Meanwhile, in Serbian Union: Charcoal and Darts!

Bozi Tatarevic
by Bozi Tatarevic

Union workers at the Fiat 500L factory in Serbia ( the same factory that built those fancy Yugos) have been demanding raises and the addition of another model for months. The union representing those workers has promised it will work with the manufacturer to meet worker demands. But, if the latest newsletter is any indication of progress, there’s been none: the union hasn’t even been able to get the company to the bargaining table.

The union newsletter has gotten shorter over the past few months, and the February version is now down to a single page. The news items are both disappointing and somewhat comical as there only a few lines dedicated to the workers’ interests.

The first half of the newsletter states the union’s main goal for this year is the preservation of all jobs at the plant, and it’s planning to achieve that goal by negotiating with both of the factory’s owners: FCA Group (67 percent) and the Serbian government (33 percent).

Union leaders state that they have met with a few FCA supervisors and brought up some of the workers issues, such as work stoppages and injuries on the job, but that they’ve not met with anyone that can take action yet on those items. The union does note that it did request a meeting with Silvia Vernetti, head of EMEA Development for Fiat, who could approve some of the requested changes. The union has also sent demands to the Serbian government, and additionally requested that the government send its own representative to the FCA Serbia board to assist in negotiations.

And that’s it.

The newsletter then takes an almost comical turn to sports and discounts. The middle section states that the union is happy to announce that basketball and soccer tournaments are returning this year, and will be accompanied by a dart tournament for the ladies.

The second half of the newsletter is dedicated to a union-negotiated charcoal discount and the various types of charcoal available to members. It might appear that the union is slowly putting together a cookout since they offered a chicken discount last year, but only large quantities are available. The cheapest package is one tonne of “Kolubara” charcoal for 6,500 RSD (approximately $58 USD based on current exchange rates). Another possibility is that the union leaders might be trying to help their workers get into the charcoal resale business as they also offer financing for large loads.

To add insult to injury, the newsletter was followed by a notification on Facebook that the factory will be shut down from February 24 to March 7. They state that the temporary shutdown is directly related to the lack of sales in European and world markets for the Fiat 500L. Worker morale is low and the union doesn’t seem to be doing too much to improve it by securing the positions of workers. Some are hoping that a new model line, such as the Tipo, will be added to the factory soon, but the prospects are bleak.

Bozi Tatarevic
Bozi Tatarevic

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  • N8iveVA N8iveVA on Feb 23, 2016

    I sat in one at the auto show to see if it was as awkward on the inside as it was outside. I noticed the trim in the corner of the door window on the inside of where the mirror is was askew so i gave it a nudge and it fell off in my hand. I figured that didn't bode well for this model. The attractive lady that was talking about it came over and helped me push it back on and just smiled.

    • Chan Chan on Feb 23, 2016

      Fiat build quality! Did you open the hood and check out how much black duct tape and velcro is used to hold loose wires and non-critical hoses like the wiper fluid hoses? It's hilarious.

  • Misha1973 Misha1973 on Feb 24, 2016

    Greetings from Serbia! I must say I was rather surprised by this news, as there aren't mentioned in general news here. There is mostly talk about coming elections and who was having sex in numerous and amazingly popular reality shows... Back to 500L. They are somewhat popular here amongst "fancy crowd" (those who care more about superficial perception of quality...well, interior looks kinda nice, from a distance... ) and more often bought as company vehicle for travelling comercial representants (we could just call them salesman). FIAT sells them often at discount (I wonder why...), either through bring-your-old-junk-we'll-knock-of-few-grand-off-the-price-of-new-car deals, or straightforward discounts. Most popular version would be 1.4 petrol with factory LPG kit, then comes petrol (bought mostly by those aforementioned "fancies", doing about 5000km/year, so no lpg is needed) and 1.3 diesel version coming last. From what I hear (have a few friends amongst taxi drivers, who also use them), 1.3l diesel is just underpowered for 500L. Recently they introduces CNG version, with two-cylindre, 0.9litre turbo engine, and 80 bhp, and even I was tempted to buy...but, then I got to my senses, and realized that such a small engine, in car weighing probably close to 1400kg with CNG gas tanks, would just be dangerously slowm even with turbo. And of course, we don't get DCT or automatic version on our market, but reliability still sucks...

  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
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