TRADE UNIONS' FEDERATION TO LAUNCH CAMPAIGN FOR MINIMUM WAGE

ZAGREB, Dec 1 (Hina) - The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH) will launch a campaign for a minimum wage which will be sufficient for normal living, SSSH president Davor Juric told reporters on Wednesday. The current net minimum wage of 1,146 kuna covers only the basic costs of living through eight days. A normal minimum wage should prevent workers and their families from falling below the poverty line, Juric said. The SSSH has not decided yet about the amount of such a wage, because its amount can vary from region to region. If 60 per cent of the average state salary is taken as the minimum, the minimum wage would amount to net 1,838 kuna, and today one fourth of all workers in Croatia do not have such a wage, Juric said. The SSSH president reacted strongly to recent statements by Labour and Welfare Minister Joso Skara who said the SSSH, by signing a pre- election agreement with 'Opposition Six' parties, had lost its independence and had become politically engaged to the benefit of parties which were using unions for manipulating workers for political purposes. Instead of reporting against the SSSH to the Croatian public and his colleagues in the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Skara had better start working on fulfilling his promise about 30,000 new jobs being created in Croatia by the end of this year, Juric said, adding Croatia would soon reach the figure of some 350,000 unemployed. Juric said the Government was blocking the tripartite operation of the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute and social welfare was being paid with a three-month delay. The SSSH president also objected that Skara was not fulfilling his duties as the president of the Economic-Social Council. (hina) mm rml