NAMA STRIKE COMMITTEE CALLS ON WORKERS TO JOIN IN HUNGER STRIKE

ZAGREB, April 30 (Hina) - The strike committee of the workers' union of NAMA, one of Croatia's major store chains, on Friday called on NAMA employees to begin a hunger strike as of Monday, 8am, in front of the offices of the Privredna Bank Zagreb (PBZ) in Zagreb, Sisak and Bjelovar, towns in which NAMA has its stores. The nine-member strike committee is on a hunger strike for the fourth day Friday in front of PBZ offices in Zagreb, requesting NAMA's rehabilitation and rescheduling of its debt to the PBZ. At Friday's news conference, Dragica Petrinjak said the invitation to the hunger strike was caused by the fact that the PBZ had advertised on Wednesday to sell NAMA's stores, but had not confirmed the rescheduling of NAMA's debts. Petrinjak called on NAMA employees to form nine-member strike committees to hold a hunger strike in front of PBZ offices, as a larger number of committee members would be considered as a public rally, which would then necessitate a permit from the Interior Ministry. The committee also called on members of the Croatian Association of Unions to give their support to the strikers with a peaceful protest walk beside the locations where the NAMA employees would strike. A meeting is scheduled for Monday of Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa with PBZ officials, representatives of NAMA employees and two privatisation investment funds, to find a solution for NAMA to continue functioning. The strike committee will, depending on the results of the meeting, discontinue or intensify its actions, a committee member said. (hina) lml