Zagreb, 19 November 2009 - The only trade union confederation not participating in the protest is Matica (Association of Croatian Public Service Unions), whose deputy president Mr. Vilim Ribić said in public that Croatia has far bigger problems than the Act on Labour and that we should not waste our energy and time on demonstrating for Act on Labour!

UATUC reacted on this statement with a press release signed by its president Ana Knežević and vice-president Mr. Ivan Tomac. “It is his right not to participate. However it is not his right to disqualify the efforts of the other trade unions to finally get the Act on Labour which will balance the interest of labour and capital, prevent the exploitation of workers and abuses of legislative institutes to the detriment of workers, which we are witnessing day after day”. (…) “Good, civilized and balanced Act on Labour is a key workers’ interest and at the time when the Parliament is discussing the Act on Labour, for us there is no issue more important than that.” The UATUC criticizes Ribić for being the only trade union leader who has never, through concrete actions, supported a desperate fight of industrial workers, defending always the position that the interests of public sector workers are contrary to industry and services workers! This destroys trade union unity, weakens the trade union movement and is contrary to the general interest of all workers. “It’s high time that we understand that we are in these turbulent times of neoliberal attacks on workers’ rights and dignity together”, concluded the UATUC press release.