Sarajevo, 11 May – The Transport Community has for the first time organised a workshop on social dialogue focused on road transport, which will serve as guideline for the regional partners in Western Balkans to engage further with all stakeholders in all modes of transport.
The Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vojin Mitrović, opened the 3rd Social Forum of the Transport Community in Sarajevo. Minister emphasised his satisfaction that the Forum was organised in Bosnia and Herzegovina and expressed hope that this will be the case with a number of other events organised by the Ministry in cooperation with the Transport Community. He added that dialogue on social issues in transport is crucial for the smooth conduct of transport operations, and a healthy transport sector is a driver of each country’s economy.
“The general goal we have set for ourselves is to have satisfied passengers, drivers and workers in the transport sector. In that sense, the harmonisation of social provisions in force in the Western Balkans with those in force in the European Union is our priority, “said Minister Mitrović.
Director of the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community Matej Zakonjšek emphasised the need to improve working conditions in the entire transport sector.
“In the Western Balkans around 5% of women and men are working in the transport sector and it is essential that we improve working conditions for all modes of transport. For road sector, this means focusing on three complementary goals: To ensure adequate social protection of road workers; To guarantee fair competition between undertakings; And to improve road safety by averting road fatigue. If we achieve these goals, this will help to attract young people as well as women to the profession, in an age when the road sector is suffering from shortage of qualified staff” said Director Zakonjšek.
The forum brought together representatives of regional partners in the Western Balkans, EU member states, EU institutions and international organisations, for exchange of experiences with the aim to find the best way to implement social regulations into transport laws in the Western Balkans.
