The positive side of the Serbian labor market is the decrease in the unemployment rate compared to the same period in the fourth quarter of 2022, the report of the European Commission showed.

The report of the European Commission (EC) is of great importance for the assessment of labor and social rights in Serbia, as well as for the functioning of the local labor market. According to the position of the EC, the country is moderately prepared in terms of social policy and employment. First of all, some progress was praised in relation to last year's recommendations with the adoption of the new Law on Safety and Health at Work, which is partially aligned with the legal legislation of the European Union.

With regard to labor legislation, the report again states that the amendments to the Labor Law of 2014 are not fully aligned with European Union law and that work has yet to begin on the draft of the new Labor Law, including provisions for foreign posted workers in accordance with EU law, which would avoid further delaying the implementation of the Chapter 19 action plan. Apart from the above, the new Strikes Act has not yet been passed, and the legal framework needs to be changed to strengthen bipartite and tripartite social dialogue at all levels. This is especially true if one takes into account the assessment that the social dialogue in Serbia is assessed as very weak, especially in relation to the participation of the social partners in the development of important policies for them, Politika reported.