One of the most vocal promotors of leaving the Eurozone was Costas Lapavitsas, professor of Economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Mr. Lapavitsas is a prominent critic of the European financial system, and has been working on issues related to the theory of money over many years.
In the past couple of decades, Goli Otok has been frequented by anti-communists and revisionists. History of this island unquestionably represents one of the most prominent blots in Yugoslav socialism, but sensationalism and falsified data do not help in better understanding the matter.
Pauperised Serbia pays exuberant amounts for educating doctors who end up a number in the Bureau of Labour registers or find employment in the West; affluent Germany systematically educates fewer doctors than it needs because it will always be able to recruit them from countries that “have not made it” in their transition to capitalism.
The social need for renewable energy has become a true frenzy for profit-making among the private investors. Building a mini hydroelectric power plant in a nature reserve can have devastating effects on the ecosystem. We visited Stara Planina, an area where rivers could soon start flowing through the pipes.
Marc Ribot’s excellence as a versatile guitarist, an improviser and a composer is well known among fans and music lovers. What has received less attention is his activism for labor rights of musicians, his view on and experience with labor organizing. After his exciting concert with The Young Philadelphians at the 33rd Belgrade Jazz Festival, Mašina had the opportunity to discuss with him a subject – he says – he gladly talks about: politics.
The changes that the Facebook company introduced to the social network it controls might have political consequences.
A number of strikes in recent months point to wrong policies for subsidizing private investment and curtailing labor rights.
Unbearable working conditions during the summer months in Geox factory in the city of Vranje.
The strike at the automobile producer Fiat Chrysler, biggest exporter of goods from Serbia, is ongoing. Mašina’s journalists visited Kragujevac and talked to the workers and union representatives.
The strike at the automobile producer Fiat Chrysler, biggest exporter of goods from Serbia, is ongoing. Mašina’s journalists visited Kragujevac and talked to the workers and union representatives.
The Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence makes provisions that could be considered progressive. While the public reception of this law was shaped by the right-wing misogynist narrative, its implementation is made questionable by the foreseen evaluation and assessment methods, as well as the systematic socio-economic inequality of women.
Evictions are an increasing threat to indebted citizens of Serbia. Thus they are marking the final phase of the transformation strategy which led to the privatization of Serbian housing fund.
Draft Law on Dual Education faces criticism of professionals, trade unions and leftist organizations. This proposed regulation would in effect legalise child labour, make it extremely difficult for students of vocational schools to enroll in higher education institutions, cause additional deterioration of labour rights and generally worsen the position of workers in the labour market. Instead of being provided with quality education, students will be trained for the role of cheap and obedient labour force.
The eligibility criteria for the public farm lease tender demonstrate a sincere desire of the government to please profit making interest of the large companies. Small independent farmers find it increasingly difficult to survive under the pressure put on by their competitors, which leads to further deterioration of the living conditions in the countryside.
Adoption of the unfavorable law on agency employment and its future regulation will only worsen the already poor labor relations.
Internships, traineeships and other programmes for acquiring work experience are increasingly becoming a precondition to getting a labour contract. Even though interns are performing roles of workers, in most cases they are not paid for them nor is their employment guaranteed after the programme has ended.
