The initiative of the Union of Employers to abolish the non-working week provision for the majority of employees in trade is another attack on the rights of employees, as well as on European and civilizational values, according to the Union of Free Trade Unions, who say that the claim that this violates the freedom provided for in the Constitution is unfounded. entrepreneurship.
The employers' union submitted an initiative to the Constitutional Court for the review of the constitutionality of Article 35a of the Law on Internal Trade, which stipulates that wholesale and retail trade cannot be conducted on Sundays and national and other holidays, except for a small number of exceptions.
The first non-working Sunday for traders will be October 20. The Constitutional Court has yet to take the employers' proposal into the procedure, and that could take, at the very least, about half a year.
The initiative was requested by shopping centers "Delta", "Kamelija" and "Gintaš". About 40.000 workers work in the trade.
"We consider the initiative another attack on the labor rights of employees in trade, a sector where these same rights are the most threatened in Montenegro, where workers almost constantly work overtime with only one free day during the month, without the right to a day off during national and other holidays , where often one employee performs tasks for two or three workers. The claims of the Union of Employers that the previously mentioned article of the Law on Internal Trade is contrary to Article 59 of the Constitution of Montenegro, which limits the freedom of entrepreneurship if it is necessary to protect people's health, we consider unfounded because the time that the worker devotes to rest and family and how important it is for his health and dignity. A well-rested worker is a satisfied worker, therefore more responsible and dedicated to his work tasks that he performs during the working week, which is directly reflected in the productivity of the company itself", stated the Union of Free Trade Unions to "Vijesta".
They remind that all social partners, including the Employers' Union, agreed in 2011 that Article 62 of the Labor Law stipulates even more explicitly and imperatively that Sunday is a mandatory day of weekly rest for all those whose nature of work does not require them to work on that day.
"It is clear that in practice there is a widespread occurrence of violations of that norm and that employers would like workers to perform their tasks 24 hours a day, not caring about respecting the norm that we have jointly adopted. "Due to the obvious impossibility of protecting the right of workers, primarily trade workers, to one day off per week with the existing legislation, the USSCG wholeheartedly supported the amendments to the Law on Internal Trade, which explicitly stipulate the prohibition of working on Sundays and provide for exceptions," the USS stated. -a.
From this union headquarters, they point out that the essence is not in the absence of a legal norm that recognizes Sunday as a non-working day, but that the decision-makers and inspectors were not willing to stand in the way of the abuses of a significant number of employers who do not respect the law.
"The fact is that trade does not belong to a sector where the nature of the work and the organization of work require continuous work, that is, work on Sundays, and therefore we believe that the income of traders will not be threatened by this, but will only spill over to other days. Also, the USSCG expects the Ministry of Economy to finally approach the adoption of a by-law that will prescribe the criteria and rules for issuing work permits for national and other holidays, which they were obliged to adopt back in October 2013, but which they did not do, which completely prevented the implementation and application of the Law on State and Other Holidays. This is especially due to the fact that employees in numerous other activities are in the same position as employees in trade (eg construction, forestry...). It would be good if the Government remembered for them too, that even their 'nature of work and organization of work does not require working on Sundays'", according to the USS.
Bearing in mind, as they said, that labor rights in the trade sector are the most threatened in Montenegro, and that the right to a non-working Sunday will correct that negative image, they believe that it cannot be said that the contested norm is in contradiction with the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination , as stated in the Employers' Union Initiative.
"Article 2a of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination stipulates that it shall not be considered discrimination to place a person or a group of persons in a disadvantageous position compared to other persons when such action is prescribed by law for the purpose of preserving the health and safety of citizens, maintaining public order and peace, preventing crimes and protection of the rights and freedoms of others, if the means used are appropriate and necessary to achieve one of those goals in a democratic society and are proportionate to the goal to be achieved with such measures," USS announced.
They state that working on Sundays is not a value that Montenegro should advocate on its way to the European Union and that it is "completely contrary to the concept of dignified work and life that, as responsible social partners, we should inherit".
"It is important to preserve Sunday as a day of rest and dedication to the family, from which everything begins, because the ubiquitous overwork of family members does not leave room for its healthy development and the preservation and affirmation of its role as the basic cell of society. Therefore, USSCG expresses the hope that the Constitutional Court of Montenegro, when considering the mentioned initiative, will recognize and take into account the European values that Montenegro should strive for on its way to European integration", stated the Union of Free Trade Unions.
What is a kiosk and what is a specialized store
For USS, it is problematic that the exceptions, which allow them to work on Sundays, are set broadly "without recognizing that on Sundays, certain entities can foresee only on-call sales facilities, and not all".
"The question arises as to what is the nature of the activity that implies that souvenir and cake shops must be open on Sundays, and the question arises as to who is authorized to assess whether in a specific case it is a matter of 'specialized shops or kiosks'. Examples of florists, pharmacies, bakeries, presses, gas stations, warehouses for wholesale trade, etc. can also be cited here, according to the USS, stating that they expected the exceptions to be defined by a by-law in agreement with all social partners.
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