State Misery

After hours of talks on Tuesday, May 27, the Serbian government and health workers, teachers and judiciary strike committee reached the compromise solution of 190 dinars minimum wage. The compromise solution was announced to the most persistent strikers - health and social workers - who had been chased out of central Belgrade Nikola Pasic square and into the nearby union hall by rain. That was also the end of the nine day strike. Just hours earlier about 1,000 doctors and other medical staff from across Serbia voiced their determination to endure to the end and demand a minimum wage raise from 160 to 223 and 247 dinars.

The protesters also spoke of robberies of humanitarian aid while mental patients were starving in the Laza Lazarevic hospital and added that the hospital's management board chairman is Mira Markovic which drew boos.

The protests began two-three months ago when teachers went on strike. Over 130,000 education workers started a strike which still hasn't ended. They demanded regular pay, safer and warmer class rooms where children won't be in any danger and got nothing but their salaries for March which were paid only recently. The strike was officially ended, the republican union was accused of treason and some schools still have shorter classes. Some schools in Vojvodina and Cacak threatened to stop all classes recently.

The quiet destruction of the education, health care, social and administrative systems has been ongoing for years. Nothing was invested into exhausted budget institutions but small and irregular salaries. Their sponsor, the state, managed to turn those institutions into symbols of survival in impossible conditions over the past few crisis years and in the meantime it took away their right to a general rebellion. The latest step was to put the entire health care system under state control. Dr. Stevan Petrovic of the Belgrade Clinical Center said the government decision "will tie us up even worse. This country is becoming a police state slowly but surely".

Things burst where no one expected. Judiciary administration employees joined the social rebellion with one-hour work stoppages. With the exception of judges whose salaries were raised by 40% on January 1, the judiciary administration hasn't had a pay rise since October. Judges are now paid, irregularly, between 1,200 and 1,500 dinars a month while their administration gets 320-450. Njegos Potezica, judiciary union leader, said the situation is unbearable and added that salaries were two months late. He said no one would talk to them or give them a deadline.

Judges, who do not have the right to strike, said judiciary leaders are lending support to the strike in private. Judges are turning to private practice en masse. They said even their salaries were low and added that they get no protection and are often targeted by criminals.

So far the state has shown that it only cares about pensioners probably because they are easily satisfied. The latest pension payments were taken out of the already poor health care budget. The state isn't showing any sensitivity for the poverty in the judiciary. Belgrade's first district court takes in over three million dinars a month in fines and taxes. Of that amount 10% goes to the court and the rest ends up in the state budget. They can't take anything away from the education system and the teacher's protest isn't interesting.

In nine days of strike, health and social care workers did the job for the judiciary as well: they got a 20% pay raise for April.

The government reacted haughtily to the unexpected rebellion. Ministers told the official media that there are no strikes or money for higher salaries.

The Serbian government is consolidating its ranks, the unions are preparing to do it all again and the pensioners are coming into the picture with an announcement of a strike and demand for the pensions they are owed.