Statement by the Prime Minister Miloš Vucevic that no one in the government will be nervous about strikes educational workers, shows that the servant of the most powerful man in the country allows himself to make fun of educators, because they deserve it with their disorganization, said sociologist Jovo Bakić for "Vreme".
He pointed out that there are no major strikes in Serbia, because the trade union struggle is weak, "because we are wasted as a society, and this can be seen in every segment of it."
"In education, this is reflected in the existence of numerous unions and poor interpersonal relations in many schools, which is why there is no awareness that everyone is in the same boat that is leaking water." More solidarity is needed not only among educators, but also among citizens in general, because there is no successful society without a healthy and educated population," said Bakić.
Vucevic makes fun of educators
He pointed out that it is an obvious problem that instead of one big joint strike of all the dissatisfied people, many small strikes are being organized.
Educators' unions - the Union of Educators' Unions of Serbia, the Education Union of Serbia, the Branch Union of Educators of Serbia "Nezavisnost" and the Union of Education Workers of Serbia - will hold a protest on November 1, which includes a gathering in front of the National Assembly and a walk to the Government of Serbia. After that, it is planned that from November 4th, the implementation of "more radical measures" will begin, which include shortened classes to 30 minutes in all schools where there are union members.
The plan envisages that from November 4 to 8, schools from the area of Belgrade and the Požarevac school administration will be on legal strike. Next week, classes will be shortened in Novi Sad, that is, Vojvodina and schools in the area of the Valjevo school administration. Then there should be a strike in the area of Niš, Vranje, Leskovac, Zaječar and Kruševac, and in the last week of November in central and western Serbia, in schools in Kraljevo, Čačak, Gornji Milanovac, Kragujevac, Užice, Prijepolje...
Earlier this school year, two one-day strikes were held in schools and preschool institutions, and then there were no classes in the schools, where there are trade unions, while the preschool institutions did not accept children. In addition, the members of the Independent Union of Educational Workers of Serbia started the so-called "white strike" on October 14 by giving each student an "excellent 5" grade.
"If Serbia was a serious society, all citizens who are dissatisfied would unite, and there are a lot of them, and it would be a serious story." This is how you have the Prime Minister, who is actually the servant of the most powerful man in the country, and who even allows himself to make fun of the educators, because they deserve it with their disorganization, instead of his statement causing the anger of the educators, but also of all others who would they should have given them support," Bakić said.
When asked if there is any truth in the allegations that the union leaders are only nominally on the side of their members, and that they actually work for the government, Bakić replied that, unfortunately, this is "largely true" and added that this is not the case only with the education unions. workers.
The government must rely on force
Asked why there is a policy of providing housing for employees in the ministries of force, the army and the police, while there is no such thing for educators and other civil servants, and why the state favors people who carry weapons so much, Bakić said that this shows that education is "the last hole on the pipe".
"Less is given to education than to football clubs, and this is an indicator of the disastrous state of the country." A government and a regime that is essentially authoritarian and that knows that it is in the position of executor of the orders of the great powers and is selling off the country, must rely, in the last resort - on force, because no one was burning until dawn, so here too one day it will happen explosions of dissatisfaction and anger, and they have to prepare for that day, and they have been preparing for a long time," concluded Bakić.
Protest becomes an element
Dušan Kokot, president of the Independent Union of Educators, who will not participate in the protest on Friday, but also in the strike of educators, on the other hand, told "Vreme" that the protest of educators is "slowly becoming an element, because the demands that caused the protests have disappeared and launch".
"There is no demand that educators have stood behind." This is now just the accumulated anger of all the educators that the state caused by its behavior. "I am afraid that the way the representative unions are handling it will produce the same results again, because for the hundredth time they are trying to solve the problem in the same way," Kokot said.
He emphasized that educators need the "absolute support of the public."
"Problems faced by educators do not only affect them, but are detrimental to the entire society. One only has to imagine what our schools will look like if this trend continues," warned Kokot.
He assessed that the strike of educators "is no longer a strike".
"We know what the state offers, but we don't know what the demands of the teachers' union are, and I'm afraid that 99 percent of the teachers would not support what the unions are asking for." If the salary of educators is increased by 11 percent, as offered by the state, that salary will be at the level of the last average salary, about 96.000 dinars, but that absolutely does not solve the problem," said Kokot.
On October 30, the Ministry of Education presented its, as stated by the Minister of Education Slavica Đukić Dejanović, a "final" offer to educators, which includes an 11 percent increase in salaries in education from January 1, 2025, and one-time assistance to all employees in education, except for employees in higher education institutions, from 15.000 dinars until January 9, 2025.
The demands of the trade union are the urgent continuation of talks regarding the observance of the signed protocol with the Government of Serbia, the start of negotiations on the price of labor in 2025 and the start of negotiations on amendments to the special collective agreement for employees in primary and secondary schools, as well as in student dormitories.
Solving the problem systemically
He assessed that "from year to year, the wrong paths are taken" and that the results "are getting worse, and there are more and more strikes, and there hasn't been a year without a strike over pay."
Kokot stated that the Independent Union of Educators of Serbia is asking for the problem to be solved systematically, because there are clear solutions on how to do it and experience from other sectors in which structural changes are made in the way wages are calculated and there are no more problems there.
"Instead, we're still chasing some unknown estimates and averages that don't really address any of the core issues facing educators." If the current offer of the Ministry of Education to increase salaries in education by 11 percent would be converted into money, compared to the previous offer - it is almost the same in dinars. The salary budget is more than 230 billion dinars, and if the previous offer of a 12 percent salary increase, but only for teaching staff, is reduced to the current 11 percent, the savings will be 2,3 billion. And then if we give every employee in the education sector a one-time 15.000 dinars as announced - that's 2,3 billion. It is pouring from the hollow into the empty, and there is actually no negotiation," Kokot assessed.
He stated that the proposal to give educators the status of an official is wrong, because such a status "would cause more harm than good to educators."
"In addition to protection in the event of an attack on an official, there are also obligations of an official, and that is why we were against granting the status of an official to educational workers, and for changing the Criminal Code." Fortunately, the representative trade unions also came to the conclusion that this is a better solution, and now we see that the amendments to the Criminal Code give additional protection to educators," concluded Kokot.
