A-Infos (en) Major Victory for Worker Recovered Factory "Jugoremedija" in Serbia

Dear comrades, allies, and supporters, A major victory for worker's 
rights and struggles in Serbia has been won following a 9 month factory 
occupation and a 2 and a half year strike by the workers of Jugoremedija 
in Zrenjanin, Serbia. On December 14, 2006, the Belgrade Higher Economic 
Court reaffirmed the June 2006 ruling of the Zrenjanin Economic Court 
that the recapitalization of the Zrenjanin-based pharmaceutical factory 
Jugoremedija be repealed because it was carried out illegally through 
the illegitimate manoeuvres of businessman Jovica Stefanovic Nini to 
attempt to gain majority ownership. This means that the ownership of the 
workers has now been restored to their rightful 58% of the company 
shares. With this decision, Jugoremedija is set to become the first 
factory amongst the "transition" countries in Eastern Europe undergoing 
neoliberal privatization to be recovered and controlled by its workers.

The worker - shareholders have called for a shareholders assembly for 
December 30th at the Jugoremedija premises, in order to appoint a new 
board and management. But Jovica Stefanovic Nini, who remains owner of 
42% of the factory, is now obstructing the enforcement of the Court's 
decision and attempting to block the assembly by force. On the same day 
that the workers sent him an invitation letter to attend the assembly, 
Stefanovic rehired the
same private security forces that provoked the incident in August 2004 
while the workers were occupying and protecting the factory premises, 
which led to the intervention of the Serbian police that forcibly 
expelled the workers from their factory. Stefanovic has not yet formally 
responded to the invitation to attend the assembly, but the fully armed 
private army now stationed around the factory stands as a clear answer.

The workers are determined to go through with the December 30th 
assembly. This will be the first time they enter their factory in over 
two years, after they were forcibly evicted by Serbian police and 
Stefanovic's private army in August 2004, and then replaced by new 
employees. In June of 2006, following the lower court decision repealing 
the illegal recapitalization of Jugoremedija was reached by the 
Zrenjanin Court, Vladimir Pecikoza, a leader of the Union of 
Jugoremedija, made assurances on Serbian national television that there 
will be no revenge or retaliation taken against the workers who have 
been working for Stefanovic once the workers-shareholders take back 
their factory.

Association of Worker-Shareholders of Serbia
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