Croatian unions accuse govt of ignoring poor amid rising prices

ZAGREB (AFP) — Croatian trade unions are accusing the government of adopting measures that have only benefited the rich in response to an economic crisis resulting from soaring oil and food prices.

After being stable at around three percent since 2004, Croatia's inflation rate stood at 6.4 percent in May, according to the statistics bureau.

That is expected to worsen in the coming months with electricity costs due to be hiked 20 percent at the end of July, adding to strains caused by a similar rise in petrol (gasoline) prices since the start of the year.

"The increase in prices was expected but its consequences are not the same in rich European countries and Croatia," the head of one of the country's biggest trade unions, Kresimir Sever, told AFP.

"Average prices of goods and services in Croatia have reached some 80 percent that of average prices in ...