Mrsic would not comment on employers' and unions' positions in the negotiations on Labour Act amendments so far, saying Croatian Employers' Association official Ivan Miloloza had denied a statement that employers demanded that weekends and holidays be included in the annual leave.
Labour Act amendments are necessary because the law must correspond to the current situation and state of the economy, while also projecting workers, who are the weakest link, and enable a restructuring of the economy, said the minister.
He recalled that the first stage of the amendments was nearly over because all three social partners had agreed on them. They will now be sent to the European Commission and then to the Croatian government and parliament, so they can be adopted by the end of March, he said.
Part of the amendments refers to alignment with EU directives and the rest to fixed-term work, overtime, temporary work, and collective layoffs.
Mrsic said the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (HOK) would be included in the second stage of the amendments. HOK president Dragutin Ranogajec said business owners were employers, so their demands would be similar.
Asked by the press about the number of the jobless, currently at 373,441, Mrsic said seasonal employment would begin soon, so the number of the jobless would start declining, although this would not represent a lasting decline in unemployment.
Unemployment will decline significantly when GDP growth exceeds two per cent, he said.