Two leaders of the union representing Serbian air traffic controllers were recently sacked as part of a union-busting campaign.
Ranko Radovanovic (president) and Igor Hajderpašić (secretary), leaders of the Sindikat kontrole letenja (SKL), were dismissed from their jobs and had their access to airport control towers revoked. They were told that this was based on a vague “negative opinion from the security services.” The SKL is convinced that this sacking, which followed upon a successful 40-day strike, is part of a deliberate attempt to bust the union.
Both men played key roles in this year’s lawful and successful strike which was aimed at improving working conditions and strengthening the safety and efficiency of Serbia’s air traffic control system — objectives aligned with both union and national interests.
This attempt to decapitate the union appears to have been initiated by Serbia’s ruling party. As the union described it, this raises “serious concerns of political interference and retaliation against trade union representatives, threatening fundamental rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.”
Ranko and Igor, who I interviewed this week, emphasised that the strike was entirely legal and they seemed quite surprised at the government’s actions.
Meanwhile, the European Transport Workers Federation (ETF) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) recently sent a joint letter to Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić and Prime Minister Đuro Macut, urging them to urgently intervene. In their letter, the European trade union leaders wrote:
“Unfortunately, this recent development in Serbia is no isolated case – it comes after other concrete attacks to the fundamental right to organise of Serbian aviation workers in recent years. In this regard, we recall the pending ILO complaint against the Government of Serbia concerning Serbia’s failure to adequately respect, protect, and uphold trade union rights and the principles of freedom of association enshrined in ILO Conventions No. 87 and No. 98, which Serbia ratified in November 2000.”
The ETF and ETUC letter reminded “Serbian authorities that, as a candidate for EU membership, Serbia has committed to progressively align its laws and practices with the EU … including Article 28 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union — which enshrines the right to collective bargaining and action and carries the same legal value as the EU Treaties.”
This is not the first time that a right-wing government has chosen to attack air traffic controllers as part of a campaign to destroy independent, democratic trade unions.
Back in 1981, shortly after Ronald Reagan was elected U.S. president, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) began contract negotiations with the federal government. When these failed to produce an agreement, they went on strike in early August. Reagan cracked down on the striking workers without hesitation. He sacked 11,345 air traffic controllers and massive fines were imposed by courts on the union for every day it continued industrial action. Reagan used the full power of the notorious 1947 Taft-Hartley Act — which is still in force today — to destroy PATCO. Two months later, the union was decertified.
If the Serbian air traffic controllers are not to face the same fate as their American counterparts did in 1981, they need the full support of the European and global trade union movements.
At the request of SKL and the ETF, a campaign was recently launched on LabourStart. Please support it and share it here: https://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=5738
You can listen to the interview with Ranko and Igor here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2313632/episodes/18109960
This article appears in this week’s issue of Solidarity.