Da li su sindikati u Srbiji zmaj od papira?
Are Unions in Serbia Paper Dragons?

Author(s): Aleksa Nešić
Subject(s): Politics, Labor relations, Present Times (2010 - today), Socio-Economic Research, Labour and Social Security Law
Published by: Durieux
Keywords: Privatisation; self management; economic reforms; unions; protests; general strike;
Summary/Abstract: The changes and additions to the Labour law of the Republic of Serbia in 2014 were a legal turnpoint regarding labour related rights in Serbia. The changes of the law that were adopted in 2014 have enabled easier lay off of workers and they had the general characteristics of neoliberal deregulation. The privatisation process in Serbia has been accelerated by the changes of the Labour law, enabling investors to hire and fi re workers much easier. In this study we shall take a look at the specifics of the socialist social organization of Yugoslavia and how did it influence the development of the privatisation process in Serbia and what was the role of unions in the period after the political turmoil of October the fifth 2000. and whether the unions defended the interests of the working class, with special focus on the case of the adoption of changes to the Labour law in 2014. The unions we will focus on are the largest, so called representative unions that have the leading role in the workers movement of Serbia. Through the example of union activities surrounding the period when the changes to the Labour law were adopted, and also through the analysis of the general activity of these unions we will try to reach an understanding of the methods these unions use and how do they affect the socioeconomic position of the working class in Serbia. It is important to emphasize that this is an area with extremely scarce sources for studying, especially regarding the events from 2014 and unfortunately there are almost no archive materials that would enable a concrete insight into the specific circumstances that surrounded the period around the adoption of the changes of the Labour law. This is why this study uses many media reports and other publicly available resources as it’s main source for informations about this topic.

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