Labor Law negotiations taking too long, no results

BELGRADE - Negotiations between the Serbian government, employers and trade unions on amendments to the Labor Law are taking too much time and no result are showing, which is bad for both workers and employers, economic expert Miladin Kovacevic said in a debate on labor legislation and citizens’ interests in Belgrade on Tuesday.

Kovacevic said that the result of the negotiations should be good for both workers and employers because it is a matter of common interest.

The amendments to the Labor Law would have to remove the weaknesses from the law, primarily the non-stimulative part regarding job requirements and lay-offs, he said.

Kovacevic said he believes that the Labor Law is not really that much related to other reform laws as it is often pictured before the general public and the only question about it is whether it will be accepted by all partners in the social dialogue.

Nebojsa Rajkovic, representative of the Association of Free and Independent Trade Unions (ASNS), said that the issue of amendments to the Labor Law often takes the form of presentation of wish lists of employers, trade unions, the state administration and foreign investors.

“The expectations from the law are too great. Everybody expects to get something from it, and if someone wins something, someone else has to lose something as well. The law is expected to solve all the problems of the Serbian economy. Everything is expected but that which is the essence of the law - to regulate relations between employers and employees,” Rajkovic said.

The law should stipulate the minimum requirements concerning workers’ protection based on European best practices, and the minimum that employers need to meet, he added.