The Niš, Moj Grad (Niš, My City) citizens’ group has announced that on 8 July, its activists and local residents will block a roundabout in the industrial zone near the Yura factory. The demonstration is in response to poor working conditions, primarily sparked by reports that the air conditioning is not operating even during severe summer heatwaves.
“We demand that the management of the Yura Corporation, the Ministry of Labour, the Labour Inspectorate, and all competent institutions ensure normal working conditions and bring the air conditioning systems into service across all production halls within two days. Should this fail to happen, on 8 July, activists from the ‘Niš, Moj Grad’ coalition, alongside citizens and everyone who supports the fight for dignified working conditions, will organise a major protest and blockade the roundabout in the industrial zone near Yura, at the junction leading to the 9 Maj quarter and the motorway,” said Miodrag Stanković. Stanković is the co-president of Niš, Moj Grad” – an organisation bringing together 18 associations and movements – and the founder of the Southern Serbia Movement.
Stanković noted that in recent days, reports have surfaced once again showing that “despite the high temperatures and numerous warnings from staff, the air conditioning units in certain production halls are out of order, thereby jeopardising the health and safety of employees.”
“We will not allow workers in the 21st century to operate in conditions that put their health at risk. People are not machines. They have a right to safe working conditions, dignity, and the enforcement of the law. We expect an immediate response from the authorities. If none is forthcoming, citizens will show through their presence that they will not remain silent while workers’ health is compromised,” he stated.
He recalled that Niš, Moj Grad had previously raised the exact same issue publicly, demanding that workers be provided with basic conditions for dignified and safe labour.
“Regrettably, it appears that nothing has changed. Instead of elementary occupational health and safety standards being respected, workers continue to suffer the consequences of the employer’s irresponsible attitude,” Stanković said.
A group of workers from the Niš-based Yura factory recently told journalists that the plant resembles an overheated “labour camp” and that due to recent extreme temperatures, “the ambulance service has been called out frequently, or people have had to seek medical assistance after their shifts.” Some of them stated they had not contacted the labour inspectorate because they “no longer have any faith that the problem will be resolved,” adding that many remain silent “out of fear of disciplinary action or dismissal.”
Yura management, however, claimed that the climate control system is functioning and that working conditions in the halls are “fully compliant with the parameters prescribed by law.” According to them, during last month’s heatwave, the air temperature inside the production halls fluctuated between 23°C and 26°C.
Danas daily previously reported four years ago that workers had signed a petition demanding that the cooling systems be switched on.
At that time, workers claimed that the use of air conditioning was not permitted in the factory, even during a major heatwave when temperatures in the shade exceeded 35 degrees. “The climate control is not working, the halls are overheated, and we are forced to work in soaking wet T-shirts and shorts,” they said.
In a response provided to our media outlet back then, Yura’s management maintained that the air conditioning units were operational and regularly serviced, though they did “admit” that some were broken, promising that the faults would be “rectified as quickly as possible.”
(Danas, 02.07.2026)