PUBLIC SERVICES EMPLOYEES' UNIONS ANNOUNCE REFERENDUM ON STRIKE

ZAGREB, Nov 19 (Hina) - The Alliance of Croatian unions announced a referendum will be held on November 23 to 28 amongst its members on protests and strike. The referendum will be held because the Government's suggestion of an increase in salaries for public services' employees by 8.5 per cent for only the past three months of this year is unacceptable, they say. The unions of public employees and civil servants hold that an increase in salaries should be reflected on an increase in basic salaries, in line with the collective agreement, a statement, signed by the president of the alliance of unions, Vilim Ribic, said. The alliance described the announcement of the increase in salaries "a culmination of impudence and callousness" because "the crash of the Government's salary policy in the past nine months is to be paid by public service employees". Salaries in state-owned companies this year rose by 8.5 per cent, 15 per cent in public companies, and remaining salaries by 4.6 per cent, while the salaries of public and civil servants fell by five per cent, the alliance stressed. If the Government does not fulfil its commitments from this year's collective agreement and should salaries in public services be decreased by ten per cent in the next year, they will lag behind salaries in state companies by 33.5 per cent, the statement said. (hina) lml