WORKERS IN TIMBER INDUSTRY WARN ABOUT BAD SITUATION IN THEIR FIRMS

ZAGREB, April 15 (Hina) - About 800 workers, members of the Independent Trade Union in Timber and Wood Industry (SPDIH), gathered after 09.00 am Thursday in front of the Workers' House, and at 10.30 am they began marching through Zagreb streets toward the square of the French Revolution (Trg Francuske Revolucije). In the square they are to stage a protest rally and warn about the difficulties in timber industry and plants for production of paper. Most of protesters (650) are from companies in the Pakrac area, western Slavonia, but the protest has also drawn employees of other Croatian timber processing and woodworking plants. The trade union previously planned to organise the rally in the Mark's Square (near buildings of the Government and the national parliament), but the police did not grant authorisation for it, the union's leader, Franjo Janes said. According to the union, the timber industry in Croatia has become totally impoverished, and there is fear it may disappear from the Croatian economy. Unionists said it would be impermissible, since timber processing and woodworking plants employed more than two percent of the Croatian population and one worker in this industry opened jobs for another two workers in supporting industries. Janes said the bad situation in the timber industry had been caused by unsettled relations between producers and the Croatian Fosters (Hrvatske Sume) company, high costs in the production and incorrect macroeconomic policy of the Government. (hina) ms