For many years, Serbia’s healthcare system has faced numerous challenges affecting both the position of healthcare workers and the quality of healthcare received by citizens. Staff shortages, excessive workloads, limited opportunities to participate in decision-making, and a sense that employees’ interests are insufficiently represented within existing institutional frameworks are among the problems healthcare workers encounter on a daily basis. At the same time, these problems go beyond the professional sphere, as they affect the functioning of the healthcare system as a whole, as well as the accessibility and quality of healthcare services.
In this context, assemblies of medical workers have emerged as a form of self-organisation intended to respond to these challenges. Through open gatherings of employees from different professional backgrounds, the exchange of experiences, joint consideration of problems and collective advocacy for solutions, assemblies provide a space in which healthcare workers can participate more actively in shaping positions on issues that directly affect their professional status and working conditions. In addition, they promote mutual solidarity, the exchange of information on employees’ rights and cooperation with other social actors when problems are of broader public importance.
Against this background, assemblies of medical workers in Serbia represent a relatively new but increasingly important form of self-organisation within the healthcare sector. Established in response to the need for a more open space for exchanging views and taking collective action, these assemblies function as informal and inclusive platforms that bring together different categories of healthcare workers, as well as members of the wider community.
The Assembly of Medical Workers in Sombor formally began organising on 25 April 2025, although informal gatherings had already taken place before that date. From the outset, the idea was to move beyond narrow professional and institutional boundaries and bring together as broad a range of participants as possible: doctors, nurses and medical technicians, professionals from related fields such as psychology, speech therapy and dentistry, as well as support staff. A particular strength of this model is its openness and accessibility, since it also allows the participation of individuals who are not employed within the public healthcare system. Such inclusiveness contributes to the exchange of diverse professional experiences and creates space for raising problems that often remain outside formal channels of communication.
Organisationally, the assembly is based on a plenary structure, which entails horizontal decision-making and the equal participation of all members. Meetings were held every two weeks, with the possibility of joining online, making participation easier for those who, due to the nature of their work, were not always able to attend in person. Although the number of participants varies, the sustained level of interest clearly demonstrates the need for this form of organisation. This method of work contributes to a stronger sense of inclusion among members and encourages the development of mutual trust, which is an important prerequisite for collective action.
One of the key aspects of the assembly’s development is its networking and territorial expansion. Over time, its activities moved beyond the local level and expanded throughout the West Bačka District, creating opportunities to connect healthcare workers from different communities. This networking is particularly important in smaller municipalities, where opportunities for professional exchange and joint action are often limited. Discussions with a representative of the assembly indicate that this process of connecting people has contributed to spreading knowledge about the rights of medical workers. Individuals from smaller communities are becoming better informed and more willing to participate actively in initiatives concerning their professional status. The expansion of this network demonstrates that the assembly does not function solely as a local initiative, but also as a mechanism for transferring knowledge and experience between different communities, thereby contributing to stronger professional solidarity.
In addition to building connections within the healthcare sector, a significant part of the assembly’s activities involves cooperation with other social groups. The Assembly of Medical Workers in Sombor has cooperated with student and education-sector initiatives, as well as with citizens’ assemblies. Such cooperation reflects the recognition of shared problems and the need for broader social dialogue that goes beyond the boundaries of individual sectors. At the same time, it demonstrates that working conditions in healthcare are not exclusively professional matters, but issues of wider social importance, as they directly affect the quality and accessibility of healthcare.
Another important dimension of the assembly’s work is the promotion and protection of the labour and human rights of healthcare workers. According to the interviewee, assembly members seek to highlight the importance of respecting employees’ rights and encourage healthcare workers to become informed about the mechanisms available for their protection. Although, as the interviewee points out, it is often difficult in practice to draw a clear distinction between labour-rights issues and different forms of political pressure, the assembly primarily seeks to function as a space for exchanging information, providing mutual support and empowering employees. As part of this process, members also have access to a certain level of legal assistance through consultations with legal professionals and the exchange of information about available legal remedies. Through discussions, public forums and joint activities, awareness is continuously raised about the importance of labour and human rights, including the right to decent work, professional autonomy and freedom of expression.
Based on the interviewee’s statements, it may be concluded that, in addition to its professional role, the assembly is developing elements of an informal mechanism for protecting employees’ rights. Its role therefore goes beyond the exchange of professional experiences and increasingly resembles that of civil society actors contributing to the promotion and protection of human rights through individual empowerment and collective advocacy.
It is particularly important to emphasise that, by addressing concrete issues, the assembly has succeeded in mobilising a wider group of healthcare workers. The example of organising on-call duties in primary healthcare centres demonstrates how a specific professional issue can become a catalyst for broader participation and collective action. A large number of healthcare workers became more actively involved in the assembly for the first time precisely because of this issue, recognising it as a relevant space in which to express their views. As a result of this engagement, the proposed on-call duty model was ultimately not implemented, which participants regard as one of the assembly’s more significant concrete achievements.
This example shows that the assembly has not remained solely a forum for exchanging opinions, but has, in certain situations, succeeded in influencing decision-making processes. This points to the potential of such forms of self-organisation to contribute to greater participation by healthcare workers in matters that directly affect their work and professional status.