The Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes for the first time participates in the 60th International Belgrade Book Fair. Since the Agency has full support from the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, its representatives will present the Agency and inform the visitors of its mandate and ten years’ experience at information desk set within the exhibition stand of the Ministry.The visitors will be informed about strategic orientation of the Agency i.e. social dialogue improvement, prevention and decrease in number of strikes, free and efficient approach to justice and right to decent work. The visitors will also be provided with precise information on individual and collective labour disputes that could be settled before the Agency within one month time limit.You are invited to participate in discussion forum that will be held on Friday, October 30 at 6 p.m. in Hall 1A of Belgrade Fair at exhibition stand of Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs. The legal institute of peaceful settlement of labour disputes will be presented by experienced conciliators and arbiters of the Agency – Živko Kulić PhD, Senad Jašarević PhD and Vera Kondić.

The Third Interactive Seminar of conciliators and arbiters, planned within the strategy for performance improvement of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, was held on October 2, 2015 in the Palace of Serbia, Belgrade.Similarly to the previous seminars, the objective of the Third Interactive Seminar was continual professional development of conciliators and arbiters and exchange of practical experience with the aim of harmonisation of arbitration practice. In addition, the Seminar provided an opportunity for conciliators and arbiters of the Agency to get familiar with new information system and web application that would, to a large extent, facilitate their work.In the introductory part of Seminar, the Agency Director Mile Radivojević informed the audience on Strategy realization and achieved objectives, defined by the Work plan. He paid special attention to the process of Agency modernisation which was initiated with the introduction of new software that would facilitate the work of all employees, arbiters and conciliators of the Agency.The educational part of the Seminar was marked by 4 presentations. Thus, new theoretical knowledge and practical skills were presented to arbiters and conciliators.National coordinator of negotiation teams of MOI of the Republic of Serbia Tatjana Kljun held the presentation on ”Basic guidelines on crisis negotiation”. The next presentation on „Practical aspects of conciliation process in labour disputes in the Republic of Serbia’’ was held by Agency conciliator, Bojan Urdarević PhD, docent.The second part of the Seminar introduced new information system and new web application, through presentations on „Electronic Document Management’’ and „Integrated software solution that facilitates the work of conciliators and arbiters“. The presentations were held by IT experts Jovan Gruber, Aleksandar Makaj, Milan Todorović and Borisav Živković.All conciliators and arbiters who attended the Seminar were awarded Certificates of Completion of Training for ”Arhileus” software application.

The Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes delivered a presentation in Nišava Administrative District in order to introduce the concept of peaceful settlement of collective and individual labour disputes to social partners and interested public. Aleksandar Cvetković, PhD, Head of Nišava Administrative District and representatives of Nišava District Trade Union and Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry, labour inspectors and the media attended the presentation.Director of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, Mile Radivojević, in his introductory statement, pointed out the fact that previous period in Nišava Administrative District was marked by numerous strikes, protests and other expressions of dissatisfaction due to infringement of workers’ rights. Initiation of strike or other court procedures related to labour is very expensive and usually very damaging form of fight for workers’ rights. In order to harmonize labour relations and provide right to dignified work, the audience was presented with the benefits of procedures before the Agency.With the consent of both parties to the dispute, workers and their employers have an alternative to settle labour dispute. Having in mind a 10-year-long experience and intellectual potential of conciliators and arbiters, the audience was advised to refer to the Agency and settle labour disputes amicably.Presentations were delivered by Ivica Lazović, MSc. Agency Deputy Director and Olga Vučković Kićanović, Agency Independent Advisor.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia, in its Conclusion, recommends to public sector to settle collective and individual labour disputes before the Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, in accordance with the Law.The Recommendation refers to all government bodies, public administrative bodies, public agencies, provincial bodies, bodies of local self-government units, public enterprises and other forms of organisations established by the Republic of Serbia, as well as other companies established by the Republic of Serbia or government-owned companies, institutions and other public services funded by the Republic of Serbia.This Conclusion was passed to save budget funds since it was estimated that one day of strike costs large public enterprises from fifty thousand to half a million Euros whereas court proceedings for individual labour disputes are long-lasting and very expensive.To a large extent, the Recommendation would relieve caseload pressure on the courts and achieve strategic orientation of the Government which implies that each person has a right to decent work.The experience showed us that in case of labour disputes, conflicts, mobbing and similar adverse situations in labour relations, procedures before the Agency turn out to be the most efficient and completely free of charge methods for dispute resolution before independent conciliators and arbiters.

Air Serbia management and representatives of two representative trade unions signed the first collective agreement after twenty years.Collective Agreement was signed on 5 June 2015, between the representative of employer Air Serbia and representatives of Trade Union of Air Serbia workers in the field of commerce, economy and law and Unified trade union of flight attendants. The Agreement was signed in Company headquarters in Belgrade in the presence of Assistant Minister in charge of Air traffic Zoran Ilić and conciliator of the Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes Bojan Urdarević.Since the last collective agreement in national airline was signed in June 1995, this new agreement is of utmost importance and it is expected to be a sound basis for prosperous business.In February, the Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, at the initiative of representative trade unions and with the consent of the employer, has initiated bargaining procedure regarding the adoption of Air Serbia Collective Agreement. In accordance with the Law, the Conciliation Panel was formed and it consisted of representatives of representative trade unions and employer. Conciliation procedure before the Agency was conducted by conciliator Bojan Urdarević. After four months of constructive and analytical negotiations, the procedure was positively finalized and it resulted in signing the collective agreement.

In order to inform and make all social partners familiar with Agency competence, the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes has made promotional posters that will be posted on notice boards of trade unions, regional chambers of commerce, Association of Employers, Labour Inspectorate and Basic Courts within the territory of the Republic of Serbia.This type of communication represents a simple and fast method for making workers and their employers familiar with the Agency as an institution which harmonizes labour relations, safeguards social peace and ensures right to decent work.We paid special attention to refer potential parties to the dispute to competence and other activities and information on the Agency that may easily be found on Agency’s official website. The poster has a modern design. A ‘’labyrinth’’ takes central position of the poster and it represents all the issues the workers and their employers deal with on a daily basis. The walls of ‘’labyrinth’’ represent the competence of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes. QR code, being the labyrinth exit, refers all interested parties to Agency’s website where they may obtain more information on the Agency and process of amicable settlement of labour disputes. In addition, the poster contains contact details of the Agency – phone numbers and address for all persons willing to personally contact Agency officers.

Representative trade unions of PUC Stan from Novi Sad, Trade Union of Employees in Public Utilities and Housing Services, “Nezavisnost’’ and “Solidarnost’’ have reached a unilateral decision to terminate the strike and to exercise their rights before Court.On 19 May, representative trade unions of PUC Stan from Novi Sad made a decision to go on strike until the fulfilment of their demands which included the payment of three wages with contributions and extension of health insurance cards.After being informed on strike commencement, in accordance with Article 18 of the Law on Amicable Resolution of Labour Disputes, the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes initiated the procedure of amicable settlement of collective labour dispute. Conciliation Panel was formed, which consisted of the representatives of PUC Stan employers and their founder – the city of Novi Sad, as well as representative trade unions – Trade Union of Employees in Public Utilities and Housing Services, Trade union “Nezavisnost’’ and Trade union “Solidarnost’’. In the past few days, two hearings were held in the presence of all members of the Panel.Today, before official termination of conciliation procedure and Recommendation on dispute resolution, representative trade unions have reached a unilateral decision to terminate the strike and exercise their rights before the Court.„Conciliation procedure before the Agency, conducted by the conciliator, Dejana Spasojević Ivančić, was in the best interest of parties to dispute and all citizens of Novi Sad, since the Recommendation envisaged the problem and proposed a compromise solution that was in the interest of all parties“, said Mile Radivojević, the director of the Agency. He also added that the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes will continue to promote the significance of amicable settlement of collective labour disputes, even in cases when disputes are long-running and piled up problems seem to be unsolvable.

Today, in Belgrade, through the mediation of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development and the representatives of two trade unions – the Union of Education Workers’ Syndicate of Serbia (USPRS) and the Union of Education Workers of Serbia (SRPS), whereby a five-month long strike of Serbian education workers has ceased.The Agency started to address the strike problem of education workers on 25 December 2014, upon the proposal of all four representative trade unions – Branched Syndicate of Education Workers of Serbia „Independence“, Serbian Syndicate of Education, Union of Education Workers’ Syndicate of Serbia, and Union of Education Workers of Serbia. All four mentioned trade unions participated in this procedure together with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Government of the Republic of Serbia. After only two meetings the text of Special Collective Agreement was agreed and the Recommendation was signed, which resolved all disputable issues in connection with collective bargaining and adoption of the Special Collective Agreement.In this Recommendation, it was agreed that all disputable issues which are not regulated by the Collective Agreement the representative trade unions and the Ministry will resolve by the Agreement between the Parties in Dispute, not later than 26 January 2015. This Agreement was signed by two trade unions, Branched Syndicate of Education Workers of Serbia „Independence“ and Serbian Syndicate of Education, whereas the Union of Education Workers’ Syndicate of Serbia, and the Union of Education Workers of Serbia continued strike, refusing to sign the Agreement.The Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, upon the initiative of the Union of Education Workers’ Syndicate of Serbia, acting ex officio, contributed to the fact that negotiations were reassumed on 30 March 2015. Negotiations were continued between the Ministry and two representative trade unions which, upon the completion of the previous negotiation cycle, did not sign either Special Collective Agreement or Agreement on Resolution of Disputable Issues. Mediation of the Agency was in the best interest of not only the parties to the dispute but also, and notably, of the students and their parents.Both procedures were conducted by a conciliator of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, Professor Živko Kulić, Ph.D. Mediation of the Agency and Conciliator resulted in the cessation of strike and today’s signing of the Agreement.The Agreement, afterwhich the strike in education has ceased, shows the importance of amicable resolution of group disputes arising from labour because the dialogue, coupled with the mediation of conciliators, is the most efficient way to put an end to a dispute.

The Second Interactive Seminar of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes planned within the strategy for Agency performance improvement was held on March 20, 2015 in the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade.The Seminar was organised with the aim of professional development and education of conciliators and arbiters and harmonisation of arbitration practice as a key condition for efficient labour-right protection and social dialogue improvement through the procedure of peaceful settlement of labour disputes.In introductory part, director of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes Mile Radivojević opened the Seminar and informed the audience on strategy realisation and goals achieved according to the Work plan. He paid special attention to the modernisation of Agency activities, work transparency and results accomplished in the first quarter of 2015. He also emphasised the increasing number of collective disputes and their successful resolution. Concerning the individual disputes, he pointed out the constant increase in number of disputes related to right to work with dignity. In conclusion, he stressed the importance of continuous work required to achieve the mission and vision of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes.[gallery columns="5" link="file" ids="998,1003,1002,1001,1000,1004,1006,1005,999,1007"]Before the educational part of Seminar, the new Agency website, which remained at the old address www.ramrrs.gov.rs, was presented to arbiters and conciliators. The advantages of new website are the interactive approach to users and complete transparency of Agency work and ongoing procedures before the Agency.The educational part of Seminar was marked by four lectures that presented new theoretical knowledge and practical skills to conciliators and arbiters through practice examples.Conciliator and arbiter Živko Kulić, PhD gave lecture on ”Current situation analysis of collective bargaining in the Republic of Serbia”, Zoran Radulović, PhD a conciliator and arbiter presented his work on ”Significance of strike settlement with the participation of RAMRRS conciliators”, Aleksandra Janković, a clinical psychologist at the Clinical Centre of Serbia contributed with presentation on ”Psychological aspects of mobbing” and Vera Kondić BPsych, mediation specialist and conciliator of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes participated with presentation on ”Experience gained through application of the Law on the Prevention of Harassment at the Workplace”. Through their lectures, they contributed to the improvement and efficiency of arbiters and conciliators’ performance as well as the improvement of their knowledge and skills required for successful performance.Those lectures served as an introduction to the discussion which provided an exchange of opinions and experiences and concluded the Second Interactive Seminar.

The Second Interactive Seminar of conciliators and arbiters is planned as the part of Strategy for performance improvement of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes. The seminar will be held on March 20th at 10 a.m. in Belgrade, at the Palace of Serbia, Assembly Hall 233 on the second floor of the west wing.The seminar is being organised with the aim of professional development of conciliators and arbiters which is the basic condition for efficient protection of labour rights and improvement of social dialogue.After introductory statements of the Director of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, Mile Radivojević, new website www.ramrrs.gov.rs will be presented. Later on, four presentations will be held by the following lecturers: Živko Kulić PhD, a conciliator and arbiter who will give presentation on ”Current situation analysis of collective bargaining in the Republic of Serbia”, Zoran Radulović PhD, a conciliator and arbiter will present his work on ”Significance of strike settlement with the participation of RAMRRS conciliators”, Aleksandra Janković, a clinical psychologist will contribute with the presentation on ”Psychological aspects of mobbing” and Vera Kondić B.Psy., mediation specialist and conciliator of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes will participate with the presentation on ”Experience gained through the application of Law on the Prevention of Harassment at the Workplace”.Afterward, a discussion is scheduled for the purpose of further performance improvement and practice harmonization.

Through the mediation of the Agency for peaceful settlement of labour disputes, after a two-week work stoppage, the employees of ‘’Niskogradnja’’ d.o.o. terminated the strike and continued regular winter road maintenance. Three unpaid wages were the cause of this strike.According to the Law on amicable resolution of labour disputes, the Director of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes Mile Radivojević has initiated the conciliation procedure that was conducted in a constructive atmosphere and resulted in a Recommendation adopted by the representatives of trade union organization and the employer.Consequently, the Agreement on strike termination was signed stipulating the payment of unpaid wages for December of 2014, strike termination and normalization of work process. The schedule for payment of the remaining debt was specified, as well. The President of Strike board and management of Niskogradnja d.o.o. Niš have expressed their satisfaction regarding the pace at which the agreement was reached, work process was normalized and strike requests were fulfilled.The procedure before the Agency for peaceful settlement of labour disputes was administered by Goran Obradović PhD, full professor at the Faculty of Law in Niš, who is entered into the Agency List of conciliators and arbiters.

The First Interactive Seminar for conciliators and arbiters was planned as the part of Strategy for performance improvement of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes. The seminar was held on December 26th at 10 a.m. at MP Club, Tolstojeva 2 in Belgrade.The seminar is organised with the aim of professional development of conciliators and arbiters which is the basic condition for efficient protection of labour rights and improvement of social dialogue.Within the collective disputes, the focus was on strengthening of bargaining techniques and skills that are very important for successful social dialogue. Regarding the individual disputes, the emphasis was on mobbing as the most numerous individual dispute. Seminar ended with the panel discussion that included all participants.[gallery columns="4" link="file" ids="993,992,991,989"]Aleksandar Vulin, Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Mile Radivojević, Director of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes and the guests, Zdenka Burzan and Borislav Radić, directors of the agencies for peaceful settlement of labour disputes in Montenegro and the Republic of Srpska, as well as Jovan Protić, national coordinator of International Labour Organisation in Serbia addressed the audience in introductory part of the Seminar.The seminar lecturers were Živko Kulić Ph.D., conciliator and arbiter that gave lecture on ‘’Collective labour disputes’’, Dejana Spasojević Ivančić, conciliator and arbiter who presented the topic of ‘’Individual labour disputes’’ and Olga Kićanović, independent advisor in the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes contributed to the Seminar with ‘’Identification, prevention, processing and sanctioning of mobbing’’ and ‘’Skills and techniques of bargaining during social dialogue’’. Regional guests shared their experience regarding the aforementioned topics with conciliators and arbiters.

Through the mediation of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, the staff of the division Sleeping and Dining Car, which is a part of the company Želturs, last night removed a partial blockade from international trains operating on the route Budapest, Thessaloniki, Filah, Bar, Sofia. This has fully normalised the traffic after 25 days.Since 17 November, when the management of Želturs and Sleeping and Dining Car division and all trade unions asked the Agency to use its authority and assist in the resolution of the presented problems, the Agency conciliator, professor Zoran Radulović, in continuous consultations with parties to the dispute, has proposed several solutions for the resolution of this very complex situation. Placing full trust in the favourable outcome, the strikers removed a partial blockade from railway lines and rail traffic of which they informed the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour disputes.“A considerable progress has been made in negotiations and international rail traffic has been normalised after 25 days of partial blockades that resulted in huge losses to the Republic of Serbia “, Mile Radivojević, Acting Director of the Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes said and added that in the coming days, the negotiations about strikers’ demands will continue.

The Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes reacted urgently and terminated the strike in PE ‘’National Park Djerdap’’Within the limits of its competence, the Agency reacted to the announced strike scheduled for November 18th, thus achieving the agreement on strike termination and involvement of Agency regarding the relieving of caseload pressure, for the purpose of stabilization of disrupted relations between the management and the employees.Association of independent and free trade unions and representative trade union have reached the Decision on strike initiation in order to protect professional and economic interests of the employees.After being informed on strike announcement, the Agency Director Mile Radivojević visited PE ‘’National Park Djerdap’’ together with his associates. Upon the discussion that lasted several hours, an agreement is reached to terminate the strike for the purpose of permanent stabilization of relations. The negotiation proceedings regarding the collective agreement conclusion were brought before the Agency.Since the reason for strike was dissatisfaction of the employees in terms of management treatment, which, according to the strike board, resulted in mobbing, discrimination, intimidation and other forms of insults to personal and professional integrity, 26 Proposals for settlements of individual labour disputes regarding the harassment at the workplace have been filed with the Agency.According to the Law on amicable resolution of labour disputes (‘’Official Gazette of the RS’’ 125/04 and 104/09), the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes continues to act according to the limits of its competencies.