It has been confirmed! General strike at Nikola Tesla Airport on Friday: What can passengers expect?

Photo: beg.aero/Stefan Jovanovic

Aero.rs has learned that since no agreement has been reached between the Belgrade Airport company and the Zajedno trade union, a general strike will be organized on Friday, March 14, from midnight to the next midnight.

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Workers of the Belgrade Airport company, which manages the Belgrade Nikola Tesla International as a concessionaire, will participate in the strike.

The Belgrade Airport company recently, without consultation with the trade union, changed the rules regarding minimum level of work, which, Zajedno claims, is contrary to the Labor Law. In some organizational units, a 100% work obligation has been ordered, which the trade union disputes as illegal.

Therefore, passengers can expect the airport to be working on Friday, but with possible flight and delays involving airport procedures.

Reasons for the strike

The general strike follows a warning strike on February 21, when the workers stopped work for an hour to protest low wages and unfavorable working conditions. According to the trade union Zajedno, the key reasons for the strike are:

• Dissatisfaction with the level of salaries that are not aligned with the increase in the cost of living,
• Bad working conditions and increased pressure on workers,
• The management's decision on the minimum work process was made without consultation with trade unions,
• The dropping of bonuses, which in previous years somewhat alleviated the income gap.

The trade union points out that salaries did not increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a large difference in employee incomescompared to the average salaries in Belgrade.

"The employer tried to maintain a satisfactory level of income through bonuses, but after their abolition, the workers are in a very difficult financial situation," the union said.

First general strike since takeover by current concessionaire

This is the first general strike at Nikola Tesla Airport since the management was taken over by the company VINCI Airports, which further stresses the seriousness of the problem and the dissatisfaction of the workers. The trade unions do not exclude the possibility of new radical measures unless the management meets their demands.

Although certain operations at the airport will be functional, passengers can expect:

• Flight delays,
• Possible cancellations of some departures,
• Longer wait times at check-in and baggage claim.

Given the uncertainty regarding the implementation of the new minimum work rules, passengers are advised to check the status of their flights in a timely manner and plan spending additional time related to airport procedures.

(Aero.rs)