INTERNATIONAL PANEL ON DEMOCRACY AND TRADE UNIONS IN MOSTAR

MOSTAR, Apr 13 (Hina) - An international panel on the economic position of Mostar and the role of trade unions in the development of democracy was held today in Mostar. The panel was organised under the auspices of the European Confederation of Trade Unions. The panel was attended by union leaders from Bosnia- Herzegovina, Croatia and France, as well as representatives of local authorities and the city's European Administration. The panel stressed the need for job creation and speeding up Mostar's economic development. Deputy Administrator Klaus Metscher stressed that "job creation was the most important prerequisite for the normalisation of the situation in Mostar." Didier Fay of the EU Administration Trade Department pinpointed Mostar's main problem as "mistrust between people." He also warned about the lack of professional people who had mostly left Mostar during the war. The panel called on the Bosnian Federal Government to give high priority to drawing up labour laws and collective agreements. (hina) as 131448 MET apr 96