GOVERNMENT CRITICISES STATE-OWNED COMPANIES' MANAGEMENT BOARDS

ZAGREB, May 25 (Hina) - Croatia's government at Thursday's session harshly criticised management boards in state-owned companies, especially in shipyards. Nothing has changed in the shipbuilding industry nor in Croatian Railways, Deputy Premier Slavko Linic said, adding he had not seen over the past 100 days the least change in the work of management boards in the mentioned companies except irresponsible statements and an irresponsible relationship towards owners. Structural changes cannot be implemented with the current management boards, Linic announced. According to Economy Minister Goranko Fizulic, personnel issues in certain shipyards have been politicised. "Even the mildest criticism elicits the rage of certain trade union leaders (...) They don't want to change the situation, responsibility, privatisation, but wrap everything up in political slogans." Interior Minister Sime Lucin said it was nonsensical that in some shipyards management boards and trade unions functioned together. It is however understandable when we know that most trade union leaders in shipyards have managers' salaries, he asserted. Citing a concrete case, Fizulic said a trade union leader at Split- based company Diokom had a manager's salary at Split's Brodosplit shipyard. Premier Ivica Racan also addressed the issue of Diokom, whose workers went on strike to receive unpaid salaries. After the company collected part of its debt, the management paid managers' salaries. Racan said the conjunction of crime and politics required the government to prepare well to tackle the issue. It is the taxpayers who are paying for all this, and the time will come for us to call on them to go on strike against those strikers who want to continue using their money even for criminal purposes, he added. The government will discuss the shipyards' management boards issue upon receiving a model for the restructuring of the entire shipbuilding industry. (hina) ha jn