ZAGREB, Dec 22 (Hina) - The Croatian government on Friday decided to freeze the salaries of state and judicial officials and those of civil servants and employees at this year's level and instructed public companies to keep the salary
average at this year's level and not pay Christmas bonuses and holiday cash grants. Since the strike of state and public services, although announced as permanent, lasted only one day and since a small number of employees participated in it, the government decided that all workers should be paid for that day, including those who went on strike. The government also discussed draft measures and activities for the implementation of the wage policy in 2001. The draft defines roughly the same wage policy for all three segments - officials, state and public services and public companies, Vice Premier Slavko Linic said. The freezing of state officials' salaries has been defin
ZAGREB, Dec 22 (Hina) - The Croatian government on Friday decided to
freeze the salaries of state and judicial officials and those of
civil servants and employees at this year's level and instructed
public companies to keep the salary average at this year's level and
not pay Christmas bonuses and holiday cash grants.
Since the strike of state and public services, although announced
as permanent, lasted only one day and since a small number of
employees participated in it, the government decided that all
workers should be paid for that day, including those who went on
strike.
The government also discussed draft measures and activities for the
implementation of the wage policy in 2001. The draft defines
roughly the same wage policy for all three segments - officials,
state and public services and public companies, Vice Premier Slavko
Linic said.
The freezing of state officials' salaries has been defined with a
regulation which sets the basis for payroll accounts at this year's
level. According to Linic, in reality this means that state
officials' salaries will be 20 percent lower.
As regards the wage policy in state and public services, the
government believes they should remain at this year's level, i.e.
be frozen, and that there should be no holiday cash grants and
Christmas bonuses. This will be formally implemented through a
decision under which all collective agreements with state and
public services unions, expiring at the end of this year, will cease
to be valid and a procedure of termination of all agreements which
are valid for coming years will start.
The government decided that it would form a special group which
would be entrusted with the task of establishing a platform for
talks with unions and the salary policy in the coming three years.
One of the government's offers to its social partners is talks on a
three-year salary policy agreement, Premier Ivica Racan said.
During the talks, the sides would discuss why salaries in 2001 are
being reduced and how they could grow in 2002 and 2003, he added.
The government today also adopted a conclusion binding the managing
and supervisory boards of companies which have the state as a
majority or sole owner to keep salaries for next year at this year's
level and not to pay holiday cash grants and Christmas bonuses.
The companies are also obliged to cut their administrative and non-
production staff by 10 percent, outline economising programmes and
conclude managerial contracts only with the members of their
management boards.
(hina) rml