Army Trade Unions Sign Join Action Agreement for Serbia’s Defense Industry

PHOTO: PIXABAY

Representatives of all seven trade unions in Serbia’s defense industry signed on Sept. 2 a Joint Action Agreement, which also involved setting up a coordinating committee for the country’s defense industry.

Zoran Miljkovic, president of the Zastava-Tervo Kragujevac workers’ union, told reporters that no such agreement between defense industry unions had previously existed in Serbia. “It was agreed that if an army union has a problem, the others will rally behind it and send a letter of support, regardless of the issue,” Miljkovic said, adding that they would work to ensure that everything provided for under the  agreement was actually implemented , instead of remaining a dead letter.

According to Miljkovic, all defense industry unions in Serbia face similar problems, as does the country’s defense industry as a whole. “Weapons production at Serbia’s defense companies is weak because of the ban on arms exports, and then the state steps in to help, but the entire process is upheld artificially,” Miljkovic said.

The trade union leader underlined that job losses in the defense industry was a permanent fear, but that unions were there to prevent layoffs and highlight problems.