ZAGREB, Nov 27 (Hina) - Around 1,000 members of unions of public services staged a protest in Zagreb on Wednesday asking for a 58 percent rise in incomes. After the protest, the unionists attempted to approach the Croatian Parliament
building, but were prevented by the police. After talks between a three-member union delegation and Parliament President Vlatko Pavletic, the protest ended peacefully.
ZAGREB, Nov 27 (Hina) - Around 1,000 members of unions of public
services staged a protest in Zagreb on Wednesday asking for a 58
percent rise in incomes. After the protest, the unionists attempted
to approach the Croatian Parliament building, but were prevented by
the police. After talks between a three-member union delegation and
Parliament President Vlatko Pavletic, the protest ended peacefully.
#L#
The protest was organized by ten public services' unions that
gather employees whose incomes are on the state budget. The protest
was staged because the government did not negotiate with them prior
to adopting the draft state budget for 1997, although it was
obliged to do so under the Law on Salaries of Public Service
Employees and the Basic Collective Agreement.
Unions' representatives established at the protest that,
through its policy, the government had "devastated Croatian
education, science and culture" and asked that the Parliament not
put the adoption of the draft state budget for 1997 on the agenda
until they reach and agreement with the government about a new
basic salary.
After the protest ended, the group headed towards the
Parliament building, but the police prevented them from passing.
Parliament President Vlatko Pavletic received a three-member
delegation of unionists and warned them that they could not gather
in front of the Parliament building without permission from the
police. He told them to forward their requests through their
Parliament representatives.
President of the Science Union, Zvonimir Sikic, informed the
gathered unionists that the unions had begun negotiating with the
government about the basic salary.
The negotiations are to be continued on Thursday when talks
are to focus on ways to raise the basic salary to 56 percent of the
average salary in business in a year and a half, Sikic said.
According to the union suggestion, the basic salary would
increase for 15 percent after New Year's, then 10 percent in six
months, 15 percent from 1 January 1998 and in another six months,
10 percent. In a year and a half, with a six-percent tax relief,
the basic salary would increase 56 percent and would reach the
requested height.
(hina) lm
271414 MET nov 96