Ana Knežević will be relieved of her duties as president of the Association of Independent Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH) at the Council meeting on June 7, and in her place, the union center will be led by the acting president until the Congress scheduled for the end of the year.
The Presidency of the SSSH Council made this decision at today’s meeting after the Statutory Commission unanimously concluded that Ana Knežević did not receive a vote of confidence at the last Council meeting because she did not obtain a majority of votes from the Council members, as announced by SSSH. The SSSH Council, to which Knežević offered her mandate, decided on the fate of its president at a meeting held on May 11, when in a secret ballot, 20 Council members voted for confidence, and 13 against.
Since the SSSH Council has 45 members, Ana Knežević needed 23 votes to remain at the head of the largest trade union center. However, due to differing interpretations of the application of SSSH acts, the final decision was left to the interpretation of the Statutory Commission. Knežević offered her mandate because she was conditionally sentenced to a one-year prison term with a three-year probation period by the Zagreb Municipal Court. The court decided that as president of the Trade Union of Croatia, she falsified official documents and, with their help, withdrew 25,000 kuna of union funds, which were not paid as assistance to union members whose names were written on the forms, but Knežević claimed she was not guilty and refused to resign.
