Unions says gov't using tricks to avoid base pay increase

ZAGREB, Dec 4 (Hina) - The leader of the Independent Science and Higher Education Union, Vilim Ribic, and the leader of the Croatian Union of Government Employees, Boris Plesa, said on Friday that the unofficial information from the national statistical office, under which the average GDP growth rate in the last two quarters was 1.99948%, which was below the 2% growth required to activate an agreement between the government and trade unions on a 6% increase in the basic salary, was a trick the government was using to avoid fulfilling its obligation to public and government employees.