RIZ workers gather outside government offices in Zagreb to demand ESOP

Over 150 workers of the radio broadcasting equipment manufacturer RIZ Transmitters gathered outside the government offices in Zagreb's St Mark's Square on Tuesday morning seeking an audience with government officials to present their demands for an Employee Stock Ownership Plan and for the appointment of Management and Supervisory Board members from within the company rather than politically suitable people.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the government, open your windows to hear the voice of the people," the leader of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions, Mladen Novosel, said, adding that the RIZ workers wanted the same chance as had been given to the Uljanik shipyard -- employee stock ownership.

"We will persist in our demands. The future of RIZ lies in its own specialists. We don't want politically suitable people being appointed to the Management and Supervisory Boards," said Marina Glokevic of the Croatian Metal Workers' Union, which organised the protest rally. "Behind all these moves are the personal interests of individuals who want to force a good company into bankruptcy so they can get hold of an attractive piece of land for the construction of a business and residential complex," she added.

The protest of RIZ workers in St Mark's Square was the first one since the entry into force of the amended Public Assembly Act which, after seven years of ban, again allows public protests in the square that is home to the Government, Parliament and Constitutional Court buildings. (Hina)