Students, Unions to Hold Protest in Front of Gov’t on May 1

Serbian government building (Beta/Nenad Petrovic)

The protesting students who have occupied their university schools and five national trade unions will mark six months since the collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad railway station in a protest in front of the Serbian government headquarters on May 1, Labor Day.

An April 26 post on the Students in Blockade Instagram account reads that the student "struggle enters a new stage" on May 1, which is described as "a day of solidarity and shared struggle." "We no longer stand only in blockades. This is a step toward radicalization that will allow for new forms of pressure," the statement reads. It goes on to sat that the Law on Strikes and Labor Act are the "foundations of a system of exploitation" and must be changed.

A press release signed by the "Sloga" United Unions of Serbia, the Alliance of Independent Unions of Serbia, the Independence United Union Branches, the Association of Free and Independent Unions and the Confederation of Free Unions states that the protest represents "a continuation of joint efforts launched at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade on March 22, when protesting students and the representatives of five union centers in Serbia signed an agreement on cooperation.

"The crisis of capitalism is becoming deeper, social inequality is growing. There is an onslaught on democratic freedoms and union rights all over the world as rising military spending pushes humanity into a war economy that is taking away workers' livelihoods and their dignity," the press release says.