Public Administration Reform: Serbia Must Lay Off 35,000 People by the End of This Year, BiH Awaits This Process

The IMF demanded public administration reform from Serbia and the dismissal of a large number of redundant employees in the state administration. Only an urgent dismissal of redundant employees can enable a new loan, which will save Serbia from bankruptcy, reports the Patria News Agency.

The agreement with the IMF stipulates that the number of employees in public administration will be reduced by 35,000 by the end of this year. By the fifth IMF review, the first wave of 14,000 people will have to be dismissed immediately. The deadline, the end of January, has already passed. So far, the authorities in Serbia have not succeeded either in early retirement or in targeted dismissals.

The second difficult condition is related to the reform of public enterprises. Government documents predict the dismissal of 2,700 people from "Railways" alone during this year. New job classifications have been adopted. The number of employees in Elektroprivreda Srbije should be reduced by about a thousand people. Everything has been postponed due to the elections, and everyone in Serbia is aware of this.

Bosnia and Herzegovina should closely monitor this process in Serbia, as it will soon have to face its own surplus of administration. Europe is waiting and will monitor the public administration reform in our country.