On July 19, 2023, the Republic Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labor Disputes signed a joint Recommendation on the way to resolve a collective labor dispute regarding the application of the collective agreement in the Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade PMU (Project Management Unit).

The procedure was initiated by the employer, the Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade, PMU, where the other party in the dispute, the Basic Organization of the Employees' Union of the Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade PMU, accepted that the dispute should be resolved peacefully before the Agency.

Milan Krstić was the appointed conciliator. At the first hearing, and in accordance with the Law, he set up the Conciliation Board, which included representatives of the parties to the dispute and the acting conciliator.

During the first hearing, the parties to the dispute showed a professional, constructive and proactive approach and in good faith agreed on the way to resolve all disputed issues, after which the members of the Conciliation Board determined the final text of the Recommendation, which was unanimously adopted, in accordance with the Law.

In this way, in the Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade, PMU, the representatives of the employer and the trade union gave another example of how social dialogue can be successfully conducted, by deciding on the procedure for the peaceful settlement of a collective labor dispute in accordance with the recommendation of the Government of the Republic of Serbia that labor disputes be resolved through institutional mechanisms.

Upon invitation of the Public Institution (PI) Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labor Disputes of the Republic of Srpska, a regional working consultative meeting was held in Banja Luka on July 6, 2023, at which, in addition to the delegation of our Agency, representatives of the Montenegrin Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labor Disputes, representatives of the Ministry of Labor, War Veterans and Disabled Persons' Protection of the Republic of Srpska, as well as representatives of the International Labor Organization for Bosnia and Herzegovina were present.

The meeting resulted in sharing of current practices and experiences, based on the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation in the Area of Harmonization of Methods for the Peaceful Resolution of Labor Disputes ("Official Gazette of the RS" - International Agreements, No. 13/19), which was signed between the aforementioned agencies for labor disputes settlement.

A visit to the PI Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labor Disputes and getting to know more about the current practice of dispute resolution in the Republic of Srpska, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in and Montenegro, as well as the presentation of current practice in the field of resolution of labor disputes in the Republic of Serbia, was important for all participants, having that similar practical problems and issues are encountered in practice by them all. Several conclusions were agreed upon at the meeting with the aim of general improvement of alternative dispute resolution and improvement of the quality of the entire operations of these institutions.

Delegation of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labor Disputes and International Labor Organization went for a study visit to the USA Federal Conciliation and Mediation Service (FMCS) from June 26 - 30, 2023. This visit was organized for the purpose good practice sharing, as well as identification of possible areas for Agency improvement and its capacity development. FMCS was selected as a partner because it directly contributed to the Agency establishment 19 years ago, introducing the mechanism of alternative solutions to working disputes in the Republic Serbia in accordance with their own huge practice and experience. This visit was realized owing to the support of the International Labor Organization (ILO) within a project that represents a part of the "Initiative for Global Solidarity" (IGS) of the German Development Cooperation, which is implemented by GIZ, the German Agency for International Cooperation. The Federal Conciliation and Mediation Service was established in 1947 on the basis of the so-called Taft-Hartley Act, as an independent agency with the mission to preserve and promote peace and cooperation between trade unions and employers. Based in Washington and present in six more regions including over 60 field offices, this federal service provides services of mediation and resolution of disputes in industry and government agencies. Our delegation had an opportunity to meet the FMCS Director, Mr Javier Ramirez, and get to know more details of organizational, structural and strategic systems of agencies for alternative dispute resolution. The goal of the meeting was to study and compare systems of dispute resolutions in the USA and Serbia, identify benefits and good practices, as well as internal process development. After an introductory presentation on extensive legislation on alternative dispute resolutions in the USA, Director Ramirez openly shared the FMCS mission and vision, challenges they are faced with and ways in which they try to overcome them. In addition to the meeting, RAMRRS delegation had an opportunity to talk with Mrs Bet Schindler, FMCS Commissioner, deputy director for field operations, and Mr Walter Darom, FMCS Commissioner and field operations manager, about specific procedures in FMCS (entire flow), routing and assignment of cases, mediator and arbitrator work evaluation, performance management and professional development of mediators and arbitrators , technology they use, both during mediation (internally and for reporting ), team organization (meetings with team members) and participations in the community. Further meetings with FMCS mediators and arbitrators were also very productive, and our delegation learned about multiple tools and techniques they use, which are very advanced and modern. The FMCS mediators and arbitrators shared recent examples of their own cases, highlighting the importance of building relationship with trade unions and communities, as well as everyday communication with them. It was our pleasure to listen to experiences of David Thaler, head of FMCS International Affairs, Pete Swenson, Manager of Dispute Prevention Office, Arthur Pearlstein, Director of FMCS Arbitration Service Office (who ran the first training for arbitrators in Serbia 20 years ago) and many others. Special visit to the Regional FMCS office in New York was also organized, where we listened to experiences of Pete Donatello, Operations Manager for Region 1 (Northeast USA), as well as mediators Nelson Rivera and Carlos Dads. In addition to the FMCS, the delegation visited National Mediation Board, National Board for Labor Relations, and the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission and learned about competencies and practice of these bodies. H.E. Mr Marko Đurić, ambassador of the Republic Serbia to the United States of America honored our delegation by organizing a reception and expressing his interest and support for this form of exchange of experiences and cooperation between our two countries. The delegation included the Agency Director, Ivica Lazović, who presented our practice and organization to the hosts, Dragana Andonovska, manager of legal affairs group, Miloš Prokić , Agency adviser, Jovan Protić, ILO national coordinator for Serbia and Jovana Spaić-Erdeljan, manager of the ILO project. This visit is the first activity towards promotion of cooperation between two agencies who share many similarities and will provide grounds for RAMRRS capacity building.

The Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labor Disputes mediated in resolution of a labor dispute at the “Aptiv Mobility Services doo Novi Sad" where rights to get organized and operate as a trade union were challenged by the employer. This case was initiated upon proposal for peaceful settlement of labor disputes by the Industrial Trade Union of Serbia, and the employer "Aptiv Mobility Services doo Novi Sad" agreed to resolve it peacefully before the Agency. Olga Vučković Kićanović was appointed the acting conciliator. At the first hearing, she set up a Conciliation Board composed of representatives of the parties to the dispute and the acting conciliator. After two hearings, common recommendation was adopted and an agreement reached on how to resolve the disputed issues. All parties to the proceedings unanimously adopted the proposed Agreement. In this way, representatives of the employer and trade union in "Aptiv Mobility Services doo Novi Sad", gave yet another example on how to conduct social dialogue successfully, having opted for the procedure of peaceful settlement of a collective labor dispute in accordance with the Recommendation of the Governments of the Republic of Serbia to resolve labor disputes by institutional mechanisms, which was published in the "Official Gazette RS " No. 67/15.

On the initiative of Vladimir Bojažijev, Director of the National Institute for Conciliation and Arbitration of the Republic of Bulgaria (NIPA), a visit of the Agency representatives to the institution was organized from 14-15 June. The National Institute for Conciliation and Arbitration (NIPA) invited representatives of our Agency to the meeting in Sofia in order to share experiences and discuss future strategies of cooperation. The meeting was aimed at identification of similarities and differences in procedures for labor dispute settlement that two institutions implemented, as well as identification of areas and opportunities to use practical experiences from labor dispute resolution, and especially agreement on specific activities to be included in the potential common project within the INTERREG VI-A IPA program Bulgaria-Serbia 2021-2027. As a part of the visit a workshop was held on June 15, 2023 on "Labor dispute resolution - partnership for knowledge and best practices". This workshop was opened by H.E. Mr Željko Jović, ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to Sofia in the capacity of a special guest, giving additional significance to the event. The workshop lasted the whole day and many important issues were covered, from reviews of industrial relationships and collective negotiations in two states, to responses to preliminary questions about organization, structure, functions and activities of the Agency and Institute, specific procedures for reconciliation or mediation and arbitration in labor dispute settlement, regulatory framework and challenges in practice, all the way to statistics of dispute settlement cases. In addition to directors, Bojažijev and Lazović, issues encountered in practice were discussed by Prof. Dr Krasimira Sredkova, a member of the NIPA Supervisory Board and President of the Bulgarian Associations for Labor Law and Social Security, Prof. Dr Bojan Urdarević, conciliator and President of the Serbian Associations for Labor Law and Social Security, Prof. Dr Valerie Apostolov , president of the NIPA Supervisory Board, Prof. Dr Emil Mingov , deputy president of the NIPA Supervisory Board, Prof. Dr Sanja Škorić and Prof. Dr Dejan Logarušić, Agency conciliators. A visit to the National Institute for Conciliation and Arbitration was organized on the second day of the stay in the Republic of Bulgaria, where the Agency delegation learned about operations of the body that marked its 20th anniversary and was set up for labor dispute settlement only. The staff comprises 12 employees (7 experts, 3 specialists and 2 managers). On the occasion, the directors of two institutions agreed on cooperation and participation within the framework of the upcoming INTERREG VI-A IPA program project Bulgaria-Serbia 2021-2027. The project INTERREG VI-A IPA Bulgaria-Serbia 2021-2027 is a program of cross-border cooperation financed by the European Union funds from the Instruments for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) and implies more funding areas, one of them being dignified work and protection of labor rights. A series of activities in this direction were agreed and proposed at the meeting as well as a reciprocal visit of NIPA delegation to our Agency in Belgrade. This visit was very important for getting to know each other and lay the foundations for much closer cooperation in the future.

A year of after the onset of implementation of the quality management system for public administration - CAF (Common Assessment Framework), the Agency applied for a prestigious "Efficient CAF User" label to the Regional Quality Management Center (RQMC) of the Regional Schools for Public Administration (ReSPA). The right to this label is acquired after successful implementation of the External Feedback Procedure (PEF) that provides for standardized use of the label across Europe. On June 13, 2023, within the External Feedback Procedure (PEF) for the "Efficient CAF User" label, the Agency was visited by the External CAF Feedback Expert (EFAC ) Dalibor Ćopić from the Public Administration Agency of the Republic of Srpska (B&H), Kenan Avdagic from the Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina (PARCO) and Philip Parzer from KDZ Austria as an observer. During the Agency visit, having conducted multiple talks with the Agency staff, key beneficiaries of the Agency services, social partners and the public administration, the external CAF feedback experts (EFAC) positively rated implementation of CAF in our practice. This is an important step towards earning the "Efficient CAF User" label, where the final decision will be made by the Regional Quality Management Center (RQMC) of the Regional Schools for Public Administration (ReSPA).