Stipic told reporters it was encouraging that unions were included in a discussion of the privatisation of some school services, saying the unions should work together and oppose possible harmful government decisions if necessary.
He said outsourcing could result in economies if there were too many employees and they were substantially paid, but added that this was not so in Croatian schools.
Outsourcing would affect about 10,000 employees, including about 700 cleaners. The net salary of a cleaner with 21 years of service is HRK 3,180 and if they were paid a minimum wage, the annual saving would not exceed HRK 80 million.
Stipic said it was not possible to significantly reduce the number of employees through outsourcing without undermining school cleaning and maintenance standards. He added that the salaries of about 1,000 secretaries and accountants were already among the lowest in the public sector.
Stipic said there were no analyses of the impact of outsourcing and that it was doubtful whether private companies were interested in the jobs in question.
Unions must take a more active part in the announced privatisation of school services, he said, adding that they had held two meetings with Labour Minister Mirando Mrsic in September.
(EUR 1 = HRK 7.5)