Protest in front of the Government building tomorrow; Keković: Escalating the fight for the rights of 100,000 workers

The Union of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro will hold a protest in front of the Government building tomorrow as part of an escalation of its campaign to defend the rights of more than 100,000 workers who have been left without the basic protections previously guaranteed by the General Collective Agreement (GCA), representatives of the union announced.

Secretary-General of the Union Srđa Keković said that the General Collective Agreement has ceased to exist since April 30 solely due to the inaction of Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.

- As a result, more than 100,000 of our colleagues have lost the fundamental rights guaranteed by that document. It is simply unbelievable that we allowed such an important legal instrument to be removed from the legal framework. I particularly hold the Government responsible for this. We are already receiving reports from workers in the field that employers have begun taking advantage of the situation - Keković said at a press conference.

He stated that the Union has been fighting since December of last year to conclude a new General Collective Agreement with negotiated increases in job complexity coefficients and an increase in the coefficient calculation value from €90 to €100 gross.

- We understand that the Prime Minister and the Government are buying time. Every month means savings of between €8 million and €10 million for them, and they are saving money where they should not, at the expense of workers who are already struggling, while hundreds of millions of euros are being spent on projects that are not currently a priority - Keković said.

According to him, the Union has information suggesting that the Government plans to implement wage increases, possibly even exceeding a coefficient value of €100, immediately before upcoming elections.

- We have extended a hand for cooperation throughout this entire period. We have repeatedly stated that we did not want to radicalize our struggle for workers’ rights. However, the moment has come when we must organize this protest and, if nothing concrete follows, continue our fight through further actions - Keković said.

He rejected the Government’s claim that the Union is seeking wage increases only for public-sector employees.

- That is easily disproven, if for no other reason than the fact that the new General Collective Agreement provides job complexity coefficients that are almost twice as high as the current ones - Keković said.

Speaking about a previous protest, he acknowledged that the turnout had fallen short of expectations but added that the union had information indicating that workers had been subjected to pressure.

- We will persevere in this struggle. We know the holiday season is approaching, but if we were able to fight in August and September two years ago to save the Simo Milošević Institute, and succeeded, we will succeed in this fight as well - Keković said.

Asked whether workers in the private and public sectors face equal challenges today, Keković noted that the base salary in the public sector is €729.

- The state already treats you as someone who should work for a minimum wage. These are not dignified salaries. They are far from what can be considered normal pay - he argued.

President of the Main Board and a member of the Social Council, Jovan Drašković, warned about the repeated failure to respect deadlines agreed upon by social partners during Council meetings, only to have them postponed by Government representatives.

- This game has been going on for six months. We struggle to get to the negotiating table, agree on a deadline, and then that deadline is simply ignored - Drašković said, adding that worker representatives feel humiliated by such conduct and are beginning to question the purpose of their participation in the Social Council.

In his view, the Social Council serves merely as a façade if deadlines are only formalities and agreements remain „dead letters on paper“. He added that the coming period will show whether representatives of the Union should remain in the Social Council. 

- We do not want to serve as a façade for a so-called democracy. We refuse to be extras in someone else’s version of social dialogue. We are willing to remain in the Social Council if it functions as intended and if decisions reached jointly are respected. If that is not the case, our place in the Social Council becomes questionable - Drašković said.

He called on all employees in Montenegro, particularly those in Podgorica, to join the protest in front of the Government building tomorrow at 7 p.m. and collectively demand answers, signatures, and respect for agreements reached.

Drašković also announced that the next session of the Social Council is expected to take place on Monday and expressed hope that Prime Minister Spajić will attend, in order to avoid further delays and missed deadlines.

- No matter how firmly we speak or how many protests we organize, we remain ready for dialogue and joint solutions. That is what we hope for, but we will not abandon our demands. We will see what kind of response we receive - Drašković said.

He also called on citizens and all interested parties to support the protest, arguing that broader support would make it easier to reach a solution acceptable to everyone.

Drašković added that the previous protest did not meet his expectations in terms of attendance, although he understood that it had been held on a working day and that many people had professional and personal obligations.