The Union of Employees of Serbia (UPS) filed a public request to the government and all figures in the economic policy on Friday asking for a start of radical reforms of the public sector, the Pension and Disability Fund (PIO) and the tax system out of danger from a new wave of economic crisis.

The UPS warned that the key reforms should not be delayed any longer, since their implementation is the only guarantee that the domestic economy and the purchasing power will no longer weaken.

It is necessary to start an immediate reform of the public sector, which is the largest in Europe with 535,000 employees at the moment and makes up 30.6 percent of the total number of employees, which is nearly three times more than the average in the EU countries.

It is also necessary to limit the incomes in the public sector to the average one in other economic sectors and reduce the number of state agencies, which is at the moment 128, the request adds. Thereby, further indebtedness of the state will be prevented as well as the possibility of pronouncing bankruptcy in case of continuation of negative trends.

Furthermore, it is important for the PIO Fund to be restructured, to recover its assets, to get professionalized, and to be protected from the impact of political parties.

The request underlines the necessity of the tax system reforms and the implementation of European standards in placing tax burden on economic entities.