GOVT REJECTS UNIONS', EMPLOYERS' PROPOSAL ON TEMPORARY BUDGET

ZAGREB, Dec 16 (Hina) - The Croatian Government on Wednesday rejected a proposal put forward by employers and unions, calling for the postponement of the adoption of the 1999 budget and the adoption of a temporary budget for the first three months of the next year. The Croatian National Sabor will adopt the draft budget at the end of this week, said Finance Minister Borislav Skegro. At today's session of the Economic and Social Council (GSV), the Croatian Union of Employers (HUP) and industrial unions assessed the Government's budget proposal of US $7.7.billion as unrealistic. The GSV includes representatives of the Government, unions and employers. Unions' and employers' representatives proposed that a temporary budget, based on this year's budget, be adopted for the first three months of 1999. Before its revision, the 1998 budget amounted to 40 billion kuna (US$6.45 billion). The unions did not have a unanimous opinion of this proposal, which was rejected by the Union of Public Services' president Vilim Ribic who said that it would be detrimental to public servants. Minister Skegro said he would collect "more than 48 billion kuna" and called on employers to regularly pay taxes and contributions. The Government, unions and employers in the end managed to reach an agreement for the GSV to analyse the results of the state budget at the end of the first three-month period. (hina) jn rml