A union leader tried to set fire to himself in the Belgrade city parking service offices on Monday to protest over the management’s failure to react to threats and mobbing.

Sloga Union leader at the JKP Parking Service company Dragan Ljubic was stopped from setting himself on fire by police officers, a union statement said, adding that he wanted to draw attention to the fact that union members, himself included, had been threatened and experienced mobbing by their bosses even though the cases had been reported to the company CEO and Belgrade city officials.

“This happened after a number of union members said they would give statements after being threatened with loss of their jobs if they didn’t step out of the union,” the statement said.

Ljubic was taken to the Savski Venac police station to give a statement about what he intended to do and the threats and persecution he and Sloga Union members were exposed to, it added.