'NAMA' EMPLOYEES STAGE ANOTHER PROTEST IN ZAGREB

ZAGREB, Dec 2 (Hina) - Several thousand employees with Croatia's largest chain of department stores, "Nama", and trade unions gathered on Thursday morning in front of a "Nama" building in Zagreb's central Ban Jelacic Square, protesting against the unpaid wages and demanding the beginning of the financial reorganisation of their company. Although they had initially announced that they would stage a protest in front of the Government's building in St. Mark's Square, the protesters headed towards the Croatian Privatisation Fund building to demand the payment of wages, the beginning of the financial reorganisation, the shutting out of the Privredna Banka from the creditor relations with Nama and the awarding of the rehabilitation task to "Ernst and Young" company. A workers' delegation is expected to meet representatives of the Privatisation Fund, which has been the majority owner of "Nama" since privatisation-investment funds returned shares to the state following the process of voucher privatisation. The unionists believe the financial reorganisation of Nama should be financed by the state, as had been done in the case of the Dubrovacka Banka. The total debt of Nama to the Privredna Banka Zagreb amounts to 260 million kuna (DM65 million). The Croatian Privatisation Fund yesterday made a payment sufficient for half the salaries of more than 2,000 Nama workers. The unions had announced they would not stage another protest if the Fund made a payment which would cover the whole September wage. (hina) rml