Unions urge government "not to mess with them"

Unions urge government "not to mess with them"

He explained that this means the unions would "take it to the streets."

May 1 is Labor Day in Serbia, and is often marked with trade union gatherings.

Čanak commented on the composition of the new cabinet to say he was "surprised" that PM Aleksandar Vučić chose Aleksandar Vulin as minister of labor - "because, as far as I know, he has always been left-wing, and now you expect him to advocate in favor of the Labor Law, that no changes are made."

"On the other hand you have (Economy Minister) Dušan Vujović, who worked for the World Bank for a long time. So in one complementary ministry, the World Bank, in the other, Che Guevara. It suits us, but the question is, how will this function," Čanak said.

Asked to comment on Vučić's statement that the public sector was "spoiled," he said he was "unaware of anyone who came in with a gun and sat down and received a salary" but that jobs there were obtained when employees were "brought in outside of procedures, along the party or family line."

When asked how this might be changed, Čanak said it could be achieved "through painful cuts that should be done by those who made the situation possible."

"If it is true that since the election the SNS has been receiving 1,000 new party members daily, then they should ask themselves whether this is a case of political worship, or if (new members) are coming and saying, 'this is where our jobs are', as was the case with the DS," Čanak said.

This union leader then said that he had heard "reliable information from a public source, who asked not to be quoted," that since the March 16 election "public companies have been hiring up to ten new employees a day," and asked, "what is that all about."

According to him, there should be layoffs in the public sector, "but done gradually, keeping in mind that these are real people with families who should be given minimum wages for some time to be able to survive."

Čanak said that the domestic economy "does not exist" and that it is reflected in the 153 companies undergoing restructuring, none of which, according to him, is guaranteed survival.

"Political games were played them, now new games are need, but that is not the law, we must ask the question, what is their place in the new economy, and we perceive the economy only if we can attract foreign capital," he said, and added he considered this approach to be wrong, "because we cannot have an economy that will rely on foreign capital, as it will then depend on it."

According to Čanak a solution would be "to freeze parts of those companies and keep the engine part alive and strengthen it, so that it can pull other parts behind it."

Speaking about the labor legislation, Čanak said that an amended law could have been passed by now "had all the actors in the negotiations adopted a professional approach."

According to him, the bill could be harmonized by "the social partners" by June, in order to then enter the parliamentary procedure, "but only if nothing is changed or added to the wording."

He warned that otherwise, the draft would have to go back to the procedure and in that case be adopted only in late 2014.

Čanak revealed that trade union representatives met with Labor Minister Aleksandar Vulin for the first time on Wednesday, and said the encounter was "promising." According to him, "Vulin showed a lot of understanding of the issues and openly said he did not know about some things, and asked that they are explained to him."

Asked how he thought Serbia's trade unions would be able to influence those in power who have a parliamentary majority of 158 MPs, Čanak said that "the citizens are a majority, while parliament has a technical majority," and that using that if those in power used that status as an alibi, it would spell their downfall:

"It is a sensitive game and it is captivating to be so strong, but it also carries with it a terribly responsibility, it must be mirrored in the strength of the people."