Zagreb - Members of the Croatian parliament on Thursday mainly supported the bill on the transfer of 35 state-owned properties to trade unions and the Trade Union Real Estate Fund, but wondered why it has taken 27 years to solve this issue.
Addressing the Sabor, Construction and State Assets Minister Branko Bačić said that this had taken so long because trade unions had not signed the agreement to transfer the properties in question to their ownership nor had the Sabor adopted criteria for the transfer and registration of ownership.
The properties with a clear record of ownership will be transferred to trade union federations, and of the 35 properties, 21 are without clear asset ownership tracking and will be transferred to the Trade Union Real Estate Fund, according to Bačić.
In mid-September, the government sent to parliament the draft bill on the transfer of 35 properties currently in temporary state ownership to trade unions and the future Trade Union Real Estate Fund, addressing a contentious issue dating back to 1997.
The bill provides for the establishment of the Trade Union Real Estate Fund based on the agreement the unions reached in 2010.
After inspections and several rounds of consultations, an agreement was reached regarding the 35 properties deemed suitable for return to the unions, which have been clearly identified as belonging to specific union federations, Bačić said at the time.
According to the 2010 agreement, the SSSH trade union federation will acquire a 32.58% ownership share, the NHS federation 29.97%, the MSH federation 22.49%, the HUS federation 9.8%, and the URS federation 5.16%.