Employees of the bar company Port of Adria claim that they are discriminated against because, in protecting their rights and respecting the Collective Agreement, they are not treated the same by the competent judicial authorities as with the company Global ports, which has been the owner of the company since 2009.
They sought admission from the heads of the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court and the Judicial Council, as well as the Ministry of Transport, but no one received them, unlike the representatives of the management.
The President of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica, says that she received the employers because that court is obliged to provide a uniform judicial practice, but she did not answer why she did not talk to the workers, as well as to the question of whether the Supreme Court sided with the investors.
The situation can be considered even more indicative, after knowledge that Medenica also met with the management of the Railway Infrastructure, which is also in a legal dispute with its employees.
In the hope that the judicial authorities will help them and force their employer - the company Global Ports to respect the Collective Agreement, the employees of the company Port of Adria wrote to several government addresses.
They also asked for an appointment with the president of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica, and received the answer that it was impossible.
"From the position of the president of that court, it is not advisable to hold a meeting with the parties directly interested in the success of the lawsuits that have already been initiated before the competent courts, so she could not receive us," said Luka Klisić, a member of the Port of Adria Employees' Union.
The problem, however, the Union points out, is that Medenica received the employer's representatives, and that, they claim, before the Supreme Court, contrary to the decision of the Higher Court, decided that the Collective Agreement for employees of the Port of Adria company cannot be applied.
When asked by TV Vijesti why Medenica received the representatives of the employer, but not the workers, the following answer came from the Supreme Court.
"The fact that there were different court decisions in the same legal matter was the reason for the representatives of the employer Port of Adria to apply for admission to the President of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica. Since the Supreme Court is obliged by constitutional and legal norms to ensure the uniform application of the Law, and and thus consistent judicial practice, the above was the sole reason for the reception of the employer's representative of this company," the Supreme Court's answer points out.
This attitude of the President of the Supreme Court surprised the workers.
"I am experiencing a mild shock. We only ask that the Purchase and Sale Agreement be respected, because the contract states that the new employer must comply with the provisions of the Collective Agreement, found during privatization," Klisić said.
The Trade Union suspects that, before the decision of the Supreme Court, the Ministers of Transport Osman Nurković and Ministers of Justice Zoran Pažin received the employer's representatives for an interview. And the trade unionists were waiting for the reception.
"Transportation Minister Nurković did not respond for six months, and neither did Justice Minister Pažin," said Klisić.
The Minister of Justice did not even answer the questions of Television Vijesti 20 dana. Television Vijesti asked him, as well as the President of the Supreme Court, whether discussions with the employer, and refusing a meeting with the workers, meant taking the employer's side.
The situation can otherwise be considered even more indicative, after learning that Vesna Medenica also met with the management of the Railway Infrastructure, which, according to the lawyers of the employees of that company, in this way obtained permission to declare a review of the judgments of lower court instances, since they were in favor of the employees. deprived of part of their salaries for two years.
Port of Adria workers say they will seek legal protection before the European courts.
"But it's shameful that in our country, which strives for European integration, we cannot exercise our rights," said Klisić.
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