The largest state-owned hotel company "Budvanska Riviera", instead of the original hundred, was sued by more than 200 employees, who claim around two million euros.
This was confirmed by "Vijesti" from several sources.
"The workers are seeking compensation for damages based on the underpaid starting part of the salary, as well as claims based on the underpaid hot meal, holiday pay, unpaid and underpaid overtime, night and holiday hours, incorrect calculation of past work, transportation, due to unpaid or underpaid compensation on the name of unused vacations, the difference in the paid coefficient, jubilee awards...", the hotel company stated.
The "Budvan Riviera" Hotel Group told the news that more than 200 employees are currently facing proceedings before the Basic Court in Cetinje and Kotor, as well as before the Agency for Peaceful Resolution of Labor Disputes and the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution. If they get what they want, it would be a big blow to the company.
Meanwhile, the workers who sued received clear instructions from lawyers on how to testify before the courts and how to answer questions.
Hotel group "Budvanska rivijera" AD Budva in 2022 achieved a positive business result in the amount of 602.563 euros. In the past two and a half decades, from almost ten hotels, the Hotel Group has five hotels left - "Palas" in Petrovac (four stars and 171 accommodation units), Tourist Village "Slovenska plaža" in Budva (three plus and four stars with 1.016 accommodation units ), hotel "Aleksandar" in Budva (four stars, 187 accommodation units), hotel "Castellastva" Petrovac (four stars, 185 accommodation units) and hotel "Mogren" in Budva (three plus stars, 49 accommodation units). The city hotel "Sveti Stefan" was excluded from the Company two years ago, which was entrusted to the management of another government company "Sveti Stefan hoteli" AD.
The hotel group faced lawsuits only when there was a change of management in that company, i.e. since when, after more than three decades, the largest hotel company has been managed by DPS personnel.
It's no secret that over the years, employees regularly received winter pay and holiday pay in accordance with the decisions of the Board of Directors, in the amount of up to 1.000 euros every year. Considering the positive business, they received their 13th salary, jubilee awards, and a large number of employees had their housing issue resolved at prices significantly lower than the market value.
The employees found the basis of the claims in the findings and opinion of the external auditor for the year 2021, which stated in the annual report that the Hotel Group "Budvanska Riviera" should have calculated the starting/special part of the salary in the amount of 70 percent of the calculation value of 210,6 euros which the Hotel Group used to calculate the basic salary.
Namely, as it was explained to "Vijesta", the special part of the salary was calculated on the basis of 90 euros gross (63 euros), i.e. on the amount determined at the state level, which is in accordance with the legal regulations of Montenegro and which is the calculation value that was determined at the level of Montenegro.
As written in the Labor Law, Article 96, the special part of the salary is the part of the salary that the employee earns based on the allowance for meals during work and 1/12 of the holiday allowance and is an integral part of the minimum salary. The special part of the salary is determined by the collective agreement and cannot be less than 70 percent of the calculation value of the coefficient determined at the level of Montenegro.
The collective agreement for tourism and hospitality provides the same as the Labor Law, with the provision of a higher amount of 80 percent based on 90 euros (72 euros). The special part of the employee's salary cannot be lower than 80 percent of the calculation value of the coefficient determined at the level of Montenegro. According to the agreement on determining the calculation value of the coefficient and the starting part of the salary in gross amounts, Article 3 - the calculation value of the coefficient in the gross amount is determined on a monthly level in the amount of at least 90.00 euros.
Firefighters and workers of the Municipality lost the dispute
A similar lawsuit was filed against the Municipality of Budva by 50 firefighters, demanding that they be paid one million euros in compensation due to the non-compliance of salary coefficients from a decade ago, as well as on the basis of the lower calculated salary for the period from 2013 to 2016.
They lost the process.
The problem arose because until 2008, the Municipality paid salaries to firefighters in accordance with the then valid Law on Salaries of Civil Servants and State Employees.
The dispute was also lost by 22 municipal officials and workers who demanded that 2013 euros with accrued interest be paid to them in the name of less calculated earnings from 2017 to 355. Such requests were rejected, and the workers who sued had to pay court costs in the amount of 50 thousand euros.
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