The government of Prime Minister Milojko Spajić plans to increase the salaries of all public officials by 30 percent through the increase of coefficients for calculating wages, which will cost the citizens 8,5 million euros annually.
This is defined by the Draft Amendments to the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector, which the Ministry of Finance, led by Minister Novica Vuković, put up for public discussion. The public discussion lasts until December 8, but the transitional and final provisions do not define when this law will enter into force.
All public officials received higher salaries recently through the implementation of the "Europe Now 2" program.
Public officials are the presidents of the Government, the Assembly and the state, ministers, deputies, the president and members of the Senate of the State Audit Institution, the protector of human rights and freedoms, the president of the State Commission, the presidents and judges of the Supreme, Appellate, Constitutional, Commercial, higher and basic courts, the supreme state prosecutor, chief special prosecutor, other prosecutors, local officials...
Prime Minister Spajić reported the basic salary (net salary) of 1.891 euros in the last asset card, and with a 30 percent increase it will be around 2.458 euros. The President of the Assembly, Andrija Mandić, in the last asset card reported a basic salary (net) of 1.889 euros, with an increase of 30 percent, the figure is 2.455 euros, while the President of the State, Jakov Milatović, reported a basic salary (net) of 1.932 euros in the last asset card, and with an increase of 30 percent, the figure is 2.511 euros. These three salaries in the property records were reported before the increase in the "Europe Now 2" program.
Public officials are classified into categories A, B and C (as in the current law), while it is proposed to delete category D (civil servants and temporary workers) from this law.
Minister Novica Vuković's department justifies the reason for the salary increase by saying that "now in the salary system, certain employees have higher salaries than superior managers".
The salaries of doctors and professors increased by about 50 percent with the entry into force of changes to the law from 2022, writes RIA
"In the past few years, through changes to collective agreements, job complexity coefficients have been increased for all employees in the public sector, except for public officials and holders of judicial and constitutional court functions. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the coefficients for state and public officials and holders of judicial and constitutional court functions and other persons who are classified in the current Law into job groups A, B and C, so that they are determined adequately to the level of complexity and responsibility of these jobs. The planned increase in the coefficients for the mentioned titles is also necessary for the reason that in the current salary system, in certain cases, officials have higher salaries than superior managers. Inadequate salary range and relatively low salary in relation to the complexity and responsibility of certain jobs affects the outflow of personnel and the low interest and deficit of professional staff for certain jobs, especially in the field of justice and prosecutor's office", according to the report on the analysis of the impact of the regulations ( RIA).
As stated, the proposed increase in the coefficients will establish an adequate range in the amount of wages in relation to the complexity of the work and the level of responsibility "considering that in the past few years, through changes in the collective agreements, the coefficients of the complexity of the work have been increased for all employees in the public sector, except for public officials and holders of judicial and constitutional court functions".
"Given the high level of responsibility, strategic decision-making and impact on the entire system, the increase in the salary coefficient for the holders of the highest positions will reflect the fair valorization of their contribution. In addition to the above, the proposed amendments to the Law on Salaries of Employees in the Public Sector aim to delete provisions that were inapplicable in practice, to specify the amount of remuneration upon termination of office, as well as to determine it in proportion to the duration of the mandate", the RIA states.
When it comes to the amount of compensation upon termination of office, it is stated that public officials are entitled to it one year after the termination of office and another year if they are so far short of retirement.
It is further stated that the legal framework for the salary system in the public sector is complex and fragmented, regulated by a large number of regulations of different legal force and nature.
"This includes laws, Government decisions, collective agreements and internal acts of legal entities belonging to the public sector. The Law on Salaries of Employees in the Public Sector is a basic legal act that regulates the manner of determining and exercising rights to earnings, salary compensation and other benefits of employees in the public sector and other matters of importance for the exercise of these rights. 0d in 2016, when it was first adopted, this law was amended as many as 14 times, of which certain provisions were repealed as unconstitutional by the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro on two occasions," writes RIA.
As explained, "the selective approach to salary increases in the previous period led to the violation of one of the basic principles of the Law on Salaries of Employees in the Public Sector, which implies the uniformity of salaries for work in the same or similar jobs and positions that require the same level or sub-level of qualifications".
"The proposed regulation increases the job complexity coefficients for public officials and holders of judicial and constitutional court functions and other persons by 30% and their classification has been carried out, according to the constitutional categories. The increase in job complexity coefficients for public officials and holders of judicial and constitutional court functions, as well as other persons, was proposed eight years after the adoption of the Law, when these coefficients were established and in the meantime reduced due to fiscal consolidation measures twice in 2017, by about 15% (from January 1, 2017 by about 8% and from July 2017, 7 by about XNUMX%)", the explanation states.
It was also clarified that the salary calculation will continue to be done according to the same principle for employees at the state level, as well as for local self-governments, then the judiciary, the Parliament, the offices of the President of Montenegro, independent and regulatory bodies, as well as companies majority-owned by the state or local self-government.
"The adoption of the regulations envisages the adoption of by-laws from which there is the possibility of deriving financial obligations", it is stated in the RIA.
The Ministry of Finance will approve acts on earnings
In accordance with the law, the Ministry of Finance will supervise the implementation of the law by keeping central records of employees' earnings, with the obligation of everyone in the public sector system to submit information within the deadlines set by the law, while the inspection work will be carried out by the budget inspector, who takes care of the implementation of the law and at the same time on fiscal responsibility.
"In addition to the above, the salary system was established in such a way that it is necessary to obtain the consent of the Ministry of Finance for the acts that determine the salaries of employees. In this way, the system is established on greater responsibility for determining basic wages and determined types of stimulation of employees for a greater volume of work, i.e. achieved significant results in work", writes the RIA.
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