Description
Serbia's just and green transition is hindered by three critical gaps:
• Weak collective bargaining: social dialogue institutions are underdeveloped, with little systematic evidence on employer practices or attitudes.
• Lack of a framework for green jobs: beyond lack of reliable data, Serbia has no clear classification, definition, or strategy for green employment, making it difficult to align labour market policy with climate and sustainability goals.
• The electronic waste (e-waste) sector in special focus: although a regulatory framework exists, enforcement is weak. National targets are less ambitious than those of the EU, and some provisions are not incentivising compliance. The sector is highly informal, with poor working conditions. The state provides subsidies per kilogram of waste collected, but this approach neither encourages systemic solutions nor addresses lagging infrastructure. As a result, Serbia struggles to formalize the sector and build sustainable value chains.
Without addressing these gaps, workers, firms, and policymakers risk being unprepared for the structural changes of the just transition.
CEVES's Role
Research and policy partner, applying and adapting ILO methodologies in Serbia:
• Project on Collective Bargaining - designed and implemented the first survey of 1,500 companies, mapping practices, interests, and barriers.
• Green Employment Diagnostics – profiled Serbia's economy and labour market, using empirical and task-based methods to identify and classify green jobs and skills, and tested the methodology with government and social partners.
• E-waste / AMT Diagnostics – engaged MSMEs, mapped the sector, collected economic, environmental, and employment data, modelled policy scenarios, and co-organised a national validation workshop with government and social partners.
Key results
• Closed the evidence gap in social dialogue: delivered the first systematic evidence base on collective bargaining in Serbia, opening new pathways for replication across the WB6.
• Closed the gap in the green jobs framework: produced Serbia’s first Green Employment Diagnostic, advancing the classification and definition of green jobs and skills, and presented findings at the ILO regional conference in Budapest, shaping regional policy dialogue.
• Closed the gap in e-waste sector regulation and implementation: conducted the first WB6 AMT Diagnostic for the e-waste sector, highlighting enforcement weaknesses, informal practices, and infrastructure gaps, while modelling scenarios for sustainable policy solutions.
• Initiated dialogue between the state, employers, and trade unions on managing electrical waste in Serbia, laying the groundwork for further reforms.
