Fiat workers end 3-week strike that halted production at Serbia's top exporter

Fiat workers end 3-week strike that halted production at Serbia's top exporter
By bne IntelliNews July 19, 2017

Production at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Srbija factory in Kragujevac will restart on July 19 after workers and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic agreed on the evening of July 18 to end the strike at the plant, which has suspended production for 23 days. 

FCA Srbija, a joint venture between Italy's Fiat and the Serbian government, was Serbia’s largest exporter in January-May when its exports were valued at €468mn. Brnabic’s government has been instrumental in ending the Fiat Serbia strike as it sought to avoid losing a major employer and industrial producer. Nonetheless, the three-week halt in production is likely to hit Serbian export figures this quarter. 

The Fiat Serbia strike started on June 27, with workers initially demanding salary increases from RSD38,000 (€310) to RSD45,000, bonuses and reorganisation of the production work. 

Fiat workers were complaining they are overloaded and have been forced to take on extra tasks after the management failed to find a proper solution to replace those who left or are on extended leaves, after FCA reduced its workforce from 3,200 to 2,500 people last year and cut both the number of shifts and production.

Even though the government was begging workers to go back to work, promising its help and mediation with Fiat management, workers reportedly refused to talk and were constantly adding new demands. Brnabic claimed the Fiat Serbia strike could result in the Italian investor leaving Serbia and moving production to another country. On the other hand, Fiat refused to sit at the negotiation table before the strike stopped, claiming this was its company policy.

However, after Brnabic came to Kragujevac to talk to Fiat workers on July 18, their resistance eased and they agreed to go back to work even though they did not have a promise that any of their demands would be definitely met. The only promise Brnabic has given is that the government will do its best in the negotiations with Fiat.

“I will keep my promise I have given to workers that I will be present at negotiation talks with Fiat but I can’t guarantee what we will get because the government as minority owner can’t guarantee anything...  Anyway, I guarantee that, together with my team and Minister of Economy Goran Knezevic, I will insist as much as possible on workers’ demands being accomplished,” Brnabic said at the joint press conference with workers in Kragujevac on July 18.

According to the government statement, striking workers are returning to their jobs at 6am on July 19, while negotiation talks will start at noon at the government’s headquarters in Belgrade.

Serbia has been trying to start exports of Fiat 500L cars manufactured at Kragujevac to Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries, under a free trade agreement (FTA) signed with Russia in 2000. However, talks have lasted for years without any concrete results. 

Reportedly, one of reasons why Fiat chose Serbia to start production in 2008 was that it would allow it to place cars on the EAEU market. Now the strike is over, this could be next obstacle on Fiat’s successful operations in Serbia, even though Serbia now hopes to start Fiat exports to the US. 

Meanwhile, a separate strike by workers at the Serbian factory of Slovenian domestic appliance Gorenje also ended on July 18, after workers struck a pay deal. 

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