Croatian Labour and Pension System Minister Mirando Mrsic said on Tuesday that, to be able to meet union demands, the government would have to lay off 17,000 public sector employees.
The minister called unions for negotiations and underlined that in case of a strike Croatia would not be blocked.
"The state will not be blocked because unions and employers have obligations under which duties have to be attended to even during strike," the minister told a news conference, following the announcement by public sector unions that a strike would be held on 5 June.
Eleven public-sector unions announced at a press conference in Zagreb on Tuesday that they would stage a strike on June 5 if no agreement was reached with the government within the next five days.
Commenting on the union demand that all allowances and benefits that had been either reduced or abolished be reinstalled, Linic said that a three percent gross salary cut amounts to some HRK 850 million per year.
"Three percent or HRK 850 million would mean that 9,000 public-sector employees would have to be laid off. Vacation allowances and Christmas bonuses for 2013 amount to approximately HRK 700 million, which means that another 7,000 workers would have to be laid off," Mrsic said adding that the government opted for preservation of jobs.
