On the 29th of November, “Radnički muzej Trudbenik” – The Workers Museum Trudbenik – opened in Belgrade.

The museum was founded to answer a need for a space where the achievements of the working class will be remembered and passed on, as a place for discussing the fate of society and economy during the transition period and introduction of capitalist relations.

The name of the museum – “Trudbenik”, meaning worker – was chosen because of the fact that the museum itself is situated in the middle of a workers colony that once belonged to a construction company “KMG Trudbenik”. Although the company is long gone, the workers settlement built in 1959 remains an only home for ex-workers and their families.

The museum itself came into existence because of the efforts of the workers to preserve the history of the company, history to which they contributed by waging a long struggle for the existence of their company, their jobs and livelihoods. A history that is still in the making.
This museum is dedicated to them, but also to all those workers that took part in building-up Yugoslavia and todays Serbia.

Although their companies are now closed, the fruits of their labor are felt in everyday life while we enjoy our roads, schools, flats, hospitals and all objects that are the deeds of their hands. It is dedicated to all of those men and women today whose work is underappreciated, underpaid and invisible.