Warning strike at the airports in Podgorica and Tivat on November 9

The union organizations of the airports in Podgorica and Tivat will organize a one-hour "peaceful protest gathering" of workers, that is, a warning strike on Thursday, November 9.

As stated in the letter sent yesterday by the presidents of Podgorica Airport's side organizations Slobodan Martinović and Tivat airport Ljubiša Džudović sent to the executive director of the Airport of Montenegro (ACG) Vladan Drašković and the president of the Board of Directors Eldin Dobardžić, a peaceful gathering of workers will be between 13 and 14 p.m. on the plateaus in front of the terminal buildings of the two airports, and in case of bad weather conditions, the gathering will be in the terminals.

The union presidents stated that they will invite the media to these gatherings, as well as representatives of the Union of Trade Unions of Montenegro, whose members are the union organizations of Podgorica and Tivat airports.

In the letter, which "Vijesti" had access to, it is stated that the gatherings are being organized "due to the huge dissatisfaction of ACG workers, which was caused by the failure to reach an agreement with the employer from January 2023."

The issues on which, in the opinion of the trade unionists, an agreement with the ACG management could not be reached are the increase in the salary of employees, the adoption of regulations on solving housing issues, the regulation of working hours in operations, the improvement of working conditions and safety at work, "preventing the degradation of the existing collective agreement", the invention adequate solution for employees who were not financially compensated for the period for which the settlement for employees was signed", as well as the need to respect representative trade union organizations as a social partner in all matters concerning the economic and social status of employees.

"Vijesti" has unofficially learned that the management of ACG did not pass an act on the minimum work process during the strike.

"Regarding the organization of the minimum work process, a special Decision was made in the Ministry of Transport in 2019, which the ACG were obliged to elaborate. Since no one dealt with the possibility of organizing a strike, the adoption of that act was delayed until recently, when the management of the ACG sent a letter to the Agency for peaceful resolution of disputes that this decision was bad and that a new one should be made. After that, the airport union was also informed that an act on the minimum work process cannot be passed, as well as that the management will not prevent the right to strike," explained the source of "Vijesti" informed of these events.

The source of "Vijesti" clarified that the Decision on the minimum work process meant that 50 percent of the planes should be serviced, but it is unclear which planes and according to which criteria.

The unions are asking for a 20 percent increase in workers' wages, pointing out that the wages of ACG employees have not been increased since 2008, and that the cost of living has increased significantly in the meantime. The management denies this, claiming that only on the basis of the "Europe Now" program, workers' wages were increased by 23,6 percent. The management believes that ACG, in the current moment and the economic circumstances in which the company operates, can offer the unions a salary increase of at most 7 to 8 percent. The key problem over which the management and the unions, however, diverge and cannot reach an agreement is the management's request to supplement and change the current Collective Agreement in that company in the part of reducing the calculated value of the coefficient (OVK) for the calculation of wages, that is, the creation of legal preconditions for the introduction of incentives measures for employees who behave responsibly towards their work duties and maintain the validity of their professional licenses for performing special tasks at airports. According to the management, this is the most important prerequisite for the long-term financial stability of the company and the improvement of ACG's business performance.

The management of ACG and the trade unions of Podgorica and Tivat airports have been unsuccessfully negotiating since May about these matters, which the company's management considers to be crucially important for eliminating the long-standing, multi-million-dollar problem with court cases that employees initiate against the company they work for, considering that it has deprived them of part of the so-called starting earnings. Changes to the Collective Agreement, along with the angle of the ACG management, are the most important for the gradual elimination of complaints and the irresponsible attitude of some workers towards their obligations, which makes ACG economically inefficient in the long run, especially compared to airports in the region.