The Social Council for Transport, which involves the trade unions and employers of transport workers, on Tuesday urged the government to give up its plan to lease the motorways by July 15, or they would start collecting signatures for a referendum on the matter.
The monetisation of the motorways effectively means the sale of the Croatian Motorways (HAC) company and the Rijeka-Zagreb Motorway (ARZ) operator to service the debt in the short term and score pre-election points, the Council said.
It proposed that the debts maturing in the coming years should be repaid by selling the two companies' shares or by rescheduling their debts with the aid of a long-term loan.
Last week the government gave its approval for the monetisation of the motorways whereby they would be leased for a period of between 30 and 50 years to a strategic investor who would maintain them and collect tolls.
President Ivo Josipovic said that the government made its decision out of necessity to repay the debts.
