GSP Workers Submit Demands to Vučić; President Promises Response Within Days

Workers from Belgrade's public transport company GSP, along with union representatives, met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić to present their demands. Vučić committed to responding by Wednesday or Thursday and indicated he would meet with a delegation, stating his intention to "try to help."

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Give me seven days and you will have my answer

Ivan Banković of the GSP Union explained the critical need for at least 90 new trolleybuses due to the aging fleet. He noted that the City of Belgrade's current proposal involves purchasing 60 trolleybuses and outsourcing the remaining need to private operators for 20 years. Vučić acknowledged the need to discuss the matter with city officials, emphasizing the significant financial burden of providing free public transport, which he described as a "huge problem."

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I will try to help

Addressing concerns about a repeatedly postponed tender for new trolleybuses and suspicions of manipulation, Vučić stated he was unsure if he fully understood the question. He defended public-private partnerships, saying, "we cannot be against public-private partnerships." He questioned the idea of a rigged tender that has been re-issued five times, suggesting it indicates either incompetent rigging or no rigging at all. Vučić reiterated that his role was to listen to dissatisfied citizens, not to manage tenders.

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The costs are huge, we have provided citizens with something that has never been, that they have free transport, but it is a huge problem for us, that's why I am ready to listen