Nis Faculty of Philosophy Pay Dispute Continues
Serbia's Education Ministry says salary funds were secured on October 20, but Professor Dusan Aleksic says staff had not seen the money in their accounts on October 21.
The Education Ministry said on October 21 that budget funds for the salaries of staff at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Nis were secured a day earlier, on October 20. Dusan Aleksic, a professor at the faculty, told the FoNet news agency the same day that the money had not reached the account.
According to Insajder, the last payment at the faculty was made on July 20, when staff received the second part of their June salary.
What does the ministry say in its statement?
The funds were secured, the statement says, in line with the Law on Higher Education and the regulations in force, “as soon as the conditions for it were met.” The ministry explains that it could not determine how much budget money the Faculty of Philosophy and the Faculty of Serbian Studies needed until the actual number of employees moving from one faculty to the other was established.
The move followed a Serbian Government decision to found the Faculty of Serbian Studies, in force since November 8, 2025. The departments of history, Serbian studies and Russian language and literature were split off from the Faculty of Philosophy. According to Beta’s report of October 19, 16 employees moved to the new faculty: 15 professors and one assistant. Once the Faculty of Serbian Studies told the ministry about the transfer of staff, the statement says, the conditions were met to redistribute funds between the two institutions.
The ministry also cites Article 19 of the Special Collective Agreement for Higher Education and Article 121 of the Labor Law. Under them, the employer, meaning the Faculty of Philosophy, must pay salaries at least once a month and no later than the end of the month for the previous month, while the ministry provides only part of the funds. The statement adds that the deadline of 90 days for the University of Nis and the faculty to bring their statutes and general acts in line with the Government’s decision has expired. The ministry says the Administrative Court rulings concern work permits, not the decision to found the new faculty.
In the same statement, the ministry rejected the employees’ claims that this was retaliation:
“Regarding attempts by certain political actors to politicize the situation at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Nis and use it to score political points, the Ministry of Education most sharply denies claims that this is ‘revenge and terror’ against employees of that institution.”
Employees had earlier accused the ministry of halting payments because the faculty refused to hand over three departments to the Faculty of Serbian Studies.
What does Professor Aleksic say?
Aleksic says employees have effectively gone unpaid for three salaries. The first part of the September pay, he says, was due on October 5 and the second on October 20. The dean forwarded to staff a ministry notice that the conditions had been met for paying the July salary, which, according to the announcement, should arrive on October 22.
“The money is still not in the account. Today the dean sent us an email saying the ministry notified them that the conditions have been met for paying the July salary, and that it should happen tomorrow,” Aleksic said.
In his words, it is unclear on what basis the conditions were met for paying only one salary, what will happen with the other unpaid salaries, or whether appropriations have been assigned to the faculty. He called the ministry’s statement inaccurate in several parts:
“It’s outrageous. The ministry doesn’t know its own umbrella law. The Law on Higher Education says the funds for salaries are provided exclusively by the ministry. They can’t be paid from other funds, and they wrote that they only pay part of the salary, which is incorrect.”
Aleksic said he would try to get more information on the reasons for the delay and the next steps.
The ministry’s statement speaks of funds being secured, not of a payment being made, and that is where the two sides part ways: the ministry gives a date when the funds were secured, while employees say there is nothing in their accounts.
