The state must retain the majority ownership of the "Dr. Simo Milošević" Institute in Igalo primarily for medical rehabilitation and health tourism.
This was announced from today's protest of Institute workers, who blocked the roundabout in Meljini for half an hour, Radio Television Herceg Novi reports.
The President of the Trade Union, Marija Obradović, in a statement submitted to "Vijesti" said that the debts burdened by the Institute are not the result of idleness or bad business, but decades of carelessness, primarily by the state.
She pointed out that the workers were paid the November salary this morning, and that they are owed the December salary.
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She appealed to the Government to listen to their messages and stressed that workers expect the state to treat its property in a domestic manner.
"The Igalo Institute is an institution that has a strategy, staff, knowledge and a market. We are not losers looking for state aid. In 2022, 19.222 patients were treated at the Institute and 210.000 overnight stays were achieved, which brought us closer to 2019, which accounts for the most profitable year. The debts the Institute is burdened with are not the result of idleness or bad business, but decades of carelessness, primarily by the state," said Obradović.
She said that the Institute, as a strategic institution dealing with rehabilitation and health tourism, had not been invested in for decades.
"The erosion of staff, especially the highly educated, has been going on for years and is being ignored. The health workers of the Igalo Institute are the only ones in Montenegro who do not exercise the rights guaranteed by the Branch Collective Agreement for Health. This means that the salary coefficients are far below those valid in all other health institutions in Montenegro. It's burning, and it's the same with the earnings of other employees. That's the reason why employees claim their rights through the courts and go to institutions that respect these rights," said Obradović.
As she said, the Institute is not a loser because it has value, primarily in people and knowledge, but also in land, facilities, technology and programs.
"For us, it is unacceptable to bring up the issue of privatization, especially at an absurd price, despite the significantly higher value of the Institute, of 120 million euros. In the last four years, prices have increased many times, only the price of the Igalo Institute has remained the same, a miserable 10 million for 228.000 square meters of land located in the most attractive location in the city and construction facilities with an area of about 85.000 square meters," she stated.
Obradović said that the state must retain the majority ownership of the Igalo Institute first of all for medical rehabilitation
"Through the Montenegrin Health Fund, 2022 nights were spent at the Institute in 97.345. Patients have the right to medical rehabilitation after the most serious traumas, surgical interventions, prolonged heart attack or stroke, chronic patients with the most serious illnesses, children with developmental disorders and many others. There are few families in Montenegro who have not had a close member or relative undergoing treatment at the Institute during the last decades. They know, as we do, how much work, empathy, professionalism and enthusiasm was invested in everyone's recovery. How did you plan to organize medical rehabilitation in Montenegro if you renounce the Igalo Institute," she asked.
She added that health tourism is recognized as one of the strategic branches of the development of Montenegro, and the supporting institution of that project is the Igalo Institute, because more than 70 years ago it was conceived on that very idea.
"Thanks to vision, knowledge, strategy, cooperation, mobilization of resources, honesty, unprecedented patience and perseverance, this institution has grown from a small treatment center into a grandiose healthcare system, which can serve any society with pride. With excellent results and the professionalism of its employees, a brand has been built, which is listed highly on the strict European market, which Montenegro can be proud of beyond its borders".
She also announced that the Institute is a teaching unit of the University of Podgorica, and that the Higher School of Physiotherapy was founded in 1976, and today it is renamed the Faculty of Applied Physiotherapy as a study program within the Faculty of Medicine in Podgorica.
"The complete internship at this faculty is done at the Igalo Institute. How are we going to tell these young people that there are no more places for them here," said Obradović.
She appealed to the authorities to get involved in solving the problem.
"Make an effort to find out more about what we do. We are an institution where Montenegrin children, seriously ill and seriously injured citizens are treated. There is no price that can be paid for improving the quality of life of each patient and their inclusion in normal life. Our value is in knowledge and it is recognized all over the world. Don't let the Institute be much more appreciated in Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands than in Podgorica. Don't let us ever ask you for help again, but do what you can to make the Institute proud. The street is not our choice, but a necessity in the existential struggle. We just want to do our job. We want to preserve the Institute, Dr. Simo Milošević, as a true brand of Montenegro," concluded Obradović.
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