Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor suggested that a joint task force next week start preparing a new law on salaries, which should be completed by the end of June at the latest, the government's public relations office said in a statement.
The Finance Ministry will prepare a projection of funds which are needed this year for salaries in public and state services, based on the planned budget and a three-percent pay rise. Specific indicators will be presented at the next meeting of the negotiating teams.
Union representatives pointed to discrepancies in the salaries of employees in state and public services who perform the same kind of work.
They suggested continuing talks on changes to a decree on the names of workplaces and job complexity levels in the state administration, the government said in the statement.
Unionists, too, issued a statement saying that the government was insisting on unsubstantial talks, which was why they would continue with preparations for a strike, to be held in February.
The head of the union negotiating team, Ivica Ihas, said that the rise in the salary base had only deepened the salary gap between public and civil servants.
The unions still insist on a permanent monthly bonus as a temporary measure to bridge the salary gap until the salaries of all budgetary users are harmonised, or on redefining coefficients in line with a 2005 proposal by a joint task force.