INDEPENDENT UNIONS: UNIONS HAVEN'T GAUARANTEED GOVT SOCIAL TRUCE

ZAGREB, July 23 (Hina) - The Independent Trade Unions of Croatia (NHS) on Sunday dismissed the Government statement of July 21 saying union federations had guaranteed social truce at the sessions of the Economic and Social Council (GSV). After a recent statement by the president of the Association of Workers' Trade Unions of Croatia, Boris Kunst, announcing protest rallies against the government policy for this autumn, the government issued a statement saying Kunst's statement was contrary to the stands and conclusions on the mutual ensuring of social truce, adopted and agreed on at GSV sessions with all union representatives sitting on the GSV. Union representatives sitting on the GSV have never promised the Government and employers social truce, the NHS said. Social truce was on the agenda of only one GSV session, when it was concluded that unions would forward their draft proposals on social truce to GSV deputy chairwoman Zeljka Antunovic. The NHS has sent its proposal but theirs or any other proposal was not discussed any more, the NHS statement said. The NHS, which has already distanced itself from Kunst's announcement regarding protest rallies, states that it can not guarantee social truce, particularly now that the government policy is causing increasingly high unemployment and that decisions, which are crucial for the future of Croatia's economy, are being adopted without an integral strategy of economic development and the minimum of social dialogue. (hina) rml