Leaders of five trade union centers at a joint press conference called the Government’s proposal for the Labor Law shameful and unacceptable. They announced that they would start collecting signatures for a referendum against the amendments to the Labor Law on June 9, which, according to the unions, destroy the system of collective agreements.
The unions are calling on opposition parties and non-governmental organizations to help them collect the required number of signatures within the legal deadline of 15 days, ten percent of the total number of voters, in order to force the authorities to withdraw the amendments to the Labor Law that limit the application of rights from collective agreements to six months after the expiration of collective agreements. The trade union centers will also hold a General Trade Union Assembly on June 14, where they will determine their demands and goals and develop the necessary activities to prevent the dismantling of the social state being prepared by the government and employers. Trade union leaders have told Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor that they will only respond to a meeting with her and the continuation of social dialogue if she withdraws the proposal for amendments to the Labor Law. (www.hrt.hr)
