The leader of the federation of public sector trade unions, Vilim Ribic, on Monday called on the government to introduce taxes on banks instead of "transferring the financial burden of the crisis again to citizens".
Otherwise, the Croatian society will be further radicalised, Ribic told a news conference in Zagreb.
If Croatia is a democracy caring for the economic interests of a majority of its citizens and not only for the rich minority, banks must be taxed, as during the recession they made a profit as high as HRK 5 billion annually, accounting for two thirds of the entire profit of the whole Croatian economy, the union leader said.
For instance, last year bank managers and executives got a total HRK 30 million in bonuses, banks' assets rose by 5.38 percent and the average gross salary of HRK 12,700 a month is the highest in comparison to other sectors, he said.
"This is an evident class conflict between labour and capital," the unionist said, noting that in time of crisis taxes were levied on banks in Hungary and Great Britain and that such moves could be expected in France and Germany next year.
He called on the government and National Bank (HNB) Governor Zeljko Rohatinski to find mechanisms to prevent any possible transfer of commercial banks' capital from Croatia abroad or an increase in interest rates on loans granted to households.
Ribic announced a unanimous position of union federations on this matter.
