The leader of the Croatian Trade Union Federation (HUS), Ozren Matijasevic, on Tuesday supported President Ivo Josipovic's proposal that the parliament adopt a declaration regarding a referendum against government-sponsored changes to the Labour Act based on signatures collected by trade union federations, dismissing Parliament Deputy Speaker Vladimir Seks's proposal that the Constitutional Court decide on the referendum issue.
"President Josipovic's proposal for the adoption of a parliamentary declaration on the referendum on changes to the Labour Act is sensible and I accept it," Matijasevic told reporters, saying that the next meeting between the trade unions and the government should also be attended by President Josipovic.
Commenting on Seks's proposal that the Constitutional Court decide on the referendum issue, Matijasevic said that such a decision was unnecessary since the parliament was in charge of making such a decision if 10 percent of the electorate sign a petition for calling a referendum.
Sending the referendum issue to the Constitutional Court is an attempt to prevent the referendum, he added.
The union leader also spoke of a meeting with government officials on Monday which focused on measures to be taken to save 2,000 jobs in five companies in Split-Dalmatia County - Adriachem, Trimot, Autoprijevoz Sinj and the RLE shipyard in Vranjic.
It was agreed that in the next 20 days business viability plans be made for the companies, otherwise some of them will go bankrupt, said Matijasevic.
He also said that he would sue Jutarnji List daily for falsely reporting that lately he had met three times with former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader.
