Violence and Low Salaries Drive Protests

Serbian Teachers To Protest at the Beginning of New School Year

Protesters rallied against violence in 2023 after two back-to-back deadly shootings including at a school in Belgrade. Photo credi: Andrej Isakovic

Education workers in Serbia are preparing for the start of the new school year, but this time by planning industrial action to highlight long-standing concerns that remain unaddressed by the government. Barring unexpected changes in discussions with the relevant ministries, members of the Independent Union of Education Workers of Serbia (NSPRS) will begin the school year with a slowdown, protesting issues of violence and security affecting school staff.

For years, education workers have faced violence from students and parents, often over grade disputes. This violence has ranged from administrative harassment, such as anonymous and false reports to inspections, to physical attacks, including incidents where teachers have been assaulted and been exposed to school shootings. One such event occurred in May 2023, when a 13-year-old student killed nine children and a caretaker in one of Belgrade’s schools, sparking nationwide protests against violence.

Trade unions are now demanding that the government address the culture of violence that has permeated Serbian schools, primarily by amending the criminal code to ensure that attacks on school staff are more adequately punishable, allowing teachers to suspend particularly violent students, and ending the practice of anonymous reporting. The Ministry of Education has acknowledged these demands for some time, yet, according to the unions, no progress has been made in implementing them.

Given that grades are the main trigger of violence against school staff, NSPRS members plan not to grade students’ work until mid-October as part of their slowdown. If no concrete reassurances are received by that time, they will proceed by giving all students top marks. “At least no one punches teachers who give out straight A’s,” NSPRS President Dušan Kokot told media outlet Vreme.

“With this action, we are trying to make the state consider the situation in which educators find themselves. This is the cry of educators that some things must change,” he said.

Uncertainties persist over necessary salary increases

Other trade unions have announced potential industrial action over income levels in the education sector. The Confederation of Unions of Education Workers’ Union of Serbia (USPRS), for instance, has stated that the delay in addressing necessary salary increases has gone on for too long. If this situation does not change, the Ministry might face full-blown strikes in the coming months. Mirjana Čašić of USPRS told local media that to meet previously agreed terms with the ministry, education workers’ salaries should increase by up to 25%. However, she noted that there is still no information on how this will be implemented.

While the trade unions have chosen different paths for their actions, they are ultimately aiming for the same result: an improvement in the overall conditions in schools and other parts of the education system, which will benefit teachers, students, and parents alike. Because of this, Kokot expressed hope that their slowdown will be met with support from students’ families.