Serbian students, unions join forces for anti-corruption protest

Belgrade: Serbia s trade unions joined thousands of protesters in a May Day rally called by student leaders Thursday, six months after a deadly train...

Belgrade: Serbia's trade unions joined thousands of protesters in a May Day rally called by student leaders Thursday, six months after a deadly train station tragedy that sparked mass demonstrations against corruption.

Thousands gathered in the capital Belgrade and the northern city of Novi Sad, where the collapse of a renovated railway station last November killed 16 people in a tragedy widely blamed on corruption and poor oversight.

Thursday's rallies on international Labour Day were the latest in a wave of unrest sparked by the disaster, which led to the resignation of a prime minister and the fall of the government.

Whistling, crowds of all ages converged in the early afternoon in front of the government building in Belgrade, some waving red, white and blue Serbian flags and others the colours of their unions.

"We are here to fight for the workers, to get better working and living conditions," one protester, Milica Petrovic, 46, an economist, told AFP.