21. 10. 2025.

At the ceremony marking the 15th anniversary of the Public Institution Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes of Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska (BiH), held on Friday, 17 October 2025, the Republic Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes received a Certificate of Appreciation for the successful cooperation to date.

The Certificate was received on behalf of the Agency by its Director, Dr Ivica Lazović, who also had the honour of addressing the participants at the opening of the event. In addition to the representatives of the Republic Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, the event in Banja Luka was attended by representatives of the Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes of Montenegro, the Minister of Labour and Veterans and Disabled Protection of the Republic of Srpska, Mr Danijel Egić, the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Srpska, Mr Goran Selak, representatives of trade unions and employers, as well as numerous conciliators and arbitrators.

In his opening remarks, Dr Lazović emphasized the importance of continuous cooperation and exchange of experiences between the “sister” agencies from Serbia, the Republic of Srpska (BiH), and Montenegro. “Our institutions are organized according to the same model, with only minor differences in the regulatory framework, which means that the challenges we face are also similar,” he noted. “There is very close cooperation between our institutions on a daily basis, allowing us to learn from each other through consultations and the exchange of practices, and to perform our work in the most efficient way possible,” he added. Dr Lazović also underlined that networking of institutions dealing with the peaceful settlement of labour disputes at the Western Balkan and European levels is of great importance, reminding the audience of the experiences exchanged during this year’s international conferences held in Geneva and Leuven.

The event continued with a roundtable discussion attended by the Agency’s Director, Dr Ivica Lazović, Agency Advisors Mr Miloš Prokić and Ms Jelena Golubović, representatives of the agencies from Montenegro and the Republic of Srpska (BiH), representatives of the relevant ministry, employers, trade unions, and conciliators and arbitrators from the Republic of Srpska (BiH). The participants discussed current challenges in implementing the mechanisms of peaceful settlement of labour disputes, exchanged practical experiences, and agreed on recommendations for further improvement.