06. 07. 2018.

The Annual Regional Conference of the Network of Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes Agencies organized by the International Labour Organization, with the support of the Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission, was held from July 4 to July 6 2018 in Arandjelovac.

The conference was attended by representatives of regional authorities for peaceful settlement of labour disputes: National Institute for Conciliation and Arbitration (Bulgaria), Directorate for Social Dialogue (Romania), Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes (Montenegro), Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes of the Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Association of Professional Mediators and Arbitrators in Labour Disputes (Republic of Macedonia), as well as the representatives and experts of the International Labour Organization, the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and the " Employment and Social Affairs Platform" (ESAP) project.

In the course of several days, the policies of the participating countries in this field were presented, the experiences in the work of the national agencies for peaceful settlement of labour disputes and the more efficient involvement of mediators in the settlement of labour disputes were discussed in order to improve social dialogue, harmonize practices and reduce the burden of courts. Also, the ESAP database of case studies from participating countries was presented, which aims to facilitate the exchange of experiences and improvement of skills and knowledge of conciliators and arbiters in labour disputes.

Also, the situation in the field of peaceful settlement of labour disputes in the Republic of Serbia, the normative framework for the operation of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes were assessed, and the achieved results and observed problems in practice were presented. Particular importance was given to the role of social dialogue, i.e. the role of representative social partners in creating and implementing the policy of peaceful settlement of labour disputes.

On the last day of the conference, Mr Scot Beckenbaugh, the Deputy Director of the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service gave a lecture attended by the conciliators and arbiters of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes. The guest from the United States informed the participants about the history, organization and the work method of the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and presented several case studies.

At the end of the conference, commendation plaques for the organisation of the conference and promotion of the institution of peaceful settlement of labour disputes were awarded to Scot Beckenbaugh, Deputy Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Susanne Nielsen, Chief Technical Adviser of the ESAP project, Cristina Mihes, Senior Advisor for Social Dialogue in the International Labour Organization and to the Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy Zoran Djordjevic.

In his address to the participants, Minister Djordjevic said that the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes has a leading role in the process of harmonization of the employees - employer - state relation as the only specialized institution for labour legal disputes and as such has the full support from the Ministry and the Prime Minister Republic of Serbia Ana Brnabic.

The Minister thanked the conciliators and arbitrators for previous successful work and the efforts they invest in the affirmation and visibility of the institute of peaceful settlement of disputes.