Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts Darko Horvat said on Thursday that claims that he had lied to workers at the Djuro Djakovic mechanical engineering group that they would be paid, were being made by those who manipulated the workers and added that Djuro Djakovic workers would be paid their late wage, just as he had announced.

Asked by reporters about claims that he had lied to workers at Djuro Djakovic when he said they would receive their outstanding wages, which is the reason why the workers have announced a protest rally outside Government House on Christmas Eve, Horvat said that “those claims are not being made by the workers,” but rather “by those who are manipulating the workers.”

“I stand behind every word that I said during my last visit to Djuro Djakovic and it will be just as I have announced. Workers will receive another wage, however, I do not wish to comment at the moment about what will happen with wages after that,” said Horvat, who attended the signing of a contract for the construction of two roads in the Kukuljanovo industrial zone.

“Djuro Djakovic workers have received the wage I promised them. About sixty workers at the Industrial Solutions section have not received their wage… we found a source for their wages too but the (company’s) account has been frozen due to unpaid severance packages, which has disrupted the dynamic a little,” added Horvat.

He said that the ministry was working on replacing the management board at the Special Vehicles plant and that after that restructuring would commence.

Asked whether there was fear that workers would stage a protest in Zagreb’s St. Mark’s Square, he said that there wasn’t any fear.

“That is totally unnecessary. The government is doing everything it can. The government is a minority owner, however, as in many other cases, it will once again take the burden and Djuro Djakovic will not go bankrupt,” said Horvat.

The SMH metal workers’ union and SSSH union federation on Thursday warned the government that the situation at Djuro Djakovic was alarming and called for an urgent meeting to set a date when the company would have a new management board and production would resume, otherwise workers would hold a protest rally outside Government House on Christmas Eve.

SSSH president Mladen Novosel said that the situation at Djuro Djakovic was similar to the one that had occurred in the now defunct Uljanik shipyard.

SMH leader Sinisa Kosic claimed that when Horvat visited workers in Slavonski Brod he was not under any pressure when he made his promises to workers yet he had not kept them.

We expect the prime minister to take the initiative otherwise workers will be in St. Mark’s Square on Christmas Eve, Kosic threatened.