THREE HPT UNIONS ANNOUNCE GENERAL STRIKE FOR SEPTEMBER

( Editorial: --> 7832 ) ZAGREB, July 15 (Hina) - Three of four Croatian Post and Telecommunications (HPT) trade unions on Wednesday announced a general strike in September unless their demands for the redistribution of salary money were complied with. The unions proposed that incentives be included in the basic salary, which would increase basic salaries for 13 to 17 per cent. The leaders of the Croatian Union of Post and Telecommunications (HSPT), the Coordination of Unions at the HPT (KS HPT) and the State Union of HPT Workers (RSR HPT), which include the highest number of HPT employees, are willing to continue negotiating with the Government, but only if the Government agrees to the demand for including incentives in the basic salary. According to HSPT's Josip Pupic, negotiations with the Government have not made any progress following a July 10 strike of warning. The president of the RSR HPT Jadranko Vehar said that if incentives were not included in the basic salary, Croatian Post employees would, following the division of HPT into Croatian Post and Croatian Telecommunications, most probably receive lower salaries than up to now. The current average salary at HPT is US$475 including incentives, and US$432 without incentives. (hina) ha jn 151727 MET jul 98