ALL BUT BIGGEST UNION FEDERATION TO MEET THURSDAY

ZAGREB, Dec 27 (Hina) - The head of Croatia's association of workers' trade unions (URSH) has convened a meeting of presidents of all union federations for Thursday, with the exception of the federation of independent trade unions (SSSH) to debate the government's relations with unions and its steps which froze salaries in the public and state sectors. Four union federations should take a joint position on the conduct of the government, and Prime Minister Ivica Racan in particular, as they, by favouring SSSH and ignoring the other federations, encourage the division of the union scene, URSH's Damir Kunst said on Thursday. He added SSSH president Davor Juric was not invited to the meeting because in recent statements he showed support to Racan's Social Democratic Party and his policy. According to Zdenko Mucnjak, president of the Croatian Association of Trade Unions, smaller union federations need to agree as to a joint approach to force the government to start acknowledging them. All five federations last joined in negotiations on amendments to the Labour Law, after which, according to Mucnjak, SSSH started its own policy. The remaining federations have to offer an alternative to the social dialogue between the government and SSSH, he said. Mucnjak believes the meeting should also address the government measures which he said practically froze salaries in the public and state sectors and were adopted only a couple of days after representatives of the ruling coalition met with SSSH leaders. The president of Independent Unions of Croatia, Kresimir Sever, who will not attend tomorrow's meeting owing to other obligations, said all five federations should take a joint position, inviting them to meet early next week. SSSH Vitomir Begovic also believes all federations should formulate a joint strategy with regard to the government's steps. He said a meeting without SSSH as the biggest union federation would be "utterly inappropriate." (hina) ha