calculation of the average, the real average salary amounts to 2,272 kuna. If managers' allowances are included in calculating the average salary, the average salary for 822,000 workers, the army and police excluded, amounts to 2,757 kuna, said SSSH president Davor Juric. Analyses indicate that more than half of Croatia's employed people last year received salaries below that average, while 13.6 percent received salaries below 1,000 kuna or none at all, said Juric. He added this data indicated that workers should be the last who ought to self-sacrifice to give Croatian economy the chance to recover and progress. According to SSSH economy adviser Marina Kokanovic, a worker's average monthly salary is sufficient for only 17 days of survival for a worker's family, while those whose salary is below 1,000 kuna can survive only six days in one month. The announced increase of non-taxable income from 1,000 to 1,250 kuna will lead to an increase in salaries between 1.7 and 6.5 percent, depending on family status, Kokanovic said. (hina) ha jn