The Republic agency for the peaceful settlement of labor disputes has adopted, for the fourth time, the Program of special professional training of conciliators and arbitrators for 2020.

The aim of this professional training program is to continuously improve the skills and knowledge and unify the practices of conciliators and arbitrators in the field of peaceful settlement of labor disputes, which is an important prerequisite for further development of the institute of peaceful settlement of labor disputes in practice, and thus effective labor protection in Serbia as well.

This Program plans the realization of two interactive trainings for conciliators and arbitrators and special individual trainings. In addition to the above trainings, the Agency will strive to organize other trainings in 2020 with the expert support of the International Labor Organization (ILO) as well as citizens' associations such as the Development and Cooperation Initiative.

You can download the special professional training program for conciliators and arbitrators for 2020 by clicking on the LINK

With the help of Republic agency for peaceful settlement of labor disputes in the Institute for psychophysiological disorders and speech pathology "Prof. Dr. Cvetko Brajović” on December 18, the collective labor dispute of the employer with the New trade union of health workers Serbia over the conclusion of a collective agreement with the employer was resolved. A recommendation on the manner of resolving a collective labor dispute was signed, as well as an Agreement on resolving a collective labor dispute, which reached an agreement on disputed issues. Employer representatives in the Department of psychophysiological disorders and speech pathology "Prof. Dr. Cvetko Brajović "and the New trade union of health workers Serbia - New trade union of the Institute for psychophysiological disorders and speech pathology "Prof. Dr. Cvetko Brajović”, as well as the Trade union of employees in healthcare and social protection Serbia - Trade union organization of employees in the Institute for psychophysiological disorders and speech pathology“ Prof. Dr. Cvetko Brajović ", showed how the social dialogue between employees and employers is conducted in the right way, deciding on the procedure of peaceful settlement of collective labor disputes in accordance with the recommendation of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, to resolve disputes peacefully.

Within the signed Agreement on cooperation with the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade, the Republic agency for peaceful settlement of labor disputes had the pleasure of welcomingfinal year students of the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade for the second time on Friday, December 20, 2019. The visit was led by the professor at the Faculty of Law, Assistant Professor Dr. Filip Bojić. Deputy Director Dr. Ivica Lazović informed the students about the regulations that regulate the peaceful settlement of labor disputes, the legal institute of peaceful settlement of labor disputes, its advantages in relation to the procedure before the court, the organization and the competencies of the Agency. Dragana Andonovska spoke to the students about the practical experiences in the work of the Agency and mentioned some practice examples. The introduction to the work of the Agency ended with a conversation with students, in which students asked questions and expressed their opinions and dilemmas about alternative forms of resolving labor disputes in the Republic of Serbia.

On November 5, 2019, the National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes signed a Recommendation on the Method of Settling a Collective Dispute Concerning the Conclusion of a Collective Agreement in “Air Serbia”. The collective labour dispute was initiated at the proposal of the Trade union of commercial, economic, legal officers of “Air Serbia”. The employer accepted that this case be settled amicably in proceedings before the Agency. The subject of the dispute was the conclusion of a collective agreement with the employer. The Conciliation Committee reached an agreement on the disputed issues, and this process was concluded peacefully, with the parties to the dispute signing the Recommendation on how to resolve the collective dispute regarding the conclusion of the Collective Agreement in “Air Serbia”. The representatives of the employer “Air Serbia” and of KEPR Trade Union showed that the social dialogue between employees and the employer was conducted properly, opting for a collective labour dispute settlement procedure, in accordance with the recommendation of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, to resolve these disputes by institutional mechanisms.

On Friday, October 25, at 10am, the Agency had a roundtable discussion on “Mobbing - how to find a solution” in the hall of the 3A at Belgrade Fair, at the stand of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs. The roundtable discussion was attended by Deputy Director of the Agency, Ivica Lazović and conciliators and arbitrators, Dejana Spasojevic Ivančić and Vera Kondić. The attendees were introduced to the emerging forms of mobbing in practice and the legal possibilities to overcome it in the Republic of Serbia. They talked about the advantages and disadvantages of all forms of legal protection against abuse at work and how to find the best solution. All the advantages of the procedure before the Agency following the amendment of the Law on Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes with regard to Discrimination and Abuse at Work were particularly emphasized. It was also emphasized that these changes contributed to a more efficient and sustainable resolution of procedures related to abuse. Attendees were also presented the SOS Mobbing Agency’s telephone service at 0800-300-601 and the features it offers. The attendees had numerous questions, so the roundtable on “Mobbing - How to Reach a Solution” ended with a conversation and interaction of all participants.

The National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes participates in the 64th Belgrade International Book Fair and the 2nd J=DNAKI Fair to be held at the Belgrade Fair between October 23 and 27, 2019. With the support of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, the Agency’s representatives will inform visitors daily about the Agency’s competencies and practices at its info-desk in the Belgrade Fair’s 3A Hall within the open space booth. Visitors will also receive accurate information on individual and collective labour disputes that can be resolved in the proceedings before the Agency. Also, the Agency will have a roundtable discussion on “Mobbing - how to find a solution” on Friday 25 October, at 10am in the Belgrade Fair’s 3A hall, at the stand of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs. The Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs will be presenting itself at the 64th Belgrade International Book Fair under the banner J=DNAKI in the Hall 3A, all with the aim of presenting and informing the public about the competences, services and activities they offer within this sector to improve quality of life for all citizens. We invite you to support our roundtable on Friday 25 October, at 10 o’clock, as well as the initiatives of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs and by your direct engagement contribute to further affirmation of the principle of equality.

The expert meeting “The most common problems in practice in the procedures for peaceful settlement of labour disputes” organized by the Social and Economic Council of the Republic of Serbia, was held on Friday, October 18, 2019. The expert meeting was organized with the aim of introducing to the expert public the most common problems in practice in the procedures for peaceful settlement of labour disputes, and especially the collective labour disputes and to harmonize the practice of the conciliators and arbitrators of the National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes. Senior representatives of the line ministry for labour employment, veterans and social affairs, Minister and Chairman of the Social and Economic Council of the Republic of Serbia Mr. Zoran Đorđević, State Secretary Bojana Stanić, top representatives of social partners, Zoran Stoiljković from UGS “Nezavisnost” as well as representatives of the Union of Serbian Employers, Association of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia, Director of the National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, Mile Radivojević and conciliators and arbitrators of the Agency, as well as representatives of the Permanent Working Body for Collective Bargaining and Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes and the Permanent Working Body for legislation attended this expert meeting. Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs and Chairman of the Social and Economic Council of the Republic of Serbia, Zoran Đorđević opened an expert meeting where he emphasized that the Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes finally performed its true role during previous years, which the Government of Serbia had actively advocated for. He pointed out that the existence of the Agency is of great interest for all our citizens and the state, but also vital for social dialogue, since this dialogue was one of the priorities of the Government of Serbia. He pointed out that in the previous period we had an amendment to the Law on Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, which expanded the Agency’s capacities to operate and passed the Code of Ethics for Conciliators and Arbitrators for the first time. He also pointed out that conciliators and arbitrators were very dedicated to their work and emphasized that it was necessary and that if they encountered certain problems during their work, they should present the same to the competent ministry, and conferences like this were just an opportunity to do so that that certain amendments to laws and by-laws could be made to make them more efficient. According to him, this year the Agency had twice as many cases as compared to last year, and even 10 times more than in the period from 2010 to 2014. As he pointed out, the Agency saved time and money, and did well for our citizens. Director of the National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, Mile Radivojević presented the data on the Agency’s work since the beginning of this year, according to which 2,194 proceedings were solved before the Agency to date, 32 of which accounted for collective and the rest accounted for individual disputes. Out of more than 2,123 individual disputes, 2,098 were related to material disputes, six were related to employment termination, 15 disputed were related mobbing. 1,796 were resolved, of which 946 were related to payment of expenses for coming and going from work, 679 to payment of wages and salaries, 77 disputes were related to reimbursement for manufacturing during work and 12 disputes were related to jubilee awards”, said the director, adding that 230 proceedings were ongoing, and that most of the settled labour disputes were resolved to mutual satisfaction - both by the employer and the employee. “These data are in favour of the fact that the Agency becomes more recognizable in the system of labour and legal protection over time, and in time it will be even more recognizable and better”, he concluded. Council member and president of UGS “Nezavisnost” Zoran Stojiljkovic said that the Agency wass very important as an institution of modern democratic industrial relations and attempts to reduce conflict tensions and costs of industrial conflicts, as well as to reach a solution in a way that was institutionalized by mediation and arbitration.

The Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation in the field of harmonization of the application of methods for peaceful settlement of labour disputes was signed at the XXII Conference of the Association for Labour Law and Social Security “Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in the Regulations and Practice of Serbia and the International Labour Organization” held on October 10, 2019 in Zlatibor. This Memorandum was signed between the Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes of Montenegro, the Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes of Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina), the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Northern Macedonia and the National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes of the Republic of Serbia. The said Memorandum was signed for the purpose of establishing a common basis for harmonization and further development of methods of amicable settlement of labour disputes. The Memorandum is based on the universal principles of peaceful settlement of labour disputes that are embedded in international labour standards, taking into account widely accepted practices in the field of peaceful settlement of labour disputes and the exchange of knowledge and experience within the Network of Agencies for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes.

The text of the Memorandum can be viewed at the link: Memorandum

On Wednesday, October 9, 2019, the Office of the International Labour Organization of Budapest and the National Coordinator for the Republic of Serbia, Jovan Protić, organized the Presentation of the Database of Labour Legislation of the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEELex) within the ESAP project of the International Labour Organization in Belgrade. The CEELex database was developed as part of the ESAP project (www.esap.online) and contains information on legislation related to the field of labour and industrial relations in thirteen Central and Eastern European countries, including the Western Balkans countries which the ESAP project relates to. On that occasion, as a panellist, Agency Director Mile Radivojevic presented to the expert public good practices of the Agency and regional experiences, and in an interactive discussion various issues and problems from practice were discussed.

On September 23, 2019, by mediation of the National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, the Agreement on Peaceful Settlement of the Collective Labour Dispute at “Novi Sad” Primary Healthcare Facility was signed, following the unanimous adoption of the Conciliation Committee’s Recommendation on Dispute Resolution. At “Novi Sad” Primary Healthcare Facility, a collective labour dispute was initiated at the proposal of the New Trade Union of “Novi Sad” Primary Healthcare Facility and the Trade Union of “Novi Sad” PHCF - the Trade Union of Serbian Healthcare Employees. The employer accepted that this case should be settled amicably in proceedings before the Agency. The subject of the dispute was the conclusion of a collective agreement with the employer. Already after the second meeting of the Conciliation Committee, agreement was reached between the parties to the dispute and it was concluded peacefully, with the parties to the dispute signing the Agreement on the peaceful settlement of the collective labour dispute. Representatives of employer of “Novi Sad” PHCF, as well as trade unions - New Trade Union of “Novi Sad” PHCF and Trade Union of “Novi Sad” PHCF showed that the social dialogue between employees and employer was properly conducted, opting for a peaceful settlement of the collective labour dispute, in accordance with the recommendation of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, that these disputes should be resolved by institutional mechanisms.

By mediation of the National Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, the collective labour dispute based on the proposal submitted by the Association of Trade Unions of Serbian Education Employees regarding the implementation of the Special Collective Agreement for Employees in Primary and Secondary Schools and Student Homes was concluded. The Conciliation Committee, consisting of a trade union representative, a representative of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, and the conciliator of the National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, adopted unanimously a Recommendation on the method for resolving the collective labour dispute. The Recommendation adopted determined the method to proceed with the formation of the Committee for the PKU Interpretation, which should be composed of trade unions representatives and representatives of ministries responsible for education, labour, finance and public administration.

By mediation of the National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes in the Primary Healthcare Facility “Dr Sava Stanojevic” in Trstenik, a collective labour dispute was resolved with the Trade Union of Nurses and Medical Technicians of Serbia regarding determining the right to representativeness of this union. The recommendation on the method of resolving the collective labour dispute as well as the Agreement on the settlement of the dispute were signed, after which, among other things, the procedure of determining the representativeness at the employer of the Trade Union of Nurses and Medical Technicians of Serbia would be initiated - the Basic organization of the PHCF “Dr Sava Stanojevic” in Trstenik. The parties have also agreed that the common goal is further cooperation, conducting social dialogue, achieving good business results and improving the material and social position of employees. The representatives of the employer of the PHFC “Dr Sava Stanojevic” in Trstenik and the Trade Union of Nurses and Medical Technicians of Serbia showed that the social dialogue between employees and the employer was properly conducted, opting for the procedure of peaceful settlement of the collective labour dispute, in accordance with the recommendation of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, that disputes should be resolved by use of institutional mechanisms.

The National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes delivered a special training for newly elected conciliators and arbitrators on September 12, 2019. The training was opened by the Agency’s Director, Mile Radivojević, who spoke about the results of the work in the past period and the tendency of increase in the number of labour disputes that have been settled amicably, which is the basis for supplementing the list of conciliators and arbitrators. Deputy Director, Ivica Lazović spoke about the specific work of the Agency, responsibilities, practices, advantages, types of most common labour disputes and statistical indicators in the work. Dragica Mišljenović, a member of the Permanent Working Body for Collective Bargaining and Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes of the Social and Economic Council of the Republic of Serbia, spoke about social dialogue, tripartism, relations between social partners and contentious situations in practice. A particularly important segment of the training was the block in which several case studies of individual and collective labour disputes from the Agency’s practice were addressed. Experienced conciliators and arbitrators of the Agency, Dejana Spasojević Ivančić and Verica Hrnčjar, introduced these cases to the attendees. The training was conducted in an interactive atmosphere and familiarizing the newly elected conciliators and arbitrators with good practice so that they could get involved in the procedures of peaceful settlement of labour disputes as soon as possible.

One hundred sixty two (162) individual labour disputes were successfully closed in the Public Utility Company “Ivanjica”, initiated due to non-payment of food allowances during work and non-payment of holiday allowance. The management and employees of the Public Utility Company “Ivanjica” have set a good example of socially responsible business where individual labour disputes are settled amicably, other than in court proceedings. In this way unnecessary court and other costs were avoided both by employees and by the employer, and within a short period of 30 days employees received arbitration awards, which had the same legal effect as final court judgments.

The total of 28 timely applications have been received during the competition for the election of conciliators and arbitrators, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 14 dated 6 March 2019, for which the deadline for submission of applications expired on 8 April. The Committee for the Election of Conciliators and Arbitrators, composed upon proposal of the Social and Economic Council of the Republic of Serbia, consisting of the representatives of trade unions - the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia and the United Branch Trade Unions “Nezavisnost”, the Union of Employers of Serbia and representatives of the Government of the Republic of Serbia had the task to elect conciliators and arbitrators.

By a unanimous decision of the Committee, the following candidates were elected:

The following candidates were elected as conciliators:

1. Valentina Vojinović
2. Daliborka Kosanović
3. Dragana Jovanović
4. Žarko Kovačević
5. Gorica Milošević
6. Biljana Drakula
7. Dejan Milić
8. Vijoleta Palić
9. Predrag Plavkić
10. Aleksandar Antić
11. Miloš Stevović

The following candidates were elected as arbitrators:

1. Valentina Vojinović
2. Daliborka Kosanović
3. Dragana Jovanović
4. Žarko Kovačević
5. Gorica Milošević
6. Biljana Drakula
7. Dejan Milić
8. Vijoleta Palić
9. Miloš Stevović

In this way, the National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes shows its gratitude to all the candidates for their interest and for applying for the Competition for the selection of conciliators and arbitrators. Based on the decision of the Committee, the National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes will issue the Decision on the registration of the selected candidates in the Register of Conciliators and Arbitrators, which will be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia at the earliest convenience.

The National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes will attend the Fourth Annual Sub-Regional Meeting of the Network of Agencies for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes at the invitation of the International Labour Organization to be held in the Republic of Northern Macedonia, from 28 to 29 May 2019 in Skopje. The annual meeting of the network of agencies for peaceful dispute settlement will be held in the form of a conference for professional conciliators in the region and by getting acquainted with the reports on individual labour dispute resolution systems, presentation of the guiding principles for the effective prevention and resolution of labour disputes, learning about the criteria for effective and quality reconciliation and mediation in the light of comparative practices and empirical research, presenting and discussing new reform in the area of peaceful settlement of labour disputes, familiarization with the database on sub-regional cases of peaceful settlement of disputes and ethical principles of the work of conciliators and arbitrators. The exchange of regional experience will be important for further development of the legal institute of peaceful settlement of labour disputes, both in the region and in the Republic of Serbia. Through common practice, this gathering will also contribute to raising the professional capacity of the National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes.

Upon initiative of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, Mile Radivojević, Director of the National Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, had the pleasure of addressing a group of about 50 students of the Faculty of Law of the International University of Novi Pazar and presenting them the institute of peaceful settlement of labour disputes and the work of the Agency. The study visit was managed by Rector of the International University of Novi Pazar, Suad Bećirović and Dean of the Faculty of Law, Reihan Kurtović, while the State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, Zaim Redžepović and Assistant Director at the Directorate for Cooperation with Religious Communities, Ferid Bulić, addressed the students. They discussed the efforts invested in making all young people from all parts of our country aware of the work of the institutions, because in the future they will be holders of the most important functions in our society. Finally, it was announced that these forms of cooperation would continue in the future.

The first interactive seminar for conciliators and arbiters in 2019 addressing the topic “Individual labour disputes in practice” took place on April 12 in Belgrade.

The interactive seminar event was opened by Bojana Stanić, State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, emphasizing the contribution of the regulatory amendments to the improvement of the condition in this area.

Zdenka Burzan, Director of the Agency for the Amicable Settlement of Labour Disputes of Montenegro and Director of the National Agency for Amicable Settlement of Labour Disputes, Mile Radivojević, spoke about regional cooperation, and the lecture on the topic “Practice of the Supreme Court of Labour in the field of labour disputes” was delivered by the judge of the Supreme Court of Cassation in Belgrade, Predrag Trifunović. The second topic addressed at the panel was amicable settlement of labour disputes in practice, where the conciliator and arbiter, Verica Hrnčjar and Dejana Spasojević presented their experience to the attendees.

The third panel was dedicated to the conflict resolution skills discussed by Milica Jovanović, a consultant and expert for personal and professional development.

The last panel of the First Interactive Seminar of Conciliators and Arbiters was dedicated to amicable settlement of labour disputes in Montenegro, as well as to current amendments to the Law on the Amicable Settlement of Labour Disputes of Montenegro, presented by Vesna Simovic – Zvicer, PhD.

The seminar was organized to ensure further professional development of conciliators and arbiters in the field of individual labour disputes and had special importance because it enabled a direct exchange of relevant experiences and examples of good practice.

On April 1, 2019, with the assistance of the Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, the Agreement on the Peaceful Settlement of a Collective Labour Dispute was signed at the Public Media Institution "Radio-Television of Vojvodina", on the occasion of the strike of the Mobile Technology Department, the Television Technics Sector, due to the calculation of salaries.

The proposal for peaceful settlement of the collective labour dispute was submitted by the Trade Union "Nezavisnost" PMI "Radio-Television of Vojvodina" on the occasion of the warning strike of the Mobile Technology Department, the Television Technics Sector, due to the method of calculating salaries. The other party to the dispute, the management of PMI "Radio-Television of Vojvodina" accepted to settle this dispute peacefully.

Prof Dr Senad Jašarević was assigned as the Acting Conciliator, and the representatives of the employer and the trade unions once again confirmed, in practice, what are the benefits of social dialogue between employees and employers.

The first interactive seminar for conciliators and arbiters in 2019 on the subject of "Individual Labour Disputes in Practice", planned under the Special Professional Development Program for Conciliators and Arbiters for this year, will be held on Friday, April 12, 2019, at 9:00 am in Belgrade at Palace of Serbia.

After participants’ registration, as well as introductory presentations by Bojana Stanić, State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, Zdenka Burzan, Director of the Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes of Montenegro and the Director of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes Mile Radivojević, the presentation on the topic of "The Practice of the Supreme Court of Cassation in the Field of Labour Disputes" will be held by the judge of the Supreme Court of Cassation in Belgrade Predrag Trifunović. The topic of the second panel will be dedicated to the peaceful settlement of labour disputes in practice, when Verica Hrnčjar, conciliator and arbiter and Dejana Spasojević, conciliator and arbiter will present their experiences to the participants. The third panel will be dedicated to conflict resolution skills, which will be addressed by Milica Jovanović, consultant expert for personal and professional development. The final panel of the First Interactive Seminar of Conciliators and Arbiters will be dedicated to the comparative practice of peaceful settlement of labour disputes, to the peaceful settlement of labour disputes in Montenegro, as well as the current amendments to the Law on Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes, with a presentation by Dr Vesna Simović - Zvicer.

The seminar was organised with the aim of further professional development of conciliators and arbiters in the field of individual labour disputes and has a special importance since it enables a direct exchange of relevant experiences, as well as examples of good practice.

At the 87th regular session of the Social and Economic Council of the Republic of Serbia, which was held in Kragujevac on Monday, February 25, 2019 at 10:00 am, the Information on the Work of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes for 2018 was discussed.

The session was chaired by Dušan Petrović, Secretary of the Social and Economic Council of the Republic of Serbia, and Mile Radivojević, Director of the Agency, presented the information on the work of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes regarding the records which are being kept, as well as on other matters of importance for the procedures for peaceful settlement of labour disputes for 2018.

The Information on the Work of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes for 2018 provides a detailed overview of activities within its scope which were implemented, as well as the statistical data on the procedures conducted before the Agency in 2018.

You can find the complete Information on the Work of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes for 2018 at the following link: Information on Work 2018.

The strike at the Republic Geodetic Authority launched by the Trade Union "Nezavisnost" of RGA and the Unified Trade Union of RGA ended on January 21 after meeting with the Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs Zoran Đorđević and the representatives of the Cabinet of the Prime Minister Ana Brnabić. At the meeting, an agreement was reached and a compromise solution which was acceptable to all parties to the dispute, in order to reduce the harmful effects of the strike on the citizens of the Republic of Serbia.

The Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes has joined the peaceful resolution process of this collective labour dispute at the proposal of the trade unions, with the consent of the employer on December 7, 2018. The strike was postponed and a joint recommendation was made by the trade unions and the employer to resolve the dispute before the Agency's conciliator, but as the recommendation implied the approval of several ministries, it was necessary to also include the founder. By including the Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs Zoran Đorđević and the Cabinet of the Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, joint efforts resulted in an agreement which led to the termination of this strike, primarily in the interest of the citizens of the Republic of Serbia who were most affected by adverse consequences.

Within the framework of the signed Agreement on Cooperation with the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes had the pleasure to host the students of the final year of the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law on Tuesday, December 18, 2018. The visit was led by professors of the Faculty of Law, Dr Ljubinka Kovačević and Dr Filip Bojić.

Through interactive conversation, the director of the Agency, Mile Radivojević, introduced the students to the concept of institution for peaceful settlement of labour disputes, the advantages of the institution in relation to the proceedings before courts, the organisation and the competencies of the Agency. Deputy Director Ivica Lazović talked to the students about the experiences in the work of the Agency.

A constructive discussion followed the presentation of the Agency’s operations, during which the students expressed a special interest in further development of alternative forms of resolving labour disputes in the Republic of Serbia.

In the Public Housing Company “Kragujevac”, 269 individual labour disputes, initiated due to non-payment of food allowances during work and non-payment of annual leave allowance, have been successfully completed.

The management and the employees of the Public Housing Company “Kragujevac” gave a true example of socially responsible business and good practice in settling individual labour disputes peacefully, and not through court proceedings. In this way, unnecessary court and other expenses were avoided for both the employees and employers, while the employees have reached arbitration decisions within 30 days, all of which are of the same legal force as final court decisions.

The management and the employees have acted in accordance with the Recommendation of the Government of the Republic of Serbia given by Conclusion 05 number 116-8060/2015 ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia", No. 67) and peacefully settled their dispute concerning the food allowance during the work and non-payment of the annual leave allowance for the previous period before the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes.

On November 14, another workshop of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes in a series was held in Leskovac, dedicated to strengthening the visibility and accessibility of the institution of peaceful resolution of labour disputes and promotion of the importance of the amendments to the Law on the Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes which were adopted at the Eighth Extraordinary Session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.

The workshop was held at the premises of the Higher Business School of Vocational Studies in Leskovac, and the representatives of the UGS "Nezavisnost" (United Branch Union “Independence”), the Association of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia, the Association of Employers of Serbia and interested public from this city took part.

The workshop is a part of the project "Social Partners United in Increasing the Visibility of the Institution of Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes" implemented by the AoC Initiative for Development and Cooperation, with the financial support of Solidar Suisse - Office in Serbia, and in partnership with the Trade Union UGS "Nezavisnost" (United Branch Union “Independence”), the Association of Independent Unions Serbia, the Association of Employers of Serbia, with the support of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes.

Deputy Director of the Agency Ivica Lazović held the presentation on the work of the Agency and the institution for conciliation and arbitration, while the simulation of the proceedings was presented to the present representatives of trade unions and employers by Agency’s arbiters Ružica Erceg and Danijela Koštan Kovačević. The attendees had the opportunity to get acquainted with the advantages of using this institution and the practice of the Republic Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes.