Unions are withdrawing from negotiations with the Government regarding amendments to the Labour Law (ZOR) due to an inappropriate statement by Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, and they have so far gathered one third of the necessary signatures for calling a referendum against the amendments to the ZOR, union leaders stated at today’s press conference.
Prime Minister Kosor’s statement at yesterday's Government session that an agreement between the Government and the unions on the amendments to the ZOR could be reached as early as today is a "marketing trick" aimed at sending a message to citizens that they no longer need to participate in collecting signatures for the referendum, union representatives asserted. Since Wednesday, when the action began, approximately 150,000 signatures have been collected, which is one third of the 449,506 required signatures, and the unions are confident that for the first time since the referendum on Croatian independence, they will manage to secure sufficient support from citizens for calling a referendum. (H)
