Serbia - 2011

Trade union rights are limited despite some constitutional guarantees. The procedures for registering a union are very complicated, and authorisation is required from the Ministry of Labour. To be recognised as a collective bargaining agent bargaining agent A workers’ representative authorised to bargain collectively on behalf of workers in a bargaining unit.

See collective bargaining , a union needs to comprise 15% of the workforce. In addition, section 233 of the Labour Law imposes a time period of three years before a new organisation, or a union which has failed to obtain recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. , may seek a decision on representativeness.

Furthermore, the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike is heavily restricted, as parties to a collective agreement must submit their disputes to compulsory arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.

See conciliation, mediation , which is also the case for disputes in services of general interest. A minimum service minimum service The operations needed in a public or private establishment during a strike, normally to avoid compromising the life or basic needs of the population or causing irreversible damages.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework must be provided in strikes in “essential services essential services Services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. Can include the hospital sector, electricity and water supply services, and air traffic control. Strikes can be restricted or even prohibited in essential services.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
”, the notion of which is very broad. The procedures for determining the minimum service minimum service The operations needed in a public or private establishment during a strike, normally to avoid compromising the life or basic needs of the population or causing irreversible damages.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework are set out in government regulations and can even lead to a total ban on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action. Finally, the law provides for the suspension not only of wages, but also of social security rights of striking workers.