Serbian workers strike, protest for higher wages (fwd)

["Bryan N. Alexander" <bnalexan@xxxxxxxxx>]

No word yet on other events in FY-



Bryan Alexander                                 Department of English
email: bnalexan@xxxxxxxxx                       University of Michigan
phone: (313) 764-0418                           Ann Arbor, MI  USA    48103
fax: (313) 763-3128                             http://www.umich.edu/~bnalexan

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 29 May 96 02:05:09 -0700
From: Neighborhood Queen <clyde@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Multiple recipients of list <riot-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Serbian workers strike, protest for higher wages

Serbian workers strike, protest for higher wages
a1021LBY356reulb
r f BC-YUGOSLAVIA-SERBIA-STR   05-28 0352
^BC-YUGOSLAVIA-SERBIA-STRIKE@
 ^Serbian workers strike, protest for higher wages@
    BELGRADE, May 28 (Reuters) - Striking court employees and
health workers demonstrated in Belgrade on Tuesday in support of
pay increases and better working conditions.
    About 1,000 protesters gathered outside the offices of the
pro-government Independent Trade Union and complained their
strikes were being ignored by the authorities and the state
controlled media.
    Labour unrest over low pay and unpaid wages has gathered
pace in Serbia this spring as workers realised that the
suspension of U.N. sanctions late last year had not revived the
almost lifeless economy.
    ``We want to live and work normally,'' Stevan Djordjevic,
president of the strike committee of the Serbian Health and
Social Workers' Trade Union, told Reuters. ``We demand a 30
percent minimum wage increase.''
    Health workers said the minimum wage in the public sector
was 160 dinars ($32) per month compared with the government's
claimed national average wage of 600 dinars ($120).
    According to official statistics, a family of four needs a
minimum of 1,300 ($260) a month.
    Striking tractor workers in Belgrade said earlier this month
they had not been paid since January.
    Djordjevic accused the government and state-controlled media
of playing down the strike and added: ``We expected to have some
contacts with the government, but they have not shown readiness
to negotiate with us.''
    Hospitals are open and staff are working but turning away
non-essential cases, acccording to health unions.
    Njegos Potezica, president of the State Administration and
Judiciary Trade Union said his members had been staging daily
one-hour strikes for the last 10 days.
    He criticised government ministers who have accused strikers
of undermining the economic and social stability programmes by
demanding higher wages, which would require the printing of
money which would generate inflation.
    ``Our demands are minimal and the strike will continue until
all of them are met,'' Djordjevic said.
    Leposava Milicevic, Serbia's health minister, claimed that
90 percent of medical workers did not support the strike.
 ^REUTER@
Reut11:04 05-28-96

Reuter N:Copyright 1996, Reuters News Service

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