Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Serbia

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) (Ratification: 2000)
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) (Ratification: 2000)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on equality, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine the Conventions Nos 100 (equal remuneration) and 111 (discrimination in employment and occupation) together.

The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union Confederation (TUC) “Nezavisnost” and of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (CATUS) communicated with the Government’s report.

Convention No. 111 – National policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation

Articles 1 to 3. Equality of opportunity and treatment. Roma. The Committee notes that the 2022 Census collected substantial data on the Roma population, recording 131,936 persons identifying as Roma (1.98 per cent of the population), down from 147,604 in 2011. Most declared Romani (59.57 per cent) or Serbian (35.90 per cent) as their mother tongue. The Government reports several initiatives to promote Roma inclusion. These include targeted programmes by the National Employment Service – such as job-search training, education and training measures, subsidized employment, and online courses in the Romani language – supported by 12 public calls expected to reach more than 23,000 participants this year. Roma women are also identified as a priority group under the 2021–26 Employment Strategy. In education, Serbia continues developing an inclusive policy to improve staff capacity to prevent and address discrimination; more than 900 education employees have been trained following the adoption of two rulebooks in 2016 and 2018. While welcoming these initiatives, the Committee also notes concerns raised by the UN Human Rights Committee regarding the persistent discrimination, poverty and exclusion affecting Roma – particularly those in informal settlements – and the limited participation of Roma in the development of the 2022 inclusion strategy. The Committee therefore requests further information on: (i) measures and results under the 2021–26 Employment Strategy, including data on Roma women situation in the labour market; (ii) specific activities carried out under the Action Plan of the Strategy for the Social Inclusion of Roma 2022–30, including at all levels of education; and (iii) participation rates of Roma in education, vocational training, and the labour market.

Other minorities. The Committee notes the Government’s data on beneficiaries of active labour market measures by minority group and type of measure, as well as its renewed commitment to combating intolerance, stereotyping, discrimination and violence on grounds such as nationality, language and religion. In response to the Committee’s earlier request regarding balanced representation of men and women of ethnic minorities in the civil service, the Government explains that, under the Regulation on Central Personnel Records, all state, provincial and local authorities must enter employee data into the human resources information system, including voluntarily declared ‘nationality’ and language of education. Once operational, the system will provide data on minority representation among civil servants who disclose this information. The Government further indicates that recruitment processes in these bodies are governed by non-discrimination principles. Transparent public competitions promote equal opportunity, while affirmative measures allow priority for equally qualified minority candidates. Training on minority rights, freedoms and gender equality is also provided through the National Academy for Public Administration. The Committee requests continued information on: (i) measures to promote equal access to employment and occupation for minorities – including efforts to combat stereotypes, prevent prejudice and foster tolerance – and the results achieved; and (ii) cases of ethnicity-based discrimination submitted to the competent authorities. The Committee also asks the Government to provide statistical data on the representation of minorities in the civil service once the human resources information system established under the Regulation on Central Personnel Records becomes operational.

Persons with disabilities. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government regarding the implementation of measures and activities of professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Government highlights that an employer who hires a person with a disability may exercise the right to reimbursement of wage costs for a person who is engaged in providing professional support to a newly employed person with a disability, during the time that he/she provides professional assistance, and up to 12 months. Expenses eligible for reimbursement encompass: (1) paid net wages, for full working hours, in proportion to the number of working hours of professional support provided to a person with disabilities in relation to the full monthly working hours, in the amount of up to 50,000.00 Serbian dinars per month; and (2) corresponding taxes and contributions for compulsory social insurance. An employer who hires a person with a disability who needs workplace adaptation can also exercise the right to a refund of the eligible expenses of workplace adaptation in a one-time amount of up to 400,000.00 dinars per person with disability. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing data and information on any legal and practical measures adopted to tackle the main challenges faced by persons with disabilities in the world of work (i.e. access to public facilities, education and vocational training and to employment and opportunities for reasonable adjustment of working conditions), as well as on the impact of these measures.

Convention No. 100 – Principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value

Articles 1 to 4. Gender pay gap. According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, the gender wage gap widened between 2021 and 2023, rising from 11.8 per cent to 14 per cent for adults (15+) and from 7.2 per cent to 10.3 per cent for the 15–29 age group. The Government plans to review the data to identify the causes and implement appropriate measures. The Employment Strategy of Serbia 2021–26 prioritizes improving the labour market position of unemployed persons, including women, through active labour market measures aimed at reducing gender disparities. The Government submitted data with respect to some of the measures implemented in 2023 that benefited specifically unemployed women from vulnerable groups, including single parents, victims of domestic violence or human trafficking, refugees, and displaced persons. For rural women, Roma women, and women with disabilities – recognized as hard-to-employ categories – the National Employment Service provides financial and advisory support. The Committee notes that key barriers include low qualifications, lack of specialized skills, limited vocational training options, and societal prejudices and that during the period under review, Roma individuals received targeted support, including education, practical training, public works, and self-employment subsidies; while rural women benefited from programmes supporting entrepreneurship, such as equipment grants for agricultural businesses. The Committee notes the concerns of the UN Human Rights Committee, in its concluding observations, about the persistence of gender biases and stereotypes concerning the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and society at large, which result, inter alia, in a range of labour market inequalities, including a salary gap and lower labour market participation rate for women (CCPR/C/SRB/CO/4, May 2024, para. 20). The Committee requests that the Government continue to provide: (i) information on measures to reduce the gender pay gap across all population groups in both public and private sectors; (ii) information on initiatives to challenge social and cultural stereotypes and promote women’s participation in a broader range of occupations; and (iii) updated statistics on the gender pay gap and the distribution of men and women, including their earnings across sectors and occupations.

Articles 1(b) and 2(2)(a). Work of equal value.Legislation. The Committee recalls that, in the current legislation, article 34 of the Law on Gender Equality 2021 prescribes the prohibition of unequal pay for the same work or work of equal value. The Government indicates that in February 2024, the International Labour Office started implementing the EU “Improvement of Social Dialogue” Project within the IPA III Programme (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance III). One of the objective of the aforementioned project is to change modify the definition of equal pay for work of equal value. The Committee notes the observations of “Nezavisnost” which draws attention to the fact that the Law on Gender Equality, 2021, has been suspended by the decision of the Constitutional Court of 28 June 2024, and thus is not in application. The trade union further (1) expresses the view that the definition of equal pay for work of equal value can only be changed through an amendment to the Labour Law, in a tripartite dialogue setting; and (2) observes that the Government has not provided a response to the Committee’s request for information on the progress made towards ensuring that the comparison between jobs is not limited to the same employer, especially when there is no suitable comparator within the same enterprise. In that regard, the Committee wishes to points out that this broader scope is essential because it addresses the prevalence of sex-based occupational segregation. The Committee requests the Government to provide updates on: (i) progress in amending section 104 of the Labour Code and section 34 of the Law on Gender Equality (once the Constitutional Court has reached its final decision on the status of this law); and (ii) measures taken to ensure that the application of the principle of the Convention applies beyond the “same employer”, allowing comparison between jobs held by men and women in different enterprises.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation methods. The Government refers to the 2016 Law on the Salary System of Public Sector Employees, intended to establish a uniform and transparent framework for determining public sector pay. The Law sets out, in articles 13–15, criteria for job evaluation – including job complexity, competence, responsibility, autonomy, communication requirements and hazardous working conditions – along with pay group descriptions and coefficient levels. The Government notes that detailed criteria are to be defined in a separate law and that implementation has not yet begun, as the necessary implementing regulations remain pending. It adds that the evaluation criteria are standard and do not affect gender equality. The Committee notes the observations of “Nezavisnost”, which highlights that the Law, despite being adopted in 2016, has still not been implemented. The Committee requests information on: (i) the entry into force of the Law on the Salary System of Public Sector Employees and the reason for such a delay; and (ii) measures taken to promote objective job evaluation methods in the private sector, including through awareness-raising and collective bargaining.

Conventions Nos   100 and 111 – Application in practice

Article 3(a) of Convention No. 111. Co-operation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Government indicates that, for the drafting of the 2024–25 Action Plan for implementing the Gender Equality Strategy 2021–30, all relevant stakeholders, including the Serbian Association of Employers, were included. It also refers to the “Improve Gender Equality” campaign carried out in early 2024 to inform public authorities, employers, political parties, trade unions, and gender-equality bodies about their obligations under the Law on Gender Equality. The Committee notes that, in delivering its mandate, the Labour Inspectorates engages with workers’ associations to strengthen social dialogue but that in its observation, “Nezavisnost” regrets that the Government has not provided sufficient information on the content and outcomes of these meetings. The Committee requests that the Government continue to provide information on the involvement of social partners in promoting equality of opportunity and treatment in employment, including their role in supporting the acceptance and observance of the national equality policy, during the suspension of the Law.

Enforcement. The Government refers to the Commissioner for Protection of Equality’s ongoing awareness-raising activities on equal pay, gender equality and anti-discrimination and informs that the Commissioner receives thousands of citizen inquiries each year and acted in 2022 on 681 complaints, 158 related to labour and employment. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to a 2023 Supreme Court decision concluding successfully strategic litigation initiated by the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality in a pregnancy-discrimination case. This decision confirmed the verdicts of the lower courts which established sex-based discrimination and victimization and sent an important message that it is prohibited to fire a woman while she is on maternity leave and condition her to sign a blank agreement on termination of employment. In explaining the verdict, the court referred in detail to the special rule on the burden of proof being on the defendant. The Labour Inspectorate receives discrimination complaints through multiple channels, including a 24-hour hotline. It conducts inspections, establishes facts and takes measures within its mandate. The Committee remarks that the Activity Report of the Labour Inspectorate shows that, during the year 2023, there were no reported cases of discrimination based on gender, harassment, sexual harassment and workplace or work-related sexual harassment. In this regard, the Committee notes the concerns raised by the UN Human Rights Committee, which found that the State’s data on court complaints lacked sufficient disaggregation, showed few convictions, and did not include information on the outcomes of complaints submitted to the Commissioner or on redress provided to victims (CCPR/C/SRB/CO/4, 3 May 2024, para. 12). The Committee requests detailed information on employment discrimination cases addressed by the labour inspectorate, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, and the courts, including case types, outcomes, and any sanctions imposed.