Trade unions end protest in Belgrade

The Alliance of Independence Unions of Serbia (SSSS) and the Allied Unions of Serbia "Unity" organized a protest rally in Belgrade on Wednesday. The gathering ended with a protest walk to the government and parliament buildings. Trade unions end protest in Belgrade Several thousand members of the two trade unions gathered in a central Belgrade square to express their dissatisfaction over their material position and the government's measures for dealing with the economic crisis. The protesters demanded that the government urgently and responsibly defines clear goals, determines the roadmap and strategy to prevent the country's total economic collapse. Speakers at the rally said that, on the one hand, huge numbers of the inhabitants of Serbia have been pushed into hopelessness and poverty, while on the other, corruption is rife and the tycoons are stealing unscrupulously, while privatization has mainly been unsuccessful. SSSS President Ljubisav Orbovic said that today's rally is the final warning and a message to the government that the workers refuse to be the silent witnesses to the destruction of the Serbian economy and its citizens. Underscoring that there are close to one million unemployed people in Serbia, and that this figure is rapidly growing unchecked, Orbovic said that the workers are embittered by the increasingly frequent lay-offs and slow employment. The president of the Unions of Small Businesses and Crafts, Svetislav Vladisavljevic, said that Serbia can live without tycoons, but not without its labor force as they are ones who secure the funds for the budget. He demanded that the government annuls the detrimental privatization sales contracts and that it reopens jobs, rather than building monumental facilities which will remain uninhabited since the workers do not have money to even pay the rent. During the protest walk past the government, parliament, Privatization Agency, and Finance Ministry buildings, the protesters shouted slogans, such as, "thieves, thieves". The protest on Wednesday (Beta)

Trade unions end protest in Belgrade

Several thousand members of the two trade unions gathered in a central Belgrade square to express their dissatisfaction over their material position and the government's measures for dealing with the economic crisis.

The protesters demanded that the government urgently and responsibly defines clear goals, determines the roadmap and strategy to prevent the country's total economic collapse.

Speakers at the rally said that, on the one hand, huge numbers of the inhabitants of Serbia have been pushed into hopelessness and poverty, while on the other, corruption is rife and the tycoons are stealing unscrupulously, while privatization has mainly been unsuccessful.

SSSS President Ljubisav Orbović said that today's rally is the final warning and a message to the government that the workers refuse to be the silent witnesses to the destruction of the Serbian economy and its citizens.

Underscoring that there are close to one million unemployed people in Serbia, and that this figure is rapidly growing unchecked, Orbović said that the workers are embittered by the increasingly frequent lay-offs and slow employment.

The president of the Unions of Small Businesses and Crafts, Svetislav Vladisavljević, said that Serbia can live without tycoons, but not without its labor force as they are ones who secure the funds for the budget. He demanded that the government annuls the detrimental privatization sales contracts and that it reopens jobs, rather than building monumental facilities which will remain uninhabited since the workers do not have money to even pay the rent.

During the protest walk past the government, parliament, Privatization Agency, and Finance Ministry buildings, the protesters shouted slogans, such as, "thieves, thieves".