Trade unions invite citizens to May Day rally

BELGRADE - Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (SSSS) and United Branch Trade Unions Independence handed out leaflets in four locations in Belgrade on Wednesday, inviting the citizens to participate in tomorrow's rally marking the International Labor Day, May 1st.

The leaflets were also handed out on the streets of Novi Sad, Nis and Kragujevac, calling the citizens to join the trade unions in the marking of the day that symbolizes the fight for workers' rights.

SSSS Vice-President Zoran Mihajlovic said that the day will be marked in Serbia in the same way as throughout Europe.

"There are many problems, as everywhere in the world. Unfortunately, the workers in Serbia are fighting for fundamental rights, and we have returned to the beginnings of trade union activity," Mihajlovic told Tanjug.

The trade union representatives will mark the International Labor Day on Thursday by staging a rally at the Nikola Pasic Square in downtown Belgrade and a protest walk down the central city streets, with an aim to draw attention to the difficult position of workers in Serbia.

The workers' protest last May 1 gathered around 2,000 people, but many more are expected this year, said Mihajlovic.

The trade union scene in Serbia needs to be unified, because there are trade unions whose officials do not fight for workers' rights but only for their own interests, he said.

The protest is planned to end at the Slavija Square, with the laying of wreaths at the monument dedicated to Dimitrije Tucovic, founder of the organized labor movement in Serbia and a passionate campaigner for workers' rights on the cusp of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Photo Tanjug, S. Radovanovic (archive...