CRO PUBLIC SERVICE UNIONS DEMAND PRIME MINISTER'S RESIGNATION

ZAGREB, Nov 26 (Hina) - Croatian public service unions on Tuesday demanded a resignation by Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa over the government's attitude towards education and research institutions. "Prime Minister Matesa has promised to us that he will negotiate a base for salaries of public service employees before the adoption of a 1997 budget and that he will incorportate the results of the negotiations into the budget, but he failed to do it," Vilim Ribic of the Union of Research Workers told a news conference in Zagreb. Besides, the prime minister had promised that the salaries of public service employees would be increased in early July, which failed to materialize, Ribic added. "Prime Minister Matesa is responsible that the collective contracts and agreements are not being observed," Ribic said. The president of the Union of Secondary Schools, Vesna Kanizaj, said that the government was investing funds into "the rehabilitation of public companies which it will sell cheaply" rather than into education and research projects. Public service unions announced a peaceful protest rally for Wednesday in Zagreb. (hina) vm mm 261310 MET nov 96