Employees demand dismissal of Kumanovo court president over alleged mobbing; Manev says staff refuse work

Employees at the Basic Court in Kumanovo have demanded the removal of the court’s president, Snezana Manev, alleging years of harassment and pressure; the court president rejects the accusations and says a group of staff are refusing work and abusing sick leave.

The labour union UPOZ has asked the Judicial Council to investigate complaints filed by court employees and to dismiss Manev. Union leader Trpe Deanoski warned that if no action is taken, staff are prepared to strike and even block the court’s operations.

Union claims, court response

According to UPOZ, the harassment targeted at particular court servants has persisted for years and prompted many colleagues to leave. Deanoski told reporters that two Judicial Council representatives visited the Basic Court in Kumanovo after the most recent complaint, but instead of protecting employees they questioned whether the signatures on the complaint were genuine — the document carried the names of 75 court employees.

“After the employees’ latest complaint to the Judicial Council, two representatives of the Judicial Council came to the Basic Court in Kumanovo, but instead of protecting the employees they asked whether the signatures on the complaint were theirs — the complaint was signed by 75 employees of the court. I call on the Judicial Council to take its work seriously, to investigate all the allegations in the submitted complaint, to protect employees from the arbitrariness and mobbing of the court president, and immediately to initiate proceedings to dismiss the president of the Basic Court in Kumanovo in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Courts. If this is not done as soon as possible, the employees of the Basic Court in Kumanovo are prepared not only to protest but to completely block the work of the court, that is, to close it,” said Trpe Deanoski, president of UPOZ.

Manev rejects the union’s account. She says the issue concerns a small number of staff who are sabotaging the court’s work by refusing to perform assigned duties, and that disciplinary proceedings have been opened against them.

“Some of the employees, supported by the court administrator, refuse assigned work tasks. This is visible in the constant unplanned use of annual leave, extended sick leaves, absences and unjustified leaves,” said Snezana Manev, president of the Basic Court in Kumanovo.

The court president also dismissed claims that employees left because of her conduct, and confirmed that the court currently lacks about fifty staff positions — a gap she attributes to retirements and departures abroad. The dispute remains unresolved as both sides signal readiness to escalate: the union with a possible strike and the court management with disciplinary measures against individual employees.

Photo: press material from the event