Union shuts down Serb auto strike
By
Verena Nees
22 July 2017
Just one day after Serb autoworkers voted by a large majority to continue their strike at Fiat (FCA) in Kragujevac, the strike committee leadership suddenly announced an end to the action on Tuesday evening.
After a two-hour meeting behind closed doors with Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, strike leader Zoran Marković—without providing any explanation—informed the workers they would be back at work the following day.
In a Facebook message shortly after 10 pm, he commented blandly, “After 16 days of strike, we agreed today with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia to begin negotiations with FCA management with the active participation of the prime minister at 12 pm tomorrow. The strike committee and the representatives of the independent trade unions subsequently agreed to end the strike and begin work on July 19.”
The same Marković Monday evening had called for a large rally in front of Kragujevac’s city hall. The demonstration, which was to have taken place Wednesday and include representatives from other factories, was also cancelled. Instead, Marković issued what amounted to a command on Facebook, “When you begin work tomorrow, I expect you to respect the norms and regulations of the company without exception and carry out your work to the highest quality and with workplace morale.” In addition, according to the trade union bureaucrat, the workers should tolerate no “disunity” among them, i.e. no criticism of the union’s decision.
Samostalni Sindikat (SSSS), Serbia’s largest union, whose members led the strike, has shut down the three-week strike at a moment’s notice against the express wishes of the majority of workers and without having obtained any concessions from…