A day after the statement by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, that the postmen who are still on strike are "politically organized", their punishment began.
Postmen who do not give up their strike and suspension of work from this morning will receive a disciplinary measure of "temporary removal from work", confirmed for N1 Post employee Stefan Mitrović.
Mitrović stated that the management of the Post of Serbia started with repression measures and that in certain post offices they began to distribute the disciplinary measure "temporary removal from the workplace", which his colleagues do not accept and do not sign.
As can be seen in one of the solutions, which N1 had insight into, employees are removed from the workplace with the explanation that they did not respect work discipline.
According to Mitrović, the president of one of the trade unions, who reached an agreement with the Government of Serbia on Thursday, is intimidating employees at smaller post offices in Vojvodina with the information that the hiring of 7.000 new employees at the Post Office is being prepared.
In Niš, according to his words, the director came to a shift where there were fewer people and threatened them with the police.
The striking workers were given until Thursday, November 16 at noon to return to work without consequences, since part of the union reached an agreement with the Government of Serbia.
Who is honorable and who is not for president?
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, said yesterday that the problems that caused the suspension of work at the Post of Serbia "had to be solved earlier" and that "there will have to be many changes".
Several thousand employees of the Post of Serbia, according to workers' estimates, went on strike because they were dissatisfied with salaries and the management's attitude.
The work stoppage began on October 24 in Novi Sad, and spread throughout Serbia.
The Government of Serbia announced on November 15 that an agreement had been reached with the representatives of the employees of the Post of Serbia. However, part of the workers denied it.
According to Beta, the postmen who did not accept Vlada Vučić's offer were accused of being "politically organized".
For the group that accepted the Government's offer, he said that they are "honorable and responsible and honest people."
What are postmen looking for?
The initial demands of the employees were a 30 percent higher salary, the employment of a larger number of workers, and the permanent employment of those employed on a fixed-term basis.
The last offer of the Government, as announced, is the payment of a one-time aid to all workers, except for the management, of around 170 euros, and
The announcement also adds that a salary increase of 1 percent has been agreed on for all employees in technology as of November 10 of this year. An additional 10 percent increase will occur on January 1, 2024.
As stated, the government also agrees with the hiring of additional workers in technology.
The Government's offer was preceded by several unsuccessful meetings between the management and the competent ministry with the employees of the Post Office.
At the head of the post office is an official of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, who has the status of an acting official.
Post office: Starts work in three shifts
The public company Pošta Srbije announced that the postal centers in Belgrade and Novi Sad are functioning as of today and that work will continue during the weekend in three shifts, and complete normalization of postal traffic throughout Serbia can be expected at the beginning of next week.
The post office apologized to all citizens, partners and service users for the delay in shipments and all other consequences caused by the strike of part of the workers, and thanked all unions for their constructive dialogue with Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, with whom an agreement was signed on ending the work stoppage.
Under that agreement, tech workers get a 10 percent pay raise immediately, then an additional 10 percent starting January 1, 2024.
Workers in the administration will receive an additional salary increase of 1 percent from January 10, and all workers, except the management, will be paid a one-time financial aid of 20.000 dinars until November 25.
The post office also announced that workers who have returned to work, and who have already been paid reduced wages due to the suspension of work, will be compensated for the difference with their next salary, along with travel expenses.
BG/FoNet/N1/Free Europe
Read daily news, analysis, commentary and interviews at www.vreme.com
