COUNCIL OF CRO PUBLIC SERVICE WORKERS UNIONS, EMPLOYERS AGREE ON SALARY POLICY

ZAGREB, Sept 29 (Hina) - The Council of Croatian Public Service Workers Unions and the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) on Wednesday agreed on the principles of the salary policy. The principles will be submitted for adoption to the Economic and Social Council and presented to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation which is on a regular visit to Croatia, Council president Vilim Ribic and HUP director Zeljko Ivancevic told reporters today. Salaries in Croatia are increasing by far speedier than Gross National Product, so that in the first six months of this year the average salary increased by 11 per cent, while GNP decreased by 1.5 per cent. However, the cause of this is not salaries in public services such as the schooling system or science, but salaries in public or state-owned companies, Vilim Ribic believes. Salaries in public services will reach the level of the average salary only with a 12 per cent increase in December, which over the last few years was the main goal of the unions, and which has been built into the joint principles, said Ribic. According to these principles, salaries in public services should follow the salaries in economy, but also share their destiny, which means that the once defined relation between the salaries should reflect the development of GNP and the unemployment rate. Salaries in public and state companies can increase to the level of the increase of GNP at the most. The principles are also aimed at rectifying the abnormal practice in which salaries received by employees in local administration and self-government are often much higher than salaries in public and state services, whereas the tasks performed are the same, it was said at the conference. Salaries in local administration and self- government should be regulated within a single salary system for public and state services, Council and HUP officials agreed. "It is not true that the HUP is against the increase of salaries in public services, but it opposes the costly and inefficient state administration. The economy needs experts which is why society should help in the development of education and science also by adequately paying those services", said Ivancevic. "However, judging from some absurdities in the policy of salaries, there is a lack of social awareness and there is an even immoral attitude toward the general situation in the country", Ivancevic said. Following the elections and the probable appointment of a new government, the new government should state the real situation in the economy and reach an agreement with unions and employers on the need for a more balanced distribution of the burden of coming out the crisis, which should also apply to the salary policy, Ivancevic said. (hina) rml