As much as it may seem to someone from the outside that work in civil society organizations is idyllic, they are wrong. Neither are salaries above average, nor is every non-governmental organization an ideal employer.
The union of workers of endowments, foundations and citizens' associations is in the process of being formed, and the first statement was published on the occasion of the events at the Fund for Humanitarian Law, whose founder is Nataša Kandić.
They issued the statement, as they stated, regarding "abuse at work and other violations of the law" in the Humanitarian Law Fund (HHL). They also state that the unionized employees of the HLC want to draw the public's attention to the illegal actions of the founder of the HLC, Nataša Kandić, with this announcement.
No comment
Nataša Kandić herself did not want to comment on the claims of the employees of the organization she founded. He says to the "Vremena" portal that he cannot comment on something that has not been signed by anyone. When we asked if she would do it if someone came forward publicly, she answered: "I will think about it."
On the other hand, some of the employees of the Fund for Humanitarian Law with whom the "Vremena" portal spoke told us that they do not want to come out individually under their first and last names yet, because Nataša Kandić still comes to the Fund's premises, and in that way they want to to protect against new bullying.
"We think this is her tactic, and that's why our decision is to stand together as a union for the time being," one of the interlocutors told us.
The Vremena portal has already known about the accusations against Nataša Kandić for a year - sources stated that some of the HLC employees suffered "serious psychological consequences" due to her "bullying". But, in fear of the consequences, they waited for the right moment and for them to gather enough, in order to go public.
What are they accusing Kandic of?
The press release states that 14 employees and one former employee, who was employed until January of this year, declared in writing about the abuse/mobbing they experienced from Nataša Kandić.
The President of the Board of Directors appointed a special three-member committee of the Board of Directors, which established: bad treatment of employees (mistreatment and use of offensive language), bad management of the RECOM project (failure to meet goals and deadlines, frequent changes in methodology, inability to retain and motivate already trained staff), and abuse authorizations to control access and use of documentation in the database. Due to all of the above, on February 26, 2023, the Board of Directors of the HLC advised the Executive Director of the HLC Ivana Žanić that Nataša Kandić's contract as the coordinator of the RECOM project, which expired on February 28, 2023, would not be extended.
It is also stated that Nataša Kandić physically returned to the premises of the HLC on May 15, completely ignoring the reports filed against her, thus causing "new stress among the majority of employees".
"The whole situation further disrupted the work process at the HLC, and some of the employees who were mobbed by Nataša Kandić in the previous period took sick leave due to the feeling of anxiety caused by her return and the inability to work normally. "From May 15 to today, eight employees submitted requests for protection against abuse at work," the announcement states.
It is also added that Nataša Kandić illegally appointed a new Board of Directors, which was confirmed by the "Commercial Register Agency, which rejected the registration application of the Board of Directors submitted by Nataša Kandić and the decision on the election of directors, because the provisions of the HLC Statute as well as other legal provisions were grossly violated. provisions".
It is also stated that the abuse of HLC employees is an example of a "systematic violation of rights within an organization that deals precisely with the protection of human rights."
Read daily news, analysis, commentary and interviews at www.vreme.com
