GOVT DECISION ON SALARY POLICY IN 1996 SHOULD BE REVOKED, TRADE UN

UN $ ION FEDERATIONS SAY ZAGREB, Jan 14 (Hina) - At today's meeting of Croatian trade union federations which tackled the latest Decision of the Croatian Government on Instructions for Salary Policy in 1996, which froze the growth of salaries, the Association of Independent Croatian Trade Unions (SSSH), the Association of Croatian Trade Unions (HUS), the Confederation of Independent Croatian Trade Unions, the Coordination of Croatian Trade Unions of Public Workers and the Council of Croatian Public Workers' Unions issued a statement. The trade unions hold that the Government Decision on the Salary Policy in 1996 was 'dangerous and detrimental to all Croatian workers and their families, as well as to the Croatian state'. According to the statement, the Government Decision was the Government's bureaucratic meddling in market economy and the hardest violation of the right of trade unions to wage autonomy and regulation of salaries by collective agreements. The Croatian trade union federations 'jointly demand from the Government of the Republic of Croatia to immediately withdraw its Decision on Instructions for Salary Policy in 1996'. The Croatian trade unions also demanded that the lowest basic salary of workers in economy and public companies be increased to at least 1100 kunas and that a more just taxation of salaries be introduced. The unions also demanded that the non-taxable part of the salary be increased from 700 to 1100 kunas and that salaries and all rights of workers be regulated by collective agreements and not by various government decisions and decrees, the statement of the five Croatian trade unions said. The Croatian trade unions were ready to use means of open trade union fight in order to protect endangered rights of Croatian workers, the statement concluded. (hina) rm 141823 MET jan 96