By Duško Vuković, Representative of the Kvadra Network Serbia Association 

Corruption has always been explained through money, privilege, and the abuse of power. We most commonly perceive bribery, whilst also speaking of rigged tenders, conflicts of interest, the misuse of public resources, nepotism, “friendly” deals, and the favouring of individuals within interest groups.

There is one dimension of corruption that is discussed far less: workplace corruption. Not because it is less important, but because it often takes place far from the public eye – in an office, a factory, a public enterprise, a hospital, a school, a local authority, or a private company.

And often, the first person to recognise it is the worker. They see who gets the job, who gets the contract, who signs what ought not to be signed, who gets hired without a public competition, who suddenly becomes “suitable”, and who has been ordered to do something outside standard procedure.

And then we face the question: what do we expect them to do? Keep quiet? Report it? Risk their job? Become a whistleblower? And if they do report it, who is going to protect them? That is the question from which any serious discussion about the integrity of work – and the integrity of us all – must begin.

Corruption with a hundred faces

When we talk about workplace corruption, we must not reduce it merely to the classic image of taking a bribe. Corruption can take many forms: favouring individuals or companies, striking deals behind closed doors, conflicts of interest, nepotism, abuse of position, job-rigging, falsifying documentation, covering up irregularities, and pressing employees to participate in unlawful acts.

However, there is something perhaps even more dangerous: a system in which everyone knows what is happening, but no one wants to be the first to speak out. At that point, corruption ceases to be merely the act of an individual; it becomes a culture of silence. And when silence becomes a survival strategy, we can no longer speak solely of individual responsibility – we must speak of the responsibility of the system.

There is a simple fact we often forget: the people working within an organisation usually know best what is really going on inside it. Not the minister, not the director who visits occasionally, not the inspectorate that periodically steps in, nor the many onlookers observing the problem from the outside.

Employees as the first line of defence

The employee is inside every single day. They see how decisions are made, how money is spent, how procedures are bypassed, and how people are rewarded or punished. That is why an employee can be the first line of defence against corruption – but only if they have the right to say “no”, and only if they know that saying “no” will not cost them their job.

It is often highlighted in public that reporting corruption requires courage. That is easy to say, but far harder to be the person who actually has to take that step. Behind the employee stands not just their job, but their family, mortgage, children, livelihood, years of hard work, the fear of unemployment, and the uncertainty of what tomorrow brings.

That is why shift-the-blame anti-corruption policy feels like one of the most unfair things: placing the heaviest burden on the individual, expecting courage from them, and telling them to “report it”, while forgetting that we must simultaneously answer what we will do to protect them.

Serbia has a Whistleblower Protection Act, which provides an important and necessary legal framework. Yet no law on its own can foster a culture of integrity if employees do not trust that the protection guaranteed by law will actually be enforced. Therefore, the fight against corruption is not merely a matter of enacting regulations – it is a matter of trust.

There remains a dangerous perception that an employee who reports an irregularity is someone who “causes trouble”. However, the focus should not be on the worker sounding the alarm, but on the problem they are pointing out.

In a normal system, an employee who highlights an irregularity should not be viewed as an enemy of the organisation. On the contrary, they should be seen as someone who helped protect the organisation, the public interest, and public funds. Whistleblower protection is therefore not just a legal category; it is a test of a system’s integrity. If a system protects the person pointing out a problem, it shows that it cares about the rules. If it punishes the person who uncovered the issue, it sends a clear message to everyone else: stay silent.

The role of trade unions in fighting corruption

Where do trade unions fit into this picture? This question is particularly important to me given my long-standing trade union experience. Unions are traditionally viewed as organisations that protect wages, working hours, collective rights, and occupational health and safety. That is indeed their core role. However, the union struggle for decent work and the fight against corruption are not two separate things.

Where a worker lacks the right to refuse an unlawful order, genuine employee protection does not exist. Where jobs are secured through personal connections, another worker pays the price. Where public money is misused, the consequences are ultimately felt by society as a whole, including employees.

Trade unions can and must be part of a broader anti-corruption infrastructure – not by becoming investigative bodies or replacing state institutions, but by helping employees recognise corruption, know where to turn, and avoid facing the consequences alone when they choose to speak out.

This brings us to perhaps the most vital point: we cannot build an anti-corruption system by waiting for enough brave individuals to emerge. The system must function in such a way that a person does not have to be a hero just to do the right thing. This means having clear procedures, secure reporting channels, protection from retaliation, accountability for those who pressure employees, education for both staff and employers, and institutions that command trust. Only then can we speak of true integrity at work.

Workplace corruption should not be viewed solely as a public-sector problem. In the public sector, corruption often directly threatens public funds and the public interest. However, the private sector is by no means immune to abuse, conflicts of interest, backroom deals, commercial fraud, or pressure on employees to act contrary to the law or professional standards. The form of the problem may differ, but one thing remains constant: employees in both sectors are often the first to see what is happening.

Integrity at work must therefore be a shared interest – for workers, employers, trade unions, institutions, civil society, and citizens alike.

The Kvadra Network Serbia Association was founded on the conviction that social problems cannot be solved by viewing one another as opposing camps. Kvadra does not wish to choose between workers, employers, the state, and civil society. We want to connect them where a shared interest exists. And one such interest is simple: honest work and a society where integrity is not a punishment.

That is why we made workplace corruption the starting point of our Integrity of Work programme, launching our first panel discussion, “Workplace Corruption – Without Gloves”, on 9 September. We want to listen to and engage with employees, trade unions, employers, experts, journalists, state institutions, and civil society organizations – not to point fingers, but to address a far more difficult question: how do we structure a workplace where it is easier to report corruption than to participate in it or stay silent?

This requires at least five things: educated employees, clear procedures, secure reporting channels, genuine whistleblower protection, and responsible employers and institutions. It is time to shift our perspective.

We do not need workers who blindly carry out whatever they are told, nor do we need workers who keep quiet out of fear of repercussions. We need workers who know their rights, recognise irregularities, know who to turn to, and have reason to believe they will not be punished for speaking up.

This is not a threat to employers; it is a safeguard for them as well. A company where employees can highlight a problem before it turns into a scandal is a company that has the chance to resolve that problem in time. The same applies to public institutions.

When Kvadra was established, one foundational idea stood out: four pillars of society forming a single network for change – the state, employers, employees and trade unions, alongside civil society and the media. None of these parties can solve the problem of workplace corruption alone, but together they can.

That is why our debates on workplace corruption are not designed to be just another event where a few soundbites are uttered, photos are taken, and everyone moves on. We want to speak openly, without gloves, and ensure that something more than a mere impression remains afterwards – proposals, contacts, and mechanisms. We want employees to know where to turn, trade unions to know how to react, employers to know how to foster an environment where irregularities are reported before becoming corruption scandals, and institutions to hear what is truly happening in the workplace.

If we expect an employee to be the first to say “no” to corruption, then society must be ready to answer one simple question: “What will happen to me if I do?” Until we have a satisfactory answer to that question, we cannot claim to have defeated corruption.

We can pass laws, set up additional institutions, and host more conferences and debates. Real change begins only when individuals at their workplaces realise that integrity is not a personal liability, but a value protected by the system, institutions, and society as a whole.

The fight against corruption does not begin when someone takes money; it begins much earlier—when someone at their workplace decides they will not remain silent. And our task as a society is to ensure they are not left to stand alone because of that decision.

(Radar, 08.09.2026)

https://radar.nova.rs/drustvo/korupcija-na-radnom-mestu-kvadra-konferencija/