No. 021-02-648/2026-02 Date: 5. 3. 2026.

MINISTRY OF LABOR, EMPLOYMENT, VETERAN AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski, Minister

11000 Belgrade

Nemanjina 22-26

Reference: Your number 001817427 2025 14800 006 006 012 001

Dear Ms. Đurđević Stamenkovski,

A group of administrative workers with secondary vocational qualifications, employed in social work centers and social protection institutions across Serbia, addressed the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality in writing, with the aim to highlight the issues concerning the status and valuation of their work, which arose following amendments to the Regulation on Coefficients for the Calculation and Payment of Salaries in Public Services. They also requested the Commissioner’s support for their demands: to urgently initiate amendments and supplements to the Regulation on Coefficients for the Calculation and Payment of Salaries in Public Services; to initiate the procedure for amending and revising the Rulebook on the Organization, Norms, and Standards of Work in Social Work Centers; to establish a special subcategory for administrative workers with higher and high vocational qualifications or introduce mechanisms for internal career advancement, in order to ensure fair valuation of work and career development for employees.

Within the scope of authority prescribed by the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination,^[1] the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality monitors the implementation of laws and other regulations and initiates the adoption or amendment of regulations to promote equality and protection from discrimination.

In accordance with Article 33, Paragraph 1, Item 9 of this Law, the Commissioner issues recommendations to public authorities and other entities on measures to achieve equality and protection from discrimination.

As you are aware, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality has already submitted recommendations to the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, as well as the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, regarding measures to enhance equality in relation to the Regulation on Amendments to the Regulation on Coefficients for the Calculation and Payment of Salaries for Employees in Public Services. These ministries were recommended to take the necessary measures and actions to amend and supplement the Regulation on Coefficients for the Calculation and Payment of Salaries for Employees in the Public Sector, specifically in the part pertaining to social protection. The aim is to uphold the legal guarantee of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, for work that requires the same level of vocational qualifications, education, knowledge, and skills, where equal work contribution and responsibility have been achieved, in accordance with the Labor Law. More at: https://ravnopravnost.gov.rs/111-25-preporuka-mduls-za-izmenu-uredbe-o-koeficijentima-za-obracun-i-isplatu-plata-zaposlenim-u-javnim-sluzbama/ и https://ravnopravnost.gov.rs/111-25-preporuka-minrzs-za-izmenu-uredbe-o-koeficijentima-za-obracun-i-isplatu-plata-zaposlenim-u-javnim-sluzbama/. Both ministries informed us of the actions taken following the submission of the recommendations.

However, after the ministries took action and amended the Regulation, the Commissioner continued to receive complaints from employees with secondary vocational qualifications in the social protection system. These complaints highlighted the consequences of unequal status and the established coefficients on the very functioning of the social protection system, and consequently on the realization of the rights and services of citizens as users of this system.

We take this opportunity to emphasize that, through regular annual reports and special reports on the state of equality protection, the Commissioner consistently highlights the position of employees in the social protection system, and particularly underscores the importance of this system for the realization of rights and services for the most vulnerable groups of citizens. The Commissioner specifically points out the insufficient capacities of social protection institutions, which have been entrusted with a range of tasks and are expected, given the increased needs of citizens, to expand both the scope and types of services provided^[2]. In this regard, for several consecutive years, these reports have included recommendations that it is necessary to strengthen the capacities of social work centers, as well as other social protection institutions, in order to enable them to respond in a timely manner to all tasks in the field of social and family-legal protection, ensure quality mapping of needs, recognize social exclusion, and promptly activate all forms of support and assistance. Additionally, it would increase the availability and diversity of social protection services.

Additionally, over the past years, the Commissioner has consistently emphasized the importance of increasing staffing capacities within these systems, which are of vital significance to citizens. On that occasion, the Commissioner addressed a letter to the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance. In the letter to the ministries, it was indicated that it is necessary, through mutual cooperation and within their respective competencies, to take all measures to strengthen the capacities of social protection institutions. It was also stressed that the issue of the insufficient number of employees in these institutions must be resolved, in order to enable end-users to exercise their rights and access services smoothly and in a timely manner, in accordance with the law^[3].

In light of the above, we are enclosing a letter from employees with secondary vocational qualifications in the social protection system. Given the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, we have also submitted this letter to the Ministry. We kindly ask you to reassess the established coefficients, their impact on the realization of equal pay for work of equal value, the fair valuation of employees’ work, and the functioning of one of the most important systems for all citizens who are users of rights and services in the field of social protection.

[1]  “Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, Nos. 22/09 and 52/21, Article 33, Paragraph 1, Item 7, in relation to Item 5.

[2] Available at: https://ravnopravnost.gov.rs/rs/izvestaji/

[3] Available at: https://ravnopravnost.gov.rs/rs/misljenja-i-preporuke-lat/preporuke-mere-organima-javne-vlasti-lat/page/11/

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY

Milan Antonijević