Trade union federations wrote a letter to Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor on Tuesday, proposing to meet to find a solution to a petition for a referendum on amendments to labour legislation, which was signed by 717,000 people.
The proposal came "after the right of Croatian citizens to hold a referendum was obstructed by decisions of institutions of the political and legal system," the letter said.
It is necessary to urgently find a way of respecting the will of 717,000 people who petitioned for the referendum, the unions said, calling for the urgent amending of regulations on the right to a referendum.
The unions said that the inconsistencies of political and legal institutions posed a risk to the stability of democracy in Croatia, stressing that they wanted the problem to be dealt with within the political system in order to restore the dignity of the people and the credibility of the institutions.
The unions said they had no destructive intentions, which had been ascribed to them by officials from the ruling party, but stressed that unless the problem was resolved institutionally they would fight, together with citizens, for their "right to direct democracy".
