ZAGREB, Dec 5 (Hina) - The government fully complies with a work agreement signed with civil servants' trade unions and they have no reason to go on strike, Deputy Prime Minister Zeljka Antunovic told parliament's lower house during
Tuesday's Question Morning. The moot point in the agreement is the payment of Christmas and child's bonuses, but the agreement stipulates the payment will be effected only if the budget can stand it, she said, adding there were no funds to do so at the moment. Antunovic said the government and the unions were "reconciling" and was hopeful the unions would not go on strike on Dec. 8. Zeljko Pavlic of the Croatian Social Liberal Party inquired if the government was aware of the negative effect of raising the price of electricity, to which Deputy PM Slavko Linic said that reforms were necessary. They will be very painful, but social policy has to be separated from economics, he a
ZAGREB, Dec 5 (Hina) - The government fully complies with a work
agreement signed with civil servants' trade unions and they have no
reason to go on strike, Deputy Prime Minister Zeljka Antunovic told
parliament's lower house during Tuesday's Question Morning.
The moot point in the agreement is the payment of Christmas and
child's bonuses, but the agreement stipulates the payment will be
effected only if the budget can stand it, she said, adding there
were no funds to do so at the moment.
Antunovic said the government and the unions were "reconciling" and
was hopeful the unions would not go on strike on Dec. 8.
Zeljko Pavlic of the Croatian Social Liberal Party inquired if the
government was aware of the negative effect of raising the price of
electricity, to which Deputy PM Slavko Linic said that reforms were
necessary. They will be very painful, but social policy has to be
separated from economics, he added.
Linic voiced hope the prices of electricity, oil, and gas would be
harmonised further. It is necessary, he said, and we must draft
social programmes to help the most endangered.
Marija Bajt of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) inquired what
the government would do in connection with a ban the war crimes
tribunal in The Hague forwarded Croatian media asking them to stop
publishing testimonies given at the tribunal. She said it
represented an "attempt at legal aggression on the independence and
sovereignty of Croatia," and at establishing a protectorate.
Justice Minister Stjepan Ivanisevic said the government had yet to
decide as to what to do. "Until then, we should refrain from using
hard words," he told Bajt.
HDZ's Vladimir Seks asked why the government was stalling with a
bill regulating the use of archive material. The bill refers also to
material available to the president of the republic. Culture
Minister Antun Vujic responded the bill was late because the
government was trying to adjust it to European laws. Seks countered
by saying its passing should stop the constant flow of transcripts
into the public "despite their seal of confidentiality."
(hina) ha