Although the Prime Minister of Serbia Milos Vucevic claims that "second semester starts January 20th, period", and despite his agreement with the four representative trade unions, many primary and secondary schools in Serbia will not work on the first day of the second semester.
The Independent Union of Serbian Educators announced that a one-day strike will be organized on January 20 with a protest gathering in Belgrade as a form of support for students.
There is no unified list of schools that will be closed on Monday, January 20. However, what is known so far is that a significant number of primary and secondary schools are involved. Among them are almost all high schools and high schools in Belgrade, most of the schools in Novi Sad, high schools in Sremski Karlovci, then in Valjevo, as well as elementary and high schools in Užice. This number, judging by the information available on social networks, is not final.
"There is no detailed list of schools in Serbia that will not start working on Monday. We are expecting a chaotic situation on January 20, which we have never had before, because parts of some schools will go into complete suspension, and parts of the collective will work and hold classes for 45 minutes. One estimate is that the vast majority of educators will work normally in primary schools, but in secondary schools, due to support for students, a greater number of them will stop teaching," Danilo Gligorić, president of the representative Union of Education Workers, told Nova.rs.
Beograd
In Belgrade, on Monday, all Belgrade grammar schools that are part of the Forum of Belgrade Grammar Schools, 17 of them, will not work, as well as the Third Belgrade Grammar School, where they independently made a decision to suspend work at the plenum.
As for primary schools, according to the list published by the portal bebac.com compiled on the basis of information received from parents and teachers, the following will not be open on Monday: Elementary School "Banović Strahinja", Elementary School "Ivo Andrić", Elementary School "Banović Strahinja", Elementary School " Skadarlija", Elementary School "Dule Karaklajić", and Elementary School "Vojislav Voka Savić" in Lazarevac, Elementary School "Jovan Dučić", Elementary School "Jelica Milovanovic" in Sopot, "Despot Stefan Lazarević" Elementary School, "France Prešern" Elementary School, "October 14" Elementary School, "Duško Radović" Elementary School, "Đura Jaksić" Elementary School, "Pavle Savić" Elementary School, "October 20" Elementary School, "Đorđe Krstić" Elementary School and Elementary School "Majka Jugovića".
A one-day suspension of classes will be held at "Lujo Davičo" Elementary School, "Kosta Manojlović" Elementary School, "Mokranjac" Elementary School and "Josip Slavenski" Elementary School.
The strike will include parts of the "Posavski partizani" elementary school collective in Obrenovac, the "Rade Končar" ETS and the "Borislav Pekić" elementary school.
Novi Sad
The following schools will not be open in Novi Sad: "Mileva Marić Ajnštajn" Elementary School, "Dositej Obradović" Elementary School, "Mihajlo Pupin" Elementary School, "Žarko Zrenjanin" Elementary School, Karlovačka Gymnasium, Jovina Gymnasium, Laza Kostić Gymnasium, "Sonja Marinković" Elementary School, Medicinska school, Elementary School "First Vojvodina Brigade", Elementary School "Dušan Radović", Elementary School "Ivo Lola Ribar", Elementary School "Isidor Bajić", Elementary School "Vasa Stajić", Elementary School "Jovan Jovanović Zmaj"
Uzice
The forum of Užice primary and secondary schools made a decision on the suspension of work, which will last until the demands of the students, as well as their demands, are met.
The announcement of the Forum was signed by employees of the "Nada Matić" Elementary School, the First Elementary School of King Peter the Second, the Užice High School, the "Vojislav Lale Stefanović" Music School, the "Savo Jovanović" Elementary School in Sirogojno, the "Stari Grad" Elementary School, the Medical School, Elementary school "Dimitrije Tucović" in Čajetina, Elementary school "Aleksa Dejović" in Sevojno, Art school, Technical school "Radoje Ljubičić", Elementary School "Dušan Jerković", Elementary School "Slobodan Sekulić", School of Economics and Technical School.
Kragujevac
The Union of Education Workers' Union in Kragujevac announced that it will suspend work on Monday, January 20. The professors at the Second High School in Kragujevac made a decision by a majority of votes to go on a general strike from Monday, and the same decision was made in several elementary schools in Kragujevac. Unofficially, it is expected that the teachers of the First Kragujevac High School and the High School of Medicine will also suspend classes from Monday.
Zrenjanin
The collective of the Zrenjanin High School made a unanimous decision at the meeting held on Friday, January 17, to completely suspend classes from January 20.
Cacak
Members of the Čačak Education Union will go on a complete work stoppage from Monday, January 20, until the demands are met.
Gornji Milanovac
The collective of the Gymnasium "Takovski ustanak" in Gornji Milanovac unanimously decided to suspend classes on Monday, January 20.
How to avoid being fired
As "Vreme" previously wrote, the power of the collective could be the answer to the question of any teacher considering whether to strike on Monday (January 20) and refuse to teach classes at school.
"The answer to the question - are teachers allowed to strike now - is not very simple," Mario Reljanović, a research associate at the Institute for Comparative Law in Belgrade, explained to "Vreme". "Even if it is interpreted that Monday's protest is a continuation of the previous strike, teachers would still have to hold classes for 30 minutes, they cannot stop working." However, there is a solution, and that is for everyone to join together. They can't really fire all the teachers in Serbia."
The problem that teachers who refuse to work can have is the interpretation of the continuity of the strike. Because it is not clear whether they will then continue the existing strike or start a new one.
If they continue the existing one, the representative unions can say that they stopped it, and if they start a new one - that strike must be announced in advance and officially, the law states.
Dušan Kokot from the Independent Union of Educators of Serbia told "Vreme" that educators "continue their strike even though it is on the edge of the law."
"Every union member will get legal protection," he says. "Those who are not members can be in trouble, so I recommend everyone to at least become a member somewhere."
Sources: Vreme/Nova.rs/bebac.rs
