Students in the blockade and some trade unions are celebrating May Day together and six months since the tragedy in Novi Sad. Does this mean that unions in large state-owned firms could potentially agree to strike for more than a day?
The beginning of a new phase of protest and a kind of radicalization students announced from Labor Day. It is known that it will, along with a few big ones unions, call for a change in the existing Strike Act and Labor Act, which they consider to be the foundations of the exploitation system.
"They protect the government, not the workers. Those laws must be changed - a mass stoppage of work. We are fighting for the right to live without fear. For workers, for students, for all of us. See you on May 1 at 12 noon," said the students, who are calling for a protest in front of the Government of Serbia, where they will also talk about new forms of pressure on the government.
Students in this way are likely to call for some sort general strike, which will not last one day, as we have already had twice in Serbia. The key question is - will they get the support of the trade unions that are in cahoots with the authorities in Serbia?
What about the state unions
Students are also March 8th welcomed by the unions, but then some of the main speakers were teachers who did not receive a salary because they supported the students' and their own demands. At that time, they distanced themselves en masse from the representative trade unions in education, which made a deal with the state at the beginning of the year and returned to their workplaces. Teachers who were on strike, and some are still suspended, they faced an incredible blow from the state - which deprived them of two salaries so far and left many on the brink of survival.
That is why some were surprised by the fact that the students agreed to organize May 1st with the trade union headquarters that failed the teachers.
Darling @studentblockade I would and will be with you at every protest.
I led the union that was the only one in Serbia to declare a strike with a strike demand for the fulfillment of student demands. Got fired. You distanced yourself from me because of my political affiliation.
On May 1st, I won't be with you.— Dragoslav Ljubičić (@belcho1311) April 27, 2025
Thus, the branch union Nezavisnost, the Association of Free and Independent Trade Unions, the Slog Party and the Confederation of Free Trade Unions will participate in the protest.
The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia announced that it could not accept the invitation for joint marking, because earlier they made the decision to independently organize a rally on Trg Republike.
That union stated that it will end its meeting at 14 pm in front of the Government of Serbia by submitting its demands.
"Your proposal for a joint action was certainly adopted at the university level, but our decision was adopted at the level of the Union's bodies much earlier, so we cannot accept the proposal to celebrate May Day," the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia responded to the students regarding the proposal for a joint celebration of May 1, published on the union's website.
We understand students.
Nevertheless, the president of the Independent Union of Educators of Serbia, Dušan Kokot, who has been leading educators on strike for months, says that a good part of his membership will certainly go out to protest on May 1st and that they understand this move by the students.
"We have already talked to the students, they know that they have our support. But, I believe that this is an attempt by the students to include the headquarters of those national unions in some way. Or to write them off," says Kokot for "Vreme".
"Because it is clear that without them there is no room for a big strike, these are the unions that massively gather workers in the state."
Ana Dimitrijević from the Forum of Belgrade High Schools explains to "Vreme" that they are always there with the students, but that now the question is whether the big state unions will now support their cause.
"I hope that people from the state sector will now respond en masse and stand with the students, just like us," says Dimitrijević.
"It should be understood that this is not only about educational unions, people are now mixing it up a little bit, these are representative large unions of the entire country, and most of their workers are civil servants. It would mean a lot to all of us if they also stand up for changing the existing laws and for a mass rebellion."
What are national unions?
In order for a trade union in a company in Serbia to be representative, it must have 15 percent of the company's workers in its membership. Thus, in Serbia, depending on the branch of the economy, certain trade unions have representativeness.
National unions are considered to be those that have their headquarters, that is, they are not just branches, but gather a large number of workers, mostly in the state sector, and have representativeness.
These are not the same unions as those who signed the deal for educators with the state, that is, some of those branch unions are part of large national unions, such as Nezavisnost.
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