Trade unions quit talks on labour law amendments

BELGRADE - The leaders of the two largest uniond associations in Serbia, United Trade Unions Independence and Confederation of Autonomus Trade Unions of Serbia (SSSS), Branislav Canak and Ljubisav Orbovic, said on Friday they would not continue the talks with the government on proposed amendments to the labour law, and they announced protests.

The first protest will be in Belgrade on July 23, and if the amendments reach the parliament, the protesters will camp outside the building, Canak and Orbovic told reporters after a meeting at the SSSS main office.

The government is wrong if it thinks foreign investors are drawn to Serbia by its cheap labour, they said.

"The talks formally ended on May 29 and everything since then has been an attempt to deceive," Canak said.

Even the meeting with the prime minister on Wednesday was an attempted deception, because one thing was agreed and something completely different was said at the meeting of the working group for the talks the next day, he pointed out.

The agreement from the meeting with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic was to accept an extended application of the collective bargaining agreement, but 16 new articles no one from the unions had ever seen were presented at the meeting of the working group the next day and the offer was in the form of "take it or leave it," Canak remarked.

"Those are not negotiations, it is bullying. They brought the papers and said: 'Sign this,'" he stated. Canak believes the government officials broke off the talks with their behaviour, adding that the unions would therefore do what they do around the world when denied the option to negotiate, that is go on strike and stage protests.

The protest on July 23 will be in...