18.03.2017.
The Ministry is Open for Military Unions Initiatives
The Minister of Defence, Zoran Đorđević, together with his associates met with the representatives of the Military Union of Serbia today.
The meeting reconfirmed yet again that the Ministry of Defence remains open for a dialogue with all military union organisations, and that it supports every initiative aimed at improving the social and economic status of the professional members of the Serbian Armed Forces, which is possible to carry out in the existing circumstances.
Minister Đorđević emphasised that according to his opinion the unions were not “the other side”, and that they should rather work together on realising the idea which should bring prosperity to the entire system, and the right way for doing so was to have a constructive dialogue.
The discussion during the meeting covered the position of professional soldiers, and the Minister of Defence said that at the beginning of the year a new regulation had been introduced giving them priority at internal competitions for their employment after the end of their eligibility for professional military service, and that their status would also be resolved through military – income-based establishment for the provision of physical security which is in the process of setting up.
It has been envisaged that the new formation will bring about the resolution of the problem of professional NCOs. When asked by union representatives about the status of the Aeronautical Plant „Moma Stanojlović”, Minister Đorđević pointed out that this Plant as well as the Technical Overhaul Facility in Čačak would see better days and those two institutions would be employed to their full capacities.
Đorđević said that the Ministry of Defence fully supported union organisation of professional members of the Armed Forces, in terms of the social position of the employees, and that he would pay due attention to all the proposals made by the Military Union of Serbia.
In this respect, it was agreed that a new meeting should take place after two weeks during which the interlocutors would, through an open dialogue, arrive at constructive solutions that would offer the improvement for all categorises of the employed in the Serbian Armed Forces, which are at the same time in line with realistic possibilities.
