The Committee decided that it would postpone the final decision on the matter because some "disputable issues of a constitutional and legal nature have cropped up", according to Emil Tomljanovic of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).

The chairman of the 13-member Committee, Vladimir Seks, said the meeting would resume "in a foreseeable time". In attendance at today's debate were six members of the ruling coalition and six members from the Opposition ranks, plus external members.

During the discussion, HDZ deputies insisted that the need to hold the referendum ceased to exist after the government withdrew its amendments to the ZOR.

"Now that the amendments have been withdrawn, the government and trade unions can reach an agreement, and the HRK 170 million allocated for the possible referendum should be invested in the economy," said HDZ MP Josip Salapic.

Ana Lovrin of the HDZ recalled that trade union federations themselves had claimed that they would abandon their plans for the referendum if they reached an agreement with the government.

Opposition deputies, however, hold that the withdrawal of the amendments has nothing to do with the organisation of the referendum.

"The government's move is not relevant. The signatures represent the will and property of the citizens and not of trade unions or political parties," said Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Zoran Milanovic.

Vesna Pusic of the Croatian People's Party (HNS) believes that the referendum should be held and that the mentioning of its cost is demagogy.

"This parliament and all elections cost. Consequently, such an interpretation can lead to the suspension of democracy, as dictatorship is always cheaper at its beginning," the HNS parliamentarian said.

Constitution experts, who are external members of the Committee, were divided on the issue.

Robert Podolnjak and Ivan Kopric believe that the withdrawal of the amendments cannot be the reason for quitting plans for the referendum, which they describe as mandatory.

"Citizens have collected more than 10 percent of signatures. The Constitutional Court has not established that the referendum question is in contravention of the Constitution, and the existing legislation and the Constitution treat this referendum as an imperative commitment," Podolnjak said.

On the other hand, Branko Smerdel said that by withdrawing its amendments the government had tacitly approved the trade unions' initiative and decided that entitlements stemming from collective agreements would not be changed, thus respecting the political weight of the collected signatures.

Earlier on Monday, the Committee unanimously concluded that trade unions had collected the sufficient number of signatures for the planned referendum on government-sponsored amendments to labour legislation.

The committee established that the organising committee had collected 717,149 signatures of voters, or 15.5 per cent of the electorate. A referendum may be called if so requested by 10 per cent of the electorate.

The unions collected signatures of 809,378 people, of whom 92,220 were found not to have voter status and therefore should not have signed the petition, Administration Minister Davorin Mlakar said.

Later in the day, trade union leader Ozren Matijasevic said that the postponement of the final decision on the referendum was proof of politicians' avoidance of making tough decisions.

He welcomed the Committee's decision to confirm the verification of the necessary signatures.