UNIONS DISSATISFIED WITH NEW LAW ON REPRESENTATION IN TRIPARTITE BODIES

ZAGREB, Feb 8 (Hina) - The secretary general of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH) on Monday said the future work of the Economic Social Council (GSV) was uncertain in the wake of a law parliament adopted on Friday. The law in question stipulates ways of determining the representation level of trade unions in tripartite bodies on the national level. The GSV is a body in which representatives of the government, trade unions, and employers harmonise interests. The body's mandate has expired and the new law should regulate the representation of trade unions. According to the SSSH, the new law is inconsistent, and its main purpose is to cause new conflicts on the trade union scene. "For incomprehensible reasons, the parliamentary majority decided to abandon the text of the law adjusted with most trade unions and adopted an amendment which discredits the method of determining the representation of unions and enables the manipulation of minority unions," SSSH secretary general Vitomir Begovic said. He believed it would be logical for major union groups to share seats in tripartite bodies, such as the GSV, according to the number of members, and not to have minority unions seek the opinion of all employed according to the model of political and not social choices. The Association of Workers' Unions of Croatia (URSH) will request the Constitutional Court to evaluate the constitutionality of the new law, URSH president Boris Kunst said. He added the URSH was willing to participate in determining the representation level, to see whether it meets all criteria. (hina) ha mm