The Serbian Government said on Wednesday that an agreement was reached with the Serbian Post Office’s workers who have been on strike for weeks now, however, the workers deny this and have confirmed that the strike will go on.
According to the Serbian Government, an agreement was signed with the trade union representatives of the employees on strike according to which salaries will increase immediately by 10 percent and by another 10 percent starting January 1, 2024, with an additional one-off payment of 20,000 dinars by November 25 at the latest. The government added that all administrative employees, except for the management, would get a 10 percent pay rise starting next year and that there would be no sanctions for employees provided they stop the protest by noon on Thursday.
The Government added that the agreement was signed by Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and trade union representatives.
Postal workers: Not true, there is no agreement
Postman Stefan Mitrovic has refuted the Government’s claims and said that the meeting with the Prime Minister was attended by the “so-called representative trade unions,” that is, by representatives of three out of the total of six trade unions in the Serbian Post Office.
“We are not going to stop the strike because we are not represented by these trade unions, especially not by those trade unions who have never been guided by the well-being of workers, but rather by their selfish interests,” said Mitrovic.
“This is a self-organized work stoppage and we are not represented by any trade union. We do not want to talk behind closed doors. Workers have had negative experiences with such negotiations since 2019 and they don’t want anyone to be compromised or intimidated,” Mitrovic explained.
This is a labour struggle, he went on to say, adding that “what they are offering is far from what we have asked for.”
(Danas, 16.11.2023)
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