Teachers' Union Gives Government 15 Days To Meet Demands

Teachers' protest, Belgrade, May 16 2024 (BETAPHOTO/MILAN ILIC)

Union of Serbian Educational Worker Syndicates president Dobrivoje Marjanovic said on Sept. 19 that a strike on Sept. 16 was the biggest strike by educational workers since 2000 and that the government had 10 to 15 days to call them and respond to their demands.

"If there is no agreement, after that we will all come to Belgrade. We will demonstrate how educational workers in all of Serbia feel. If we do not reach an agreement by the time of the adoption of a budget for next year we will no longer suspend classes in schools for a day, but will continuously halt work until our demands are met," Marjanovic said in an interview with the NIN weekly.

Commenting on claims that the strike was illegal, he said that it was true that "we do not have the right to suspend work according to the Law on Strikes" but pointed out that the law was not in accordance with European standards because schools "are declared as institutions of special public interest." "They just will not change this. We are aware of that, but they are not honoring the agreements that we have reached, they are not respecting their signature, hence the only form of battle is completely stopping work and people are ready to do that," Marjanovic said.