RIBIC DEFENDS RISE IN SALARIES OF PUBLIC SERVICE WORKERS

ZAGREB, Sept 30 (Hina) - A delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held talks with representatives of all five trade unions' federations and the Labour and Social Welfare on the salary policy in Croatia, particularly on an increase in salaries in public services, said Vilim Ribic, the head of the Council of Croatian Public Service Workers' Unions at Thursday's news conference. During yesterday's talks everybody, including unionists, agreed that salaries in Croatia are too small for needs of employees, but too high in relation to the development of the Gross National Product (GNP), Ribic told reporters. The IMF, however, stuck to the opinion that a too high rise in salaries was prompted by an agreement between the Government and public service workers' unions, under which wages rose by five percent in August and should rise by 12 percent in December. In this way, "a spiral of pressure" on other salaries was launched, particularly in the economy, IMF experts believe. I tried to explain them that an increase in salaries in the businesses has no connection with the rise in public services, as salaries in the economy rose from 13 to 17 percent at an annual rate during 1995 and 1996, while our salaries were frozen, Ribic added. The main problem is not how much public servants earn, but the Government's failure to establish parity between wages in economy and in public and state services, as well as a lack of control over salaries in public and state-owned companies such as the Croatian Television, the Croatian Power Industry (HEP) or the Oil Industry (INA), he added. What is most important is that unionists from businesses agreed with us that salaries of teachers, professors and scientists are not too high and that they cannot present a problem for the Croatian economy, Ribic told reporters. "Politics is the cause of all our economic problems, but it is not the salary policy, he said. (hina) ms