17. 01. 2024.

On Wednesday, January 17, 2024 the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labor Disputes signed a Cooperation Agreement with local ombudsperson for the City of Kragujevac. The Agreement was signed by the Agency Director, Dr Ivica Lazović, and local ombudsperson for the City of Kragujevac, Jelena Milivojević. The signing was also attended by Miroslav Petrašinović, a member of the Kragujevac interim administration and Gordan Damnjanović, member of the interim administration commission.

On the occasion Mister Lazović noted that it was very important to establish cooperation between public bodies to be able to respond to needs of the citizens better and more efficiently. He also pointed out that procedures for peaceful settlement of labor disputes should be promoted more and explained better to our citizens because employees do not appreciate them enough. When employees experience a labor dispute they regularly address the court, and only few resort to alternative methods such as conciliation and arbitration. In continuation, Dr Lazović introduced the audience to the work and competences of the Agency and highlighted the advantages brought about by peaceful settlement of labor disputes in comparison to judicial procedures.

The local ombudsperson for the City of Kragujevac, Jelena Milivojević, points out that labor disputes are quite common in judicial practice of Kragujevac, especially in the public sector, and that citizens should be directed to alternative methods of labor dispute settlement, which will be promoted by the current agreement.

Finally, a large number of attending representatives of unions and employees of local companies had an opportunity to ask questions and resolve all concerns about initiating and conducting the case before Agency.