The first roundtable organised by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, saw the presentation of the Draft Labour Act.

The discussion was opened by the Chairman of the National Assembly, Predrag Markovic, who announced that the Labour Bill would be one of the first items on the agenda of the next sitting of the National Assembly.

The Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Issues in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Slobodan Lalovic, underlined that the main aim of the new Act would be to harmonise Serbia’s labour legislation with European Union standards.

According to Lalovic, the most significant changes introduced in the Draft Act were the introduction of the principle of equality and the prohibition of discrimination, regulation of employees’ rights in changing employers, as well as allowing employees to exercise their rights in case of company liquidation.

The Labour Bill also stipulates that the collective contract is the basic document setting out the rights, obligations and responsibilities of employees and employers, and that such a contract must be signed between the two parties.