Labor strikes in socialist and transitional societies of Yugoslavia and Serbia

The paper deals with the history of strikes in socialist Yugoslavia and transitional Serbia. The very existence of strikes is an indication of relative liberalism of the Yugoslav regime. Its frequency in socialism depended on the tacit support of certain parts of the regime. When the regime criticized the social differences and privileges of the leadership, strikes broke out more often. A tacit coalition was formed between the working class and the great leader against bureaucracy. Two periods can be differentiated in the transitional period: the first in the 90s when strikes were organized in order to provide basic survival of the workers and the period after 2000 when the trade unions attempted to protect the workers' social rights gained in socialism, usually without much success.