Dragana Lezai\u0107 and her colleague were employees of the Public Enterprise Post of Serbia, and after addressing fellow workers and the public at a protest on March 5, they received contract annexes ordering their transfer\u2014and then were fired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI called on Post workers through social media to support us and gather on March 5 in front of the main Post Office in Takovska Street, where we simply read the report of the State Audit Institution, which issued an opinion and identified certain irregularities in the operations of the Public Enterprise Post of Serbia, mostly in procurement tenders. At that moment, we submitted several demands to the supervisory board, after which a wave of\u2014yes, I can use the word\u2014retaliation began toward my colleague and me. Already the next day, on one of the TV channels, the acting director of the Public Enterprise Post of Serbia, Zoran An\u0111elkovi\u0107, personally targeted me, demanding I be sanctioned because there were minors at the protest\u2014my own children,\u201d Dragana Lezai\u0107 told N1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to her, An\u0111elkovi\u0107 also submitted a complaint to the Commissioner for Equality, which was dismissed because he did not provide the necessary documentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter that, on March 7, my colleague and I supported the students\u2019 call for a general strike. It started with taking our mail away, and our payslips now show our participation as a work stoppage, even though the system can easily verify that we were simply working with reduced capacity\u2026 The annexes followed that same month for both my colleague and me. The only difference was that hers was within our work unit, while mine transferred me to the Venac unit, to a post office 35 km from where I live. After that, both my colleague and I went on medical leave because the stress was enormous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lezai\u0107 says that this marked the beginning of their fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe first submitted explanations as to why we would not sign those annexes, because we considered them a form of retaliation for our involvement in the fight for workers\u2019 rights and because of the March 5 protest. We also contacted the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality. In the meantime, my colleague was fired. I was returned to my position without explanation, which the Commissioner noted in her report\u2014meaning that the employer\u2019s stated reasons for the transfer immediately fell apart. After that, I resigned because I was denied my right to use my annual leave. It was simply my decision,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She believes it is important that the Commissioner stated in the report that an employer cannot issue annexes in vague terms \u201cdue to work process needs,\u201d but must state precise reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think this is very important, because in public enterprises\u2014not only in the Post\u2014annexes are used as a tool to blackmail workers, especially those who are not politically suitable or who protest against unlawful practices. So, according to the Commissioner, the employer must be careful when drafting an annex; it is not enough to simply say \u2018due to work process needs.\u2019 The Commissioner also noted that, although the law allows a transfer up to 50 km, that alone is not a sufficient reason\u2014it is only a limit that applies when other conditions are met, such as determining whether there are other employees closer to that workplace. In this case, the Post did not respond. So the Commissioner\u2019s opinion is that provisions of certain articles of the Anti-Discrimination Law were violated, and she issued recommendations to our employer\u2014our former employer\u2014such as a written apology and instructions to take greater care in the future when drafting annexes, which will help me later in court, along with other matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dragana says that colleagues she called to the protest contacted her in large numbers, and that employers treated them with the same pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow, many colleagues who are still employed at Post of Serbia are coming forward. They have also entered similar processes; some have already contacted the Commissioner. And essentially, the employers treated the workers who appeared at the protest the exact same way. Many received annexes and were transferred to other post offices extremely far from their homes. I think it is very important that this becomes known, because the fact that the law allows something does not give the employer the right to abuse it,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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