CROATIAN CIVIL SERVANTS' UNION DEMANDS HIGHER SALARIES

ZAGREB, 12 Nov (Hina) - At a press conference held in Zagreb on Tuesday, the Union of Croatian Civil Servants and Employees announced the signing of a petition demanding higher salaries for 22 November. The Union demands that the basic salary be increased by 5% and that it be paid retrogradely as of 1 July 1996. The Union also demands the payment of bonuses for overtime work as well as for work on weekends and holidays. The Union President Ivica Ihas said that the signing of the petition was organised because the Union and Government failed to find a compromise solution for the problem. The Government, Ihas said, did not respect its commitments from the Collective Agreement for Civil Servants and Employees. Should the Government fail to meet the Union's demands by 27 November, the Union will organise a public rally in Zagreb on 3 December. If no results are achieved either by the petition or the rally, the Union will organise a one-day strike on 20 December in all bodies of state authority, except in police and army, where strikes are prohibited by the law, Ihas said. Some 33,000 persons are employed in the state bodies of authority, not including the army and police. (hina) rm jn 121643 MET nov 96