The European Union does not need countries with a high rate of absolute poverty, i.e. have a significant portion of the population who cannot meet even the basic needs of life, as the Union sees these countries as an additional burden, said Ivan Sekulović from the Centre for Democracy Foundation.
“Today, every fourth person in Serbia lives at risk of poverty, but the authorities do not want to see the real social picture of society and have been postponing the introduction of the social card system or similar solutions for years,” Sekulović told the Nezavisnost union portal.
He added that the latest Annual Report of the European Commission (EC), in the part on Chapter 19, dedicated to social policy and employment, it states that Serbia still has a lot of work to do.
Sekulović, who was a member of the accession negotiation group for Chapter 19, said that the biggest strides should be accomplished labour law, but also in employment policy, improving social dialogue, safety, work health and safety and social protection.
Discover the most important foreign investments in Serbia in 2019: click here!
He also said that “perhaps the most difficult situation is in the segment of inspection because the number of inspectors is decreasing, instead of increasing.”
Sekulović went on to say that the labour legislation of Serbia is only partially harmonized with the EU Acquis and in order to do so, Serbia should pass a law on strike, new laws on labour and work health and safety, as well as to harmonize the Law on Inspections with the conventions of the International Labor Organization.
“According to the relevant Action Plan, the Labour Law should be harmonized with 14 EU directives, but in reality, the number is even higher. The drafting of the Action Plan took four years, and in the meantime, some new directives have been adopted, such as the work-life balance. which is not included in the original plan “, stated Sekulović.
In that context, he said, the EU is a ‘moving target’, and similarly, the International Labor Organization is constantly improving its standards. Last year, a convention on violence and harassment at work was adopted, and Serbia has not yet ratified the very relevant International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
According to Sekulović, it will be especially difficult to harmonize different interests when the amendments to the Labour Law are drafted. This law, as a systemic law, will certainly have to be the main subject of harmonization with the EU regulation.
(N1, 21.10.2020)
This post is also available in: Italiano