Parliament ends debate in principle on labor law

Parliament ends debate in principle on labor law

So far 170 amendments have been submitted to the Labor Law and 13 more to the the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance. These amendments will be debate on Thursday.

During the afternoon discussion the atmosphere was at times charged as MPs brought up the labor act adopted in the early 2000s, during the time in office of late Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić.

MPs from the DS and the NDS parties, who used to be in the same party, debated with the ruling SNS lawmakers and Labor Minister Aleksandar Vulin. Zoran Živković - now at the helm of the New Party, and a former DS official who took over as prime minister after Đinđić was assassinated - said that unlike the current proposal, the law proposed by Đinđić was made in agreement with the trade unions and had a public debate.

Vulin responded by declaring Živković "the most unsuccessful Serbian prime minister, punished for this by the citizens in elections, and who to this day remains in the opposition."

Opposition DS party's Dragoljub Mićunović said that "it would seem that workers are to blame for the crisis,'' while a million of them "hoped to get a good law" - something he said he "personally doubted would happen." The veteran MP then remarked that "history is a struggle between labor and capital, and it will remain so."

NDS deputy Slobodan Homen said he was convinced that unions and employers will never be satisfied with legal provisions, because they are the result of a compromise, and that he believes the law will contribute to reducing "the informal economy, increase employment and investment."

Ruling SPS party MP Đorđe Milićević said that there was an alternative to adopting the law - "bankruptcy or reforms," noting that "there was no time for Serbia any longer."

"This bill is better than the existing one, in the interest of workers and employers , and prevents abuse," he said, and emphasized that "it is in no one's interest" to be sacking workers, but rather to employ them.

"Radicalization"

UGS "Independence" trade union leader Branislav Čanak said on Tuesday that unions would "radicalize the protests to include blocking of traffic" if MPs passed amendments to the labor and pensions legislation.

Čanak said in an interview with the Beta news agency that a shift to more radical protests depended on "the alienated gentlemen in parliament."

"Everything depends on them. The more alienated they are, the more radical measures we will have to resort to for them to get back to Serbia. In this context, I can't rule our a single measure; street closures are also possible," Čanak warns.

"The plan is to bring together as many people as possible on Thursday, to send a clear message to parliament that they cannot pass the controversial labor and pension acts just like that. If they do pass them, and use them on us, it will be a tragedy," Čanak was explicit.

He described as entirely "inappropriate" the way those laws were being passed in the country's assembly, warning it was "a sort of coup d'etat."

"Workers' rights"

Labor Minister Aleksandar Vulin said in parliament on Tuesday that parts of the proposed amendments to the Labor Law were increasing workers’ rights, facilitating doing business and creating conditions for the inflow of investment.

Presenting the Bill amending and modifying the Labor Law at the Serbian parliament today, Vulin said that the main objective of the amendments was to increase employment and ensure legal certainty for both employers and employees.

“This bill is not to the detriment of workers, but rather protects those employed,” said Vulin.

The reasons to amend the law, which are related to the needs of the economy, can be seen in the fact that labor legislation influence the costs of doing business, profits, volume of administrative tasks and relations between employers and employees, he said.

“The necessary improvement of the legislative framework should help attract investment in Serbia and also efforts to emerge out of the economic crisis," Vulin said.

The bill is partially aligned with relevant EU directives, he added.

Vulin noted that the issues the unions had not wanted to discuss included government proposals benefiting the employees, and pointed out that the government had refused the employers request to abolish seniority.

Seniority-based compensation will be calculated based only on the workers’ tenure with the last employer, he said.

The bill amending and modifying the Labor Law will facilitate employment and the new solutions will benefit employers who operate legally, Vulin said.

The amendments stipulate an increase in the maximum period of work for a specified time from one to two years, but allow start-up companies to sign such contracts for the period of 36 months.

“Limiting severance payments to the tenure with the last employer should help promote employment,” Vulin said.

He added that specific collective agreements were envisaged when the founder of public enterprises or public services was an autonomous province or local self-government, and such agreements were to be concluded by the government.

"The provision on expanding the effect of collective agreements is aligned with international standards," he said.

Council satisfied

Serbia's Fiscal Council supported on July 15 amendments to the Labor Act and pension and disability insurance law.

Commenting on the amendments to the Labor Labor law the Fiscal Council said that the amendments were designed to soften the impact of institutional restrictions on the operation of the labor market and ensure its flexibility and stimulate formal employment.

The Council also called it positive that the amendments envisaged bringing the conditions for expanding collective contracts up to speed with European practices, which, it said, would increase legal safety and make for more predictable business.

As for the amendments to the country's law on pension and disability insurance, it said that raising the retirement age for women would not pose an obstacle to hiring youth, Beta reported.