Republican Trade Union of Employees in Banks, Insurance Companies and Other Financial Organizations of Serbia RS BOFOS, in cooperation with the European Centre for Workers’ Questions (EZA) and funded by the European Union, organized a seminar with the theme: “Equal opportunities in the labour market: Creating an inclusive labour market for all generations. Young and older workers - two sides of the same coin!“, which was held in Kladovo / Serbia from 12 to 16 June 2024. The seminar was attended by over 70 representatives of workers’ organisations from Serbia, Denmark, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Lithuania, Spain, France, Austria, Croatia, Portugal and Montenegro.
The most important aspect of the seminar was the education of the participants about promoting the transfer of knowledge between generations, as well as pointing out the characteristics, beliefs, and life experiences that define each generation, influencing how they work, communicate, and react to changes in their work environment. Communication is necessary for the transfer of knowledge. Communication between older and younger workers is precisely the critical factor. Intergenerational communication is essential in the process of integration of both groups into the labour market. For this reason, the seminar's emphasis was precisely on the ways, that is, the specifics of communication of both generations and intergenerational communication. Mrs. Mara Erdelj, President of RS BOFOS, opened the seminar. The seminar participants also heard the introductory speeches of Mr. Joseph Thouvanel, member of the EZA Council, Mr. Silviu Ispas, member of the Council of EZA, and Mr. Ljuban Bulić, EZA Policy officer for education and training. Seminar speakers were: Ms. Kristina Noreikienė, EZA PYW member - EZA Platform for Young Workers and president of the LDF Youth from Lithuania, Mr. Mikael Arendt Laursen, Vice President of “ KRIFA” and Vice President of WOW Europe and WOW World from Denmark, Ms. Sara Askholm, cand.ped.IT and “KRIFA” Board member from Denmark, Mr. Silviu Ispas, Director (IFES), The Economic and Social Training Institute from Romania, Mr. Ivica Lazović, PhD, Director of the Agency for Peaceful Resolution Labor Disputes from Serbia, and Prof. PhD Živko Kulić from the Faculty of Business Economics and Law, a professional mediator and arbitrator from Serbia.
The seminar topics were important, especially for the trade union representatives, because the participants had the opportunity to learn about communication between generations. Communication between generations and the transfer of skills is very important for the process of inclusion of both groups in the labour market. International round tables where participants from different countries had the opportunity to exchange valuable experiences on the topic "How trade unions can improve intergenerational communication and cooperation- Examples of good practice" gave special value to this seminar.
Through the workshop – to the goal!
A special workshop was organized for this seminar on Saturday, June 15. This workshop consisted of several activities. Some activities included intergenerational team competitions in sports such as darts, arm wrestling, and cooking. Apart from these sports activities aimed at developing intergenerational cooperation, understanding, and promotion of inclusivity and equality - an unusual activity - a workshop - was held: a treasure hunt. The teams were divided into three groups of different ages and followed clues in the form of messages. By solving riddles the teams searched for a special chest with sweets in the form of gold coins. The final task to achieve the goal was to put together a puzzle—a map of Serbia. With a lot of fun, laughter, and creativity, they found a treasure—and a team made up of both young and older participants won. Communication, socializing, and joint activities are the key to solving the intergenerational gap, and this workshop showed exactly this. What is important is that the activities were chosen to be accessible and interesting for all ages, which allowed us to establish excellent intergenerational cooperation and maximize team spirit! That was the aim of the seminar. We look forward to reaching it completely! The most important thing is that we managed to raise the awareness of all seminar participants about the importance of an inclusive labour market and the need for equality for all generations in the professional environment.
As for the results of the seminar, the participants agreed that it is crucial to provide knowledge transfer between generations at the company and trade union, as well as on national levels, and especially at the European level. They also emphasized that it is necessary to understand the characteristics that define each generation and influence how those generations work, communicate, and react to changes in their work environment. They put particular emphasis on the fact that trade unions should be focused on communication between older and younger workers at all levels (company level, trade union itself, national and European level), as well as to know how each generation communicates and strive to provide each generation with the resources that are most relevant to them.
Seminar participants adopted a Declaration in which they emphasized that the trade unions should promote intergenerational communication in the workplace and advocate the intergenerational transfer of knowledge. They also noted that the trade unions should strive to provide education and training related to capacity building for adequate knowledge transfer between different generations in the workplace. They pointed out that intergenerational communication is also essential for the trade union itself, especially for new generations of trade union activists, and that trade unions will strive to affirm it, both at the trade union level and at the workplace and at the national and international level.
In the declaration, they also stated that they would advocate for access to adequate communication channels for each generation in the workplace for the best possible inclusion of all generations and promote solidarity between older and younger generations.