Wave of protests continues in Serbia: Teachers go on strike
In Serbia, where protests have been ongoing for over two months, teachers have gone on strike to protest working conditions. Following the collapse of a train station in Novi Sad on the first day of November, which resulted in 15 deaths, protests began across the country. While student protests that started in mid-November are still ongoing, the teachers' strike has now been added to the wave of protests.
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Teachers in Serbia's capital, Belgrade, who staged a walkout, held a protest march to demonstrate against salaries and working conditions in the education sector.
Thousands of teachers who are members of the Independent Education Workers' Union of Serbia, who did not agree with the deal the government made with authorized education unions, gathered in front of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade, along with students and citizens who supported them.
A scene from the nationwide student protests that began in mid-November; Serbian university students had occupied parts of campus buildings at some universities
Independent Education Workers' Union President Dusan Kokot reported that classes were not held in 50 percent of the country's schools on the first day of the strike.
Stating that the walkouts found more support in large cities, Kokot said, 'We showed the courage to stand up against threats.'
Teachers holding a protest march in Belgrade, January 20, 2025
THEY ALSO REACTED TO THE TRAIN STATION ACCIDENT
The demonstrators, who stated that educators' salaries are low and working conditions are poor, also protested the accident at the train station in the northern city of Novi Sad that caused the deaths of 15 people.
Meanwhile, Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic noted in a television program he attended that inspections would be carried out in schools starting tomorrow and that interrupting education is against the law.
Vucevic argued that the demonstrators were dragging parents and students into politics, using the phrase, 'Politics has no place among children.'
Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic