The Changing Nature of the Right to Strike in the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

The right to strike is not an absolute right according to the Constitution of Serbia, however, its dimensions are determined by a constitutional provision, which perscribes it as a right of the employees regulated either in compliance with the provisions of the law dealing with the right to strike, or by a collective agreement. Although the right to strike today belongs to the corpus of basic human rights, under certain circumstances it can be prohibited or limited by an obligation to fulfill certain conditions. A general prohibition of strikes is not in compliance with the principles of the freedom of association. However, even the international labor standards allow the possibility to either prohibit or limit the right to strike for a certain type of employees. National legislations are obliged to adjust their internal needs to limit the right to strike so as to comply with the international norms. Any venture out of the framework of internationally recognized conditions for the limitation of strike can become its opposite, a restriction on the rights of employees to exercise and protect their socio-economic rights to organize a (lawful) strike. The author reinvestigates the concepts of strikes, with a focus on Serbian legislation and most important Court decisions in this area. In addition, author analyzes most important international labour standards related to the right to strike and points out the state of the social dialogue in the republic of Serbia.