PUBLIC, CIVIL SERVANTS GO ON CIRCULAR STRIKE STARTING THURSDAY

ZAGREB, Dec 13 (Hina) - Although they can no longer influence the state budget, unions of public and civil servants will go on a circular strike starting Thursday to express their discontent with the government's salary policy and lack of compliance with work agreements. Unions of workers in elementary schools, colleges, and science institutions will go on strike tomorrow, the health and social welfare sectors on Friday, and state administration on Monday, head committees of public and civil servants' unions decided at Wednesday's meeting. The final decision to go on strike was made after yesterday's yet another failure in negotiations with the government which said no to the unions' demand for a five percent increase in basic salaries and a proposal that the dispute be settled by independent expert arbitration. The strike will be held as last week's. Teachers in elementary schools will not come to work, while in other institutions employees will be on strike in agreement with their union branches. The question often posed during today's meeting was if a strike had any sense, given that it could no longer influence the budget. The conclusion was that 100,000 public and civil servants had to express their discontent with the government's breaching of a work agreement on harmonising their salaries with those in state-owned companies. (hina) ha