ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL TO CONSIDER UNION DEMANDS

ZAGREB, 17 Oct (Hina) - Representatives of six trade union associations and our branch unions, who recently established the Croatian Trade Union Bloc (HSB), on Friday arrived unannounced at the Croatian Government building in Zagreb, demanding to meet Premier Zlatko Matesa. They said that the Premier had not responded to their earlier two requests to meet him. The HSB wants to discuss with Premier Matesa the introduction of value added tax, and two bills - a bill on pension insurance and a bill on peaceful gathering and public protest. The HSB representatives were addressed by Labour and Social Care Minister Joso Skara, who said that the Premier was busy, so offered to talk to them himself. However, the HSB representatives rejected his offer, demanding to see at least the vice premier in charge of economic issues. Skara said that the Economic and Social Council (GSV), which includes representatives of the Government, unions and employers' unions, was the right place to discuss the unions' problems, as the Premier himself wanted to solve those problems through tripartite cooperation among social partners. For this reason, the next session of the GSV, scheduled for 22 October, would at Matesa's initiative deal with the unions' questions, Skara said. If a serious discussion on their requests did not take place soon, the unions would gather, in much greater number, in front of the Government building on 23 October, the day of a regular Government session, the HSB representatives said. On Friday, the Croatian Government issued a statement confirming that a session of the GSV had been scheduled for 22 October. The GSV president had been requested by Minister Skara to hold a session on 13 October, before the HSB issued its requests, the Government statement said. Stressing that it was not jeopardising the legitimacy of freedom of union activities, the Government regretted that some social partners started ignoring the GSV's role and importance at the very beginning of its work. "The development of institutional forms of social dialogue and tripartite relations in the Republic of Croatia calls for more subtle contributions from every social partner, respect of mutual interests, jurisdiction, obligations and available means," the Government statement said. (hina) jn rm 171829 MET oct 97