BELGRADE (Serbia), July 10 (SeeNews) – Serbia's prime minister Ana Brnabic plans to act as mediator in a trade dispute between employers and trade unions at carmaker FCA Srbija, given the importance of the company for the country's economy, the government has said.
The talks will involve representatives of the strike committee, the management of FCA Srbija, as well as senior executives of Italy's Fiat, the Serbian government said in a statement on Saturday.
You can download the 2023 Automotive industry in Southeast Europe report here
FCA Srbija, a joint venture of Italy's Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Group and the Serbian government, halted production on June 28 due to a strike of its employees. They demand an increase of the basic salary to 50,000 dinars ($474.2/415.4 euro) from 38,000 dinars and regular payment of the agreed bonus for this year and 2018, Serbia's Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions said last month.
The Serbian government has called on the strike committee to start talks with the management as soon as possible and show its responsibility for the employees of FCA Srbija and the entire Serbian economy, the government said.
Brnabic held a meeting with the president of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions, Ljubisav Orbovic, on Saturday.
FCA Group controls 67% of the capital of FCA Srbija through its subsidiary Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA), while the Serbian government owns the remainder.
FCA Srbija was the biggest Serbian exporter in the first five months of 2017, with export revenue of 468 million euro. The company operates a plant in Kragujevac, central Serbia, where it produces the Fiat 500L model.
(1 euro = 0.87702 euro)