At the tenth sitting, the Industry Committee members elected a Committee Deputy Chairman and discussed the Information on the state of the metal industry.

Deputy Nebojsa Ceran from the Deputy Group For European Serbia was elected Deputy Chairman of the Industry Committee by a majority of votes.

In the continuation, the representatives of the Independent Union of Metal Workers of Serbia and the representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development outlined the information on the state of the metal industry for the Committee members.

On the behalf of the competent ministry, Assistant Ministers Misela Nikolic and Milan Josopovic, briefly outlined for the Committee the plan of measures that the Government of the Republic of Serbia will implement so as to preserve domestic production and jobs. Above all, they mean granting short-term liquidity loans, investment loans and loans to sustain consumer bying power exclusively for domestic products. It was announced that the Government will adopt the measures to alleviate the world economic crisis next week, and that their implementation will start in mid February. The situation in the metal industry was deemed very difficult and particularly burdened by the problem of supply of energy-generating products and payment of obligations. Also, this year less money has been allocated to support companies, and the metal industry as well, than in 2008, but even so the metal industry complex has an advantage. In 2008 more that 60% of all granted loans were for the metal industry, and in 2009 it was planned that 79.6% of all loans be granted to this branch.

The representatives of the Independent Union of Metal Workers of Serbia pointed out that the state has no strategy to combat the economic crisis. They invited all the relevant factors to a social dialogue in order to alleviate the effects of the crisis and halt the loss of jobs. In the pre-transition period the metal industry made up 20% of general employment, and 40% of total export. In the transitional period the metal industry fell from 30%-40% of total production, to 2%-4%, and 120,000 employees in the complex lost their jobs. With all this in mind, the Independent Union of Metal Workers of Serbia will propose that the Government pass an Ordinance to direct the reimbursements and meal allowance and taxes to the net income of the employees in the metal industry in the course of this year, and request that part of the money for financing the non-government sector be allocated to finance the union.

In a short discussion, the Committee members deemed the meeting with the representatives of the metal industry complex useful and criticised the Government for still not having a strategy to lessen the effects of the world crisis on Serbia. In the discussion they touched on the issues of preserving domestic production, existing jobs, the privatisation of companies in the metal industry complex and the role of chambers of commerce in the process of supporting this branch of the domestic industry.

The sitting was chaired by the Committee Chairman, Milorad Buha.