ESTABLISHING SOCIAL HARMONY
TOGETHER FOR A BETTER LABOUR LAW
Dragan Đuričin
Ernst Bode
President of NALED Supervisory Board and CEO of Deloitte d.o.o.
Unlike many NGOs criticised for their funding formats and possibly for promoting other people’s interests, NGOs often figuratively referred to as the “white blood cells” of society, NALED is actually a “red blood cell” bringing oxygen - hope - to the state, to local governments and to the public in general. NALED is a highly constructive NGO whose mission is to promote and facilitate local economic development. In other countries, transition from socialism to capitalism lasted for eight to twelve years, countries that transformed into developed economies over a decade ago In Serbia transition has now lasted for a quarter of a century and is still in progress. By running away from a trap known as mid-level economic development in the 1990s, Serbia fell into another trap – transition. Unfortunately for us, we failed to find a shortcut to capitalism but have entered a complicated maze which has been the result of various omissions, failures and inactivity. In times where there is a very large output gap, high unemployment rates and growing debt, maintaining political stability becomes a delicate issue. A weak economy and an isolated society are the ideal breeding grounds for retrograde politics; Serbia may well enter into a dangerous transition process which ends up being a long road, not to capitalism, but from socialism to socialism. In conjunction with law and ethics, the economy is one of the main pillars of any society. If the economy does not function properly, social superstructure has no future. In situations such as these, politics is reduced to populism and the biding of time between successive elections. Having only good political vision is not enough for sustainable and inclusive economic development. Economic life is manifested at the local level, where laws and institutions are not of the greatest importance. Rather, intelligent investment and purposeful production take precedence. For investors (existing and new, domestic and foreign) to properly express their activism they need to have a similar, or perhaps a better environment, in comparison to those in their immediate surroundings. NALED’s mission is to develop a recognisable and attractive investment environment. If I had to single out one of NALED’s achievements, it would be establishing harmony between state authorities, who pass systemic laws, and the interests of business owners and local governments, who are to implement them. This is a two-way dialogue that curbs the influence of ‘institutional (or positional) intelligence’ which devises solutions that are inadequate, yet often justified by various laws or simply changed at will.
Member of NALED Managing Board and General Manager of Messer Tehnogas AD
It is greatly satisfying if one can see that with common effort it is possible to make a difference and change things for the better. Actually, one of the least expected reforms in Serbia was the amendment of the Labour Law. But the arguments of businesses and organisations, with NALED being the most persistent and most convincing among them, were that a more flexible labour market was extremely important for Serbia: for businesses to be more competitive, for employees by creating more workplaces, and therefore for the entire country as an investment destination. All this convinced the decision-makers to dare to take a first step that has undoubtedly already yielded positive results, despite all the apocalyptic scenarios that were painted by some interest groups. Making an amendment to a law might seem like an easier job than resolving tens or hundreds of complicated procedures. Every year in its Grey Book, NALED offers 100 solutions for cutting red tape. So far, more than 30 per cent of those recommendations have been accepted and this is a major achievement. Today, businesses can pay deductions from their staff’s salaries to a single account, cash revenues do not have to be paid into the bank account every day, the documentation for pregnancy leave is reduced by two thirds and employment booklets have been abolished. These are only a few of the tangible pieces of evidence testifying to the usefulness of NALED’s initiatives aimed at easing unnecessary constraints on companies and thereby improving the business environment in Serbia. This finally enables businesses to flourish, creates workplaces and is improving people’s living standards after a quarter of a century of delays. The organisation’s success stems from its persistence and proactive behaviour, combined with constructive criticism and the ability to provide solutions rather than standing on the side-lines and just complaining. Like the most successful countries in the world, Serbia should not allow itself to ignore people who are willing to take responsibility and contribute to positive change, as there is still so much more to be done for Serbia to start closing the gap on the world’s leading economies, including most of the European Union. NALED LEADERS
10 YEARS OF NALED 21