Ombudsman: Respect workers' rights

BELGRADE - Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic has said that authorities must not allow that the pending reforms result in labor rights violations and that the heaviest burden falls on the shoulders of workers and the poorest citizens.

"In the year that is expected to mark the beginning of necessary economic reforms that imply severe public spending cuts, May 1, International Workers' Day, is an opportunity to point once again to the importance of respecting labor rights," Jankovic said in a statement to the media.

He noted that he has warned several times that workers are left without fair remuneration for their work to which they are entitled to under the Constitution, as well as without contributions that employers are bound by law to pay.

People in Serbia are still forced to work in the grey market so as to support their families, and their pays are low, and their right to disability and health insurance at risk, Jankovic said.

The ombudsman said that this year he has again received a large number of complaints relating to corruption and preferential treatment of job applicants that enjoy support of some political party.

Overcoming this problem is very important not just because of the need to respect the laws and procedures, but because of the very reforms that lie ahead of Serbia, he noted.

If an end is not put to partisan influence during the selection procedure, positions will not be filled by competent and capable people, Jankovic noted.

The ombudsman said that soon it will be a year since he put forward a bill of amendments to the labor law to the Serbian parliament, with proposal for ensuring better protection for parents in work who, in absence of adequate services and backing, are...