CROATIA'S DEFENCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS SESSION

ZAGREB, Nov 29 (Hina) - Croatia's Defence and National Security Council met on Friday under the chairmanship of President Franjo Tudjman to discuss current political issues, the President's Office said in a statement. During a discussion on a strike by railway workers, the Council supported the Government's stance on rejecting unjustifiable demands by railway workers' unions, of which only one had stopped work in violation of the law. The demands of strike organizers were evaluated as unfounded because the Government had done its utmost within budgetary limits to improve the position of railway workers. It was emphasized that salaries of some of the strike organizers were fully financed from the contributions of union members, whose wages were ensured from the budget, and that they were even substantially higher than the salary of the Prime Minister. The Council welcomed the Government's willingness to continue negotiations with railway workers' unions but also to resolutely prevent any arbitrariness and other abuses of the right to strike which departed from the constitutional and legal framework. The Council supported in principle a draft budget proposed by the Government, stressing the need for increasing the incomes of pensioners, university professors, teachers and civil servants because of a great difference in salary growth in comparison to other sectors, the statement concluded. (hina) vm 291617 MET nov 96