MINISTERS INVITE SCHOOL UNIONS TO SIGN WAGE AGREEMENT

( Editorial: --> 2412 ) ZAGREB, June 19 (Hina) - Finance Minister Borislav Skegro and Labour and Social Care Minister Joso Skara on Friday called on school unions to join an agreement on wages, which the Croatian Government and majority of unions signed in December last year. Skegro and Skara called on unions to sign the collective agreement and open discussions with the Government for the next period. The two ministers addressed the Croatian National Parliament's House of Representatives during a debate on the situation in the school system. In December 1997 the wage agreement was signed by the Government and 12 of Croatia's 14 unions, recalled Skegro. It was not signed by the two unions which have organised the current strike. The agreement only refers to the signatories and the Government has violated that agreement by paying the agreed wage increases to members of the remaining two unions, Skegro said. Those unions are not in conflict with the Government but with all the unions which signed the agreement, Skegro added. "This time money is not in question, the Croatian state budget can bear that easily, but everything else is in question. If agreements will be signed and then violated then there will be dissatisfied people at St Mark's Square (the Government seat) everyday," said Skegro. The aim of the Government is to balance wages in all public services with those in production industries, said Skara. He expressed the Government's readiness to discuss all problems in peace in consultations for the next year, including wage increases. (hina) jn bag/rml 191518 MET jun 98