“Bad privatizations source of problems”

The 14th Congress of the Alliance of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia (SSSS) started in Belgrade on Thursday. President of the Alliance, Ljubisa Orbovic, addressed the gathering to say that the main source of problems for employees lies in the bad, unsuccessful privatization of some companies. “Bad privatizations source of problems” "The SSSS is not against privatization, but it advocates transparency of procedures, inclusion of trade unions in all procedural phases, as well as participation of employees in decision making and managing,” Orbovic was quoted as saying. He pointed out that the recent trilateral meeting between the trade unions, representatives of the government and businessmen is “yet another proof of how sincerely the SSSS, as a responsible social factor, wants to contribute to recovery and development through dialogue and discussions”. “The goal (of the trilateral meeting) was launching economic activities and production, in order that new jobs could be opened and employees' incomes and standards of living increased,” Orbovic underlined. Commenting on the just concluded negotiations between the Serbian government and the IMF mission on the fourth tranche within the stand-by arrangement, Orbovic said that “the IMF funds have been approved for supporting the budget and enlarging the foreign currency reserves, which means that most of the funds goes into spendings, rather than into economy.” “We are thus entering into a vicious circle of new debts, and leave upon the new generations to repay them,” Orbovic pointed out. He recalled that the SSSS has been warning that loans for public spendings cannot provide for a long-term better quality of living, and suggested that the funds be directed into production, as the loans and their terms are unfavorable for employees and the economy, adding that the demands of the World Bank regarding the pension system reform are extremely restrictive and really unsustainable. The SSSS will at the congress elect and verify their new leadership. The congress was attended by Serbian President Boris Tadic, Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, Minister of Labour and Social Policy Rasim Ljajic and Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Milan Markovic. R-L: Ljajic, Orbovic, Tadic, Dacic are seen at the congress (Beta)

“Bad privatizations source of problems”

"The SSSS is not against privatization, but it advocates transparency of procedures, inclusion of trade unions in all procedural phases, as well as participation of employees in decision making and managing,” Orbović was quoted as saying.

He pointed out that the recent trilateral meeting between the trade unions, representatives of the government and businessmen is “yet another proof of how sincerely the SSSS, as a responsible social factor, wants to contribute to recovery and development through dialogue and discussions”.

“The goal (of the trilateral meeting) was launching economic activities and production, in order that new jobs could be opened and employees' incomes and standards of living increased,” Orbović underlined.

Commenting on the just concluded negotiations between the Serbian government and the IMF mission on the fourth tranche within the stand-by arrangement, Orbović said that “the IMF funds have been approved for supporting the budget and enlarging the foreign currency reserves, which means that most of the funds goes into spendings, rather than into economy.”

“We are thus entering into a vicious circle of new debts, and leave upon the new generations to repay them,” Orbović pointed out.

He recalled that the SSSS has been warning that loans for public spendings cannot provide for a long-term better quality of living, and suggested that the funds be directed into production, as the loans and their terms are unfavorable for employees and the economy, adding that the demands of the World Bank regarding the pension system reform are extremely restrictive and really unsustainable.

The SSSS will at the congress elect and verify their new leadership.

The congress was attended by Serbian President Boris Tadić, Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dačić, Minister of Labour and Social Policy Rasim Ljajić and Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Milan Marković.