Serbia: Success for union campaign as government signs collective agreement for higher education
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After five years of tough negotiations, trade union leaders in Serbia have signed a collective agreement for the higher education sector with the Minister of Education. Employees in higher education will now be covered by the same benefits and protection as other education staff.
The agreement was signed on 25 November by the Minister of Education, Mladen Šarčević, and union representatives. The signatory on behalf of ETUCE member organisation Teacher Union of Serbia (TUS) was Dejan Micković, TUS Vice-President and President of the TUS Committee for Higher Education.
Minister Šarčević praised the good cooperation with trade unions on developing the strategic goals of the education system and promised further investment in higher education infrastructure.
Dejan Micković welcomed the signing of this collective agreement as a great success for TUS and social dialogue in Serbia. “Throughout five years of long and hard negotiations TUS and the Ministry of Education were always committee to a good result. We worked well together. They lengthy delay was due to other parties in the negotiations.”
“Thanks to this collective agreement, employees in the higher education sector will have the same benefits and protection as all other employees in education in Serbia,” stated TUS President Valentina Ilic.
ETUCE European Director Susan Flocken congratulated higher education staff and their unions on this success. “Equality between the different parts of the education section is a key demand from education trade unions across Europe, as seen in ETUCE’s campaign Shape the Future of Europe with Teachers. It is wonderful to hear that higher education staff in Serbia will now get the fairer treatment that the Ministry of Education promised some time ago. I congratulate TUS on their success in these long and difficult negotiations!”