Although international organizations warn about the occurrence of forced labor and labor exploitation, Montenegro has not had a single case of this form of trafficking processed in the last 13 years.
In the reports of international institutions, it is written that mostly men and boys from abroad were subjected to forced labor in the construction sector, Roma children were forced to beg, and that women from abroad were often forced to work in Montenegro.
According to legally binding judgments, Montenegro has registered only two cases of labor exploitation, which were processed in 2004 and 2005.
Both verdicts became final in 2010, when seven people were convicted of labor exploitation, and the sentences ranged from two to three and a half years in prison. At that time, four Montenegrins, one Serbian citizen and one Ukrainian woman were convicted. The victims are six people from Ukraine and 23 people from Bangladesh.
Montenegro prohibits human trafficking for labor exploitation under Article 444 of the Criminal Code, which prescribes prison sentences of up to 10 years, or 12 years. Zoran Ulama, head of the anti-trafficking office, is in favor Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) assessed that there is no justification for such poor results in the fight against trafficking.
"We all have a duty and obligation to be better. We expect from the police and the prosecutor's office primarily better identification of the victims in the coming period," said Ulama. He pointed out that it seems as if we are the worst in the region in the fight against trafficking because the statistics are kept differently.
"In the region, there is a much larger number of potential victims who are registered as victims of trafficking, which we do not do, although we deal with potential victims in the same way, that is, we provide them with all the necessary help," explained Ulama.
The director of the Safe Women's House, Ljiljana Raičević, told CIN CG that we only have two judgments because there are no institutions that properly deal with the problem.
"When a new hotel is opened, for example, the inspection has to check whether all workers are registered, whether they are paid salaries and the like, because that's where everything starts. They can and must do that. But they don't. Bribery and corruption are often involved. The new owner of the hotel welcomes them, hosts them, they take a walk and that's it," she said.
Raičević says that she was present when the inspector noticed that there was no hot water and that the soup was cold in a newly opened hotel on the coast, but he did not notice that all the workers were from Bosnia and did not ask them if they were registered and if they were being paid. "The greatest responsibility lies with the inspections, especially the labor inspection, which does not detect these cases," Raičević assessed.
The United Nations (UN), reminded Raičević, recognized exactly this type of exploitation as one of the most severe when it comes to the female population. Potential victims are usually able-bodied women.
"There are various forms of labor exploitation, from working in the house, in the fields, in hotels or anywhere with private individuals who do not insure them, do not pay them wages, refuse to sign a contract and can do whatever they want with them," she explained.
Raičević also mentioned how the victims are manipulated: "After the first month, when he has to pay the salary, the private person says: it is better for you to have free food and sleep here, then after three months we will pay you all at once, and you live on tips. This is where women make a mistake, and most often after two or two and a half months they are kicked out without pay".
It has been noticed in our country, says Raičević, that before the holidays there are often advertisements for the demand for labor, for making cakes, in bakeries and the like. The victims are additionally endangered because, especially if they are from abroad, most often from Serbia, they are scared and don't try to complain to someone, because their documents are with their boss, and they are forced to do other jobs besides the ones for which they are employed.
Labor exploitation, as the director of SŽK points out, is less noticeable than other forms of human trafficking and requires additional efforts to detect it.
"Only the labor inspection can reach such people. But it is necessary to include all other institutions as well. Early detection of undeclared work is crucial," she concluded.
However, by the time the article was written, answers to questions about the problem of labor exploitation had not arrived. The Union of Trade Unions did not want to talk about this problem either, stating that their boss was on his way, and that they did not have enough information on this topic.
They donate organs to cross the border
Ulama emphasized that migrants are being monitored in particular, because in other countries it has been recorded that they give, say, organs to cross the border.
"For now, we have no knowledge that there have been such cases in our country, but the police are intensively working on some cases, so we will see the result," he said.
Raičević also believes that taking into account the migrant perspective is an obligation when it comes to labor exploitation.
"Migrant workers, they are here all summer, they migrate for employment. "They cross the border illegally or stay longer than the law allows, and they are more exposed to risk, because their documents are taken," she said.
Labor exploitation is often accompanied by sexual exploitation
A girl from Belgrade worked in Krašići in a bar where the owner brought 12-13 women from Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia, and only registered two.
She worked two shifts and expected to be paid more because of it. After a month he told her that he had no money to pay her, but next time he would give her double.
"The following month, he brought two of his friends and proposed to her to have sex with them, promising to pay her for that too. That's where she saw that the devil played a joke, somehow she defended herself for about 15 days, and then she ran away," she told CIN CG Raičević about the case of one of the many exploited girls.
Raičević reported this case to the Tivat police, but the next day, when the girl was supposed to testify, she was only told that she had left and that they did not know where she was.
"I guess they got to her and blackmailed her or threatened her, or someone gave her money to come back. Those women can't wait to go home, so they have a hard time deciding to testify," said Raičević.
She also pointed out that very often labor exploitation of women is accompanied by sexual exploitation. "When you are captured with all the documents, he tells you that I will return it to you if you do this and that, and she is often physically attacked and beaten," Raičević stated.
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