Calling for help in Serbia
16 March 2009
When, after 40 years of employment, 67-year-old Olga Krstic applied for a pension, she found herself at the mercy of Serbian bureaucracy.
Too old to find a job, and living on the edge of poverty ever since
emigrating from Kosovo in 1999, Olga was in need of any help the state could
provide. But help was not forthcoming.
"Although I was entitled to a pension, I couldn't get clear guidance on how to obtain one," she says. "For almost three years, the only answer I got was that the system couldn't compile the data to prove how long I've been in work. The lack of willingness to look deeper into my case left me feeling that nobody was interested."
Then Olga's husband saw a television programme about a new government call centre. Supported by DFID funding, the centre was set up in January 2008 to deal specifically with social welfare queries. "When we phoned the centre it was the first time that somebody wanted to listen to us," says Olga. "Twenty-five days later, they told us that a certificate had been issued and I could start receiving my pension."
Answers and advice
It isn't just pensioners like Olga who have gained from this new service. Igor Obucina, 28, from Uzice in the west of the country, was born with severe mental and physical disabilities which make him eligible for social welfare. However, when the welfare system changed in 2006, Igor's benefit application was rejected without explanation.
On Igor's behalf, his father placed three complaints, but without success. When he tried to find out when his complaints would be processed he was faced with civil servants who simply refused to provide feedback.
"You could understand how upsetting it was for me not to get any clear answers," he says. "Then I heard about the call centre. Even though I didn't believe there would be anybody willing to look into my case, I phoned them. They identified a person in the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection who could help." Two weeks later, Igor and his family received the news that local social workers had made a positive decision on the application.
"I still don't fully trust the state administration," says Igor's father, "but things are moving forward and we are nearer to a day when ordinary people won’t feel completely powerless."
In recent years, dramatic social and political changes in Serbia have resulted in an increased number of people becoming dependent on social welfare. But the welfare system is beset by highly centralised management, complicated administrative procedures and high levels of corruption. The call centre, which is part of wider DFID work to help the national government build an efficient, sustainable and accessible welfare system, is a concrete example of how new policies are preventing impoverished Serbs from descending into deeper poverty.
Facts and stats
- With support from DFID, Serbia's Ministry of Labour and Social Protection opened the call centre in January 2008.
- In the first three months since it became operational, the centre received close to 5,000 phone calls from people facing problems from family violence to employers refusing to pay them social benefits.
- The centre is particularly responsive to its clients because all of its employees have themselves had experience with the social welfare system, either as people with physical disabilities or as refugees.
- DFID's support to the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy commenced in June 2006 and will run to December 2009. DFID is providing £2.9 million of funding. The project includes technical cooperation (provided by Oxford Policy Management) and a financial aid component.
- Since 2001, DFID has committed approximately £30 million to programmes in Serbia. DFID's bilateral aid budget for 2008/09 is £3 million.
Links
- Fighting poverty: Human rights
Serbian government website
