Theater first on downsizing list

The town of Leskovac, in southern Serbia, has fired 11 employees of the National Theatre, making its first cuts in the public administration. The theater employees have received RSD 4.5mn from the town budget as severance pay. Theater first on downsizing list The move is seen as the first step announced several months ago for a rationalization of the city administration and public companies in which a total of 1,920 people are employed currently, which is tenfold the European standard. The chief of the mayor’s cabinet and a member of the town council, Sasa Pesic, said that the rationalization must be implemented as soon as possible. “It's inevitable. If we do not do this by the end of the year, it will be a question of whether the city budget will be able to pay the wages of almost 2,000 people in the city administration and public companies next year,” he said. By the end of the year, those that were hired under a contract with a specified deadline will be made redundant. Pesic explained that these people were hired "based on party affiliation". “These are contracts for a specific period of time which the last [local] government used to employ about 140 people three days before leaving power,” he said. The local authorities in Leskovac expects that the state will help with the employee surplus. They have received a promise from Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic said that a part of the severance money fund will come from the state government.

Theater first on downsizing list

The move is seen as the first step announced several months ago for a rationalization of the city administration and public companies in which a total of 1,920 people are employed currently, which is tenfold the European standard.

The chief of the mayor’s cabinet and a member of the town council, Saša Pešić, said that the rationalization must be implemented as soon as possible.

“It's inevitable. If we do not do this by the end of the year, it will be a question of whether the city budget will be able to pay the wages of almost 2,000 people in the city administration and public companies next year,” he said.

By the end of the year, those that were hired under a contract with a specified deadline will be made redundant.

Pešić explained that these people were hired "based on party affiliation".

“These are contracts for a specific period of time which the last [local] government used to employ about 140 people three days before leaving power,” he said.

The local authorities in Leskovac expects that the state will help with the employee surplus. They have received a promise from Economy Minister Mlađan Dinkić said that a part of the severance money fund will come from the state government.